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The Politics of Star Trek

smitty_one_each writes: Timothy Sandefur, a lawyer at the Pacific Legal Foundation has written a breezy overview of the politics of the little-known show Star Trek. His thesis: "...the key to Star Trek's longevity and cultural penetration was its seriousness of purpose, originally inspired by creator Gene Roddenberry's science fiction vision. Modeled on Gulliver's Travels, the series was meant as an opportunity for social commentary, and it succeeded ingeniously, with episodes scripted by some of the era's finest science fiction writers. Yet the development of Star Trek's moral and political tone over 50 years also traces the strange decline of American liberalism since the Kennedy era." The article traces through episodes at each phase of the franchise, exploring literary allusions and lamenting that "Star Trek's latest iterations — the 'reboot' films directed by J.J. Abrams — shrug at the franchise's former philosophical depth."

4 of 485 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not many morals in the federation really by ShoulderOfOrion · · Score: 4, Funny

    One of my other favorite Dr. Who 'isms: Any being with awe-inspiring powers must have an equally large power supply somewhere. Find it. Unplug it.

    None of this Q nonsense.

  2. Re:The people asked for Circuses... by r-diddly · · Score: 3, Funny

    As I recall, there were not one but two memorable characters... unfortunately both were attached Jeri Ryan's chest.

  3. Re:Horseshit by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Viola you've expanded the Star Trek universe

    It's "voila," you bassoon.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  4. Re:Way too lib by nomadic · · Score: 3, Funny

    Hey, just because the fruits of automation have never been shared by the many doesn't mean it won't start spontaneously happening!