Star Trek

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Star Trek

When most people hear William Shatner split the infamous infinitive: “to boldly go…,” they conjure a mental image of middle-aged men, donning tight Starfleet uniforms, perusing immense Trekkie conventions; they picture these fans buying things like hand-phaser television remotes and costumes for their pets and discussing the recent Klingon translation of Hamlet. Few people, however, take the time to investigate the phenomenon that could spawn such fandom. The truth: for 30 years Star Trek has delighted audiences around the world with over 600 television episodes, hundreds of books, ten full length movies (to date), dozens of games and computer software applications, and an assortment of merchandise. The television franchise, winner of several Emmy Awards, has at times been the highest rated show on television. It is no surprise that among the thousands inspired by show, the International Astronomical Union and those responsible for the first space shuttle stand apart; the Union named a star “Roddenberry” after the show’s creator and the shuttle bore the designation of its legendary star ship: Enterprise.

Truly, Star Trek has captured the hearts and imaginations of the people, yet most people dismiss the franchise as another cheesy science fiction melodrama. Aside from the shows’ obvious allures--the exciting, suspenseful, and complex plots and beautifully rendered characters—the weekly interstellar adventures provide a unique forum for literary exploration. Through the creation of one possible future, Gene Roddenberry forwards the most noble quality of his secular humanist philosophy: its notion of the inherent capacity of humanity to mold its future as one as glorious as Roddenberry’s fictional one. The shows’ investigation of gender and race relations, intricate metaphysical themes, and skillful literary allusions, Roddenberry nurtured his show into the ongoing masterpiece it is now. As its significance has evolved from literary to cultural, Star Trek has come to embody the best parts of its creator and his philosophy: the embrace of all forms of diversity and its implications, the necessity for philosophical inquiry in all parts of life, and the beauty of humanity and the art which represents it.

Star Trek, when it aired in the 1960's, presented the public with a revolutionary conception of science fiction; for the first time, science fiction forwarded a positive message. Replacing the scenes of science gone awry found in Shelley’s Frankenstein or the terrifying imagery of alien conquest in Wells’ War of the Worlds were scenes of peace and comfort.

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