In a piece profiling screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman done recently by the New YorkTimes the pair were closely scrutinized as to their intent for the script of the next Star Trek film.
It would seem that Orci is Ying to Kurtzman’s Yang, which has served well in the development of the storyline for the movie. Orci is a bona-fide uber original series geek, while Kurtzman is more of a latter-day fan that had put Trek lore aside after “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.” This chemistry seems to be working well as they both plunge headlong into the trecherous and murky waters of Trek canon, hoping to come up with something original, but not so far-flung that Gene Roddenberry’s concept gets lost in the journey for revitalization of the franchise.
In the Times article producer/director J.J. Abrams and co-producer Damon Lindelof are also queried about the plot of the film, and while the article doesn’t say anything too specific, the Times reporter walked away with the strong impression that the primary focus of the film will center around one of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the young crew of the USS Enterprise’s earlier adventures not seen on television.
The article also talks about the pair’s involvement with Michael Bay’s “Transformers,” the hit TV show “Lost” and more.
[Above image courtesy of imdb.com]
Alisa says
It is not YING, it is YIN, which is the female aspect. Yang is the male. I have studied the TAO (pronounced DOW), and it talks about Yin and Yang, which are oposites. Think of the black and white Chinese symbol where each us a part if the other. The symbol is supposed to represent th universe in flux, always shifting and moving back and forth between the two, like a pendulum swinging back and forth, never quite becming one or the other, but always having a piece of the other to remind us that the universe is neither All Male or All Female. The universe has both.
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Alisa
Sam says
Alisa, people from mid-west America, will get the significance of that play on words. I am aware of the ancient Tao symbolism.
In the central United States, Ying/Yang (definitely a play on the Yin and Yang concept) doesn’t have the exact same meaning as the Yin and the Yang, but implies more of a mutual disparity than opposites pulling against one another.
During the 50’s and 60’s it also became a slang term to mean someone without direction as in “That ying/yang doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
JFStan says
Sam, I have to interject here.. Even when its meaning is mutated by Americans, it is still “Yin/Yang”. Cheers to you, Alisa, for defending the original meaning, because I also dislike the misuse of the concept.
“Ying Yang” is also a euphemism for male genitalia. ๐
Sam says
I’m not discounting Alisa’s comments. She is right about the meaning of Yin and Yang. The Yin and Yang also relates to the male and female aspect of a relationship and I certainly wasn’t going there with that in the piece, but, I was aiming at exactly what the term Ying/Yang meant from my mid-West upbringing.
And besides that, Americans don’t appreciate it when Ying Yangs mutilate our male genitalia. ๐
Alisa says
Well I still don’t like the miss use of the term. I never even heard of the slang form and I’m originally from the Midwest as well. I was BORN in Nebraska. They would always say, “That YAHOO doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Please don’t miss use a very ancient and respected term that is part of the Chinese culture. It’s insulting to them and I do my best to respect every person’s culture.
Aside from the slang, I would never insult someone’s manhood let alone mutilate it, or simply insult a person because they are ignorant or actually don’t know what they are doing or supposed to do. I might think it, but I wouldn’t say it to their face or say it in writing. Those things can get you into trouble. I would rather concentrate on what’s important, not the shallow things that people seem to want to talk about, like Paris Hilton and her foolishness. For me, I am only interested in those celebrities that show depth of character.
I am curious about what Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and the script that they have written for the new ST film. I hope it will blow people out of the water. We need a new ST film. It’s been too long. Oh and another thing Yin and Yang also refers to being in balance.
David Carradine used it in his autobiography Endless Highway and used it correctly about the martial arts movement. Jerry Thorpe thought they were”up against it” with “Enter the Dragon,” as if they were competing. But David said, “We weren’t up against it. we were a part of it . . . Bruce was the yang, we were the yin. Bruce was the fire and machismo, we were the peace and humility. Together, we added up to perfect balance, like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The movement grew and we mushroomed together.”
I hope Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman used their talents to balance each other and came up with a winning script that every ST lover will appreciate, including myself.
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Alisa
Oh, and by the way, how old are you? I’m 47 going on 48. So, I was a kid in the 60’s but I still was smart enough to learn you don’t go around insulting other people. It’s just not right.
Sam says
Well, let’s see…. I was born in the 1940’s in Missouri…didn’t think I was insulting Orci and Kurtzman by stating they are team of writers with a MUTUAL DISPARITY (which I also stated serves them well in the writing of the Trek script) — plus the term YING/YANG is a hell of a lot less insulting than comparing them to the male and female universal opposite that Yin and Yang indicates. Secondly, I’m 58 and had never (until JFStan mentioned it above) ever heard of Ying/Yang being referred to as a slang for mutilation of male genitalia. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a certain quarter in America that do, but I simply have never been exposed to the term used in that sense, just as Alisa has never been exposed to the term or its meaning a mutual disparity working together in different directions but compromisingly coming together with a good end product.
Third, I have never been accused of being PC and thankfully, never will be — so perhaps everyone should take a cue from HAL and just sit down, take a chill pill and think things over — concepts get “misused” all the time, in fact most satire is based on the tongue-in-cheek (& sometime cruel) misuse of traditionally accepted concepts. But, in this case I was not being satirical but simply using a term that has been around for more than 50 years and used it in a non-disparaging way.
So my advice — Get over it.
Greg says
I’m starting to feel a little better about this upcoming movie. For a while there it seemed canon was just going to go right out the window. I’m still going to be holding my breath till the final credits though.
Not to add fuel to the fire above, but google’s pretty empty when it comes to “ying yang”. I was hoping to find a little history on this odd ‘americanism’. Like Alisa, I’d assumed that was just something people who didn’t know any better would say.
Sam says
In that case then — let me add a few more logs to the flame:
I did a little further researching on my own just so I can see if there is some real basis for the mid-western slang term Ying/Yang that pre-dates those born after the 1960’s, and who may have never had the pleasure of living in the center of the US. And, there is a real foundation upon which that term comes (something that even surprised me). It would seem that my midwest upbringing was a little more astute and cultured that I was aware. The term Ying Yang does come from ancient Chinese sources and is indirectly related to the Yin and Yang when used in describing the relationship between the 5 basic elements.
Five-Element Basic Concept:
http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/5EBasic.htm
The ancient Chinese YIN-YANG scholars believed that three are two natural, complementary and contradictory forces in our universe. The scholars named them as YIN and YANG. YIN represents the female, negative, darkness, softness, moisture, night-time, even numbers and docile aspects of things. YANG represents the male, positive, brightness, hardness, dryness, day-time. odd numbers and dominant aspects. YIN and YANG are continually in the state of flux and always looking for the BALANCE point. One moves , the other responses. Therefore, ancient scholars treated this natural phenomenon as a natural universal law.
These scholars also believed that our universe consisted of five basic elements, which are Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth (Soil). Everything, including humans, in the universe (between Heaven and Earth) must have a relationship with these five elements. So they tried to apply the five elements not only to every physical thing in the world, but also to the Colors, Directions, Seasons and Sounds. They even applied to the Years, Months, Days, Hours, Minutes and Seconds of the Chinese Calendar. Now, people are able to know their five-element weights from their birth date and time. Based on the combination of these five-element weights plus the concept of the natural phenomenon, they can tell the rise and fall of human destiny (fate) cycle.
FIVE ELEMENTS does not only mean metal, water, wood, fire and soil. The “element” in Chinese also means MOVEMENT, CHANGEABLE and DEVELOPMENT. These elements have their YING and YANG sides too. They are moving, waning, waxing and changing all the time. Just like Ying and Yang, the movements of five elements are slow and stable when they are in kind of balance. If they are out of balance, then the movements are unstable and unpredictable. When a person is in a stable (five-element) environment, he should live peacefully. When a person is in an unpredictable environment, he is easily out of control. A person will feel lucky when everything is under control. A person will feel bad luck when everything is out of control. If you want to be a lucky person, you have to move to an environment to bring your five elements into balance.
So, it would appear that my use of the slang term I was brought up with in the 1040’s and 50’s, which means a mutual disparity, was right on after all. It is amazing how the use of a term can be appropriate even if one is not familiar with its historical origins…and what is more important, is the use of it is still relevant to the situation.
As a side note: There is also a counter-culture rock/rap group called the YING/YANG Twins. Don’t believe they have anything to do with this discussion but found it interesting that they chose that name because of the somewhat mutual disparity that can exist between rock and rap and how they have used that disparity to make a blending of music that some find enjoyable to listen to.