A. Plan of the Investigation
This investigation will evaluate how different aspects of Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969) reflect the changing social standards of 1960s United States of America. In order to access these parallels, this investigation will focus on the social standards involving race and gender in both 1960s America and on the USS Enterprise in the show. The question that I will be investigating is "How did Star Trek: The Original Series reflect the changing social standards of 1960s United States of America. I will address this question through analyzing episodes from Star Trek: The Original Series, articles, and books concerning the subject.
B. Summary of Evidence
Creator and primary writer of the Star Trek: The Original Series is quoted as saying, " I have no belief that Star Trek depicts the actual future, it depicts us, now, things we need to understand about that" (Interview with Roddenberry). The "now" that Roddenberry references in this quote is the 1960s in the United States. The 1960s in the United States was the decade of the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Liberation Movement. The goal of the Civil Rights Movement was to create a "racially integrated society" with "people of all races included" (Chalberg 164). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned all racial and sexual discrimination in all areas, such as education and employment. People of different races were integrated into the same schools and allowed to work in the same workspaces as people of the Caucasian race. This reflects the crew of the USS Enterprise where characters such as Lieutenant Uhura, of African descent, and Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, of Asian descent, hold positions of power and are extremely respected amongst their Starfl...
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...ging world around the creators of the show.
Works Cited
Crawford, Oliver, and Lee Cronin. "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." Star Trek. NBC. 10 Jan. 1969. Television.
Dolinsky, Meyer. "Plato's Stepchild." Star Trek. NBC. 22 Nov. 1968. Television.
Dudley, William. The 1960s: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1997. Print.
Harrison, Taylor. Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1996. Print.
Hassler, Donald M., and Clyde Wilcox. Political Science Fiction. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, 1997. Print.
Snyder, J. W., Jr. "Star Trek: A Phenomenon of and Social Statement on the 1960s." Star Trek: A Phenomenon of and Social Statement on the 1960s. Ibiblio, 1995. Web. 27 May 2013.
Wagner, Jon G., and Jan Lundeen. Deep Space and Sacred Time: Star Trek in the American Mythos. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998. Print.
With ominous opening monologues, mind-bending special effects (at the time, anyway) and totally unexpected-twist endings, The Twilight Zone captured the attention and imagination of America at the end of one of the most influential and change-inspiring decades of the century. During the fifties, Americans experienced vast changes not only in our country's position in the world, but also in our own culture -- and one of the leading vehicles for this change was television. In a time when situation comedies and game shows dominated the air waves, Rod Serling's science fiction anthology program stood out as an example not only of the artistic potential of television in terms of writing and special effects, but also of the power television had as social commentary and a thought...
The original series ran from 1966 through 1969, in an overlap between the civil rights movement’s height and second wave feminism’s. Bigotry abounded, with workplace inequality a big issue for both groups. Despite the Civil Rights Act’s declaration that employers couldn’t discriminate based on sex, race, color, national origin, or religion, equality
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Walter M. Simon The American Political Science Review , Vol. 45, No. 2 (Jun., 1951), pp. 386-399
Hummel, William and Huntress, Keith. The Analysis of Propaganda. New York: William Sloane Associates, 1949
Star Trek Next Generation is an example of a space opera. Space opera includes a lot of romantic elements such as love stories, space battles, oversized heroes and villains, exotic locations, and gorgeous women. Anyone with even just some exposure to Western pop culture has heard of at least one of the Star Trek series. The series predicted many technological mainstays such as the tablet, automatic doors, mobile phones, and natural-language AI programing long before their commercial-market debuts. It is set about 71 years after the first series, in 2364. The show’s overarching focus is human exploration; i.e. humanity vs. alien, the discovery of new life, humanity as savage, and social/political relationships with alien cultures. The show also displays some examples of progressive gender politics. However, the show itself puts more focus on humans (the human condition) that any on any other/alien race and could have done more in the promotion of gender politics and equality.
One of the major strong points of The Fifties is the author's ostensible need to include every detail that could have impacted the formation of any aspects that pertain to the developments that shaped the fifties. This is most notable in the characterization of major figures of the time such as Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley. For example, in reference to Brando, Halberstam (1993)
His name was Shaq, captain of the Check Mate. He claimed to be a Romulan
Kernell, Samuel, Jacobson, Gary C., Kousser, Thad, & Vavreck, Lynn. 2014. The Logic of American Politics 6th ed. Los Angeles: CQ Press
The 1950s was indeed a decade of contradiction. Americans were both optimistic in the post-war economic times and scared in the shadow of the Cold War and the Atomic Age. Hollywood released many films during this period that reflected society’s paranoia and fears. Their paranoia was perpetuated by their fear of invasion and espionage, the fear of radiation and the fear of social change. Many of the films produced used the science fiction genre to dig deeper into these fears without frightening the audiences off from their political message.
This essay will examine my thoughts and those of David Sterrit on the critically acclaimed television show The Honeymooners. First, I will talk about the Honeymooners and it’s setting in postwar America. Secondly, the social and cultural issues the series portrayed. Next, would be the psychological perspective and the aesthetics of the show. Finally, the essay would conclude with my thoughts on how the Honeymooners were impacted by these aspects, but also how the show managed to leave a legacy in television today.
Star Trek showed a future of people accepting others regardless of their differences. Even those that are LGBT would be treated and respected as equals. Even the sluts (male and female alike) were accepted (i.e. Kirk and Troy). Gene Roddenberry shared with the world how he saw humans evolve past most of our differences.
Jones, W. T. Masters of Political Thought. Ed. Edward, McChesner, and Sait. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1947.
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