Star Trek Vulcan Salute: Benedict, You’re Doing It Wrong!
In 1966, screenwriter and producer Gene Roddenberry came up with a new TV series that would become one of the most popular and successful franchises in science fiction: Star Trek. Set about 300 years in the future, “The Original Series” followed the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew aboard the starship Enterprise on their mission to explore the galaxy. Other Star Trek series with different crews and twelve movies followed, as well as books, comics, games, magazines, and merchandise of all kind. Star Trek fans (‘trekkies’) even achieved to have one of NASA’s space shuttles named ‘Enterprise’.
Today, thanks to the new films with a young crew by J.J. Abrams, Star Trek has become popular again. The iconic uniform shirts in red, yellow and blue and catchphrases such as ‘Beam me up, Scottie’ (although never said in the series) are fully integrated in popular culture and known even beyond Trekkies. The same goes for Vulcan Spock’s salute, a greeting gesture with a raised hand, palm forward, with the index and middle finger parted from the ring and little finger, and the thumb extended. The salute is often accompagnied by the famous phrase ‘live long and prosper’.
Spock actor Leonard Nimoy apparently came up with the salute gesture himself. He based it on the priestly blessing, a prayer recited during Jewish services with both hands. Since then, and with a bit of practice necessary, the Vulcan salute has been recreated by countless people on and off screen.
Among these people is a certain actor we all know and cherish who played a charismatic (not so much) villain who’s better at everything. During the promotion of the film (Star Trek Into Darkness), Benedict didn’t get tired of doing the Vulcan salute. However, instead of extending it away from the hand, he’s holding his thumb close to the hand or even at an angle (picture). Not so much better at everything after all.
I fear that millions of young fans will now copy him instead of Leonard Nimoy. My warning therefore goes out to all of you: Benedict, you’re doing it wrong!
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