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The nineteenth episode of the second season of "Star Trek," called "A Private Little War" has long been viewed as a metaphor for the Vietnam War. It involves the proliferation of arms, the deliberate involvement in another nation's civil war, and the nature of the Prime Directive. It also ends on a line of dialogue that can be read one of two ways. To this author, the ending of "A Private Little War" is clear. A quick poll of Trekkies, however, finds that many others interpret the ending in the opposite way. Let us delve. 

At the beginning of "A Private Little War," Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are visiting a placid planet called Neural. The visit is leaving Kirk feeling nostalgic, as this planet was the site of his first planetary survey when he was a mere lieutenant some 13 years prior. Kirk points out that...

The Ann Arbor Film Festival, having survived their half-a-century blowout in 2012, is back with another rip-roarin’ 51st edition in 2013, which will run from March 19-24, screening a mind-boggling amount of experimental short films and a few features.

Highlights of the fest include:

Special presentations by this year’s jurors, including Marcin Gizycki round-up of Polish animation from the 1950s to the present; Laida Lertxundi’s selection of some of her films as well as her biggest influences; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s mini-retrospective of his own films.

There’s also special tributes to Pat O’Neill, including a retrospective of his short films from the ’70s to the present as well as a screening of his 1989 35mm experimental epic Water and Power; Suzan Pitt, with selections of short films from her career; and a screening of Ken Burns’ latest doc The Central Park Five, co-directed with his daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon,...