Social Injustice In Star Trek

Star Trek and the Attitude of the 60s

Star Trek series has many episodes that have social commentary, making strong comments on sexism, improving race relations (racism), militarism, xenophobia and all other major issues during the 60s. By the time the first episode aired in 1966, Congress had passed numerous civil rights acts, the Voting Right Act in 1965 and the constitutional amendments outlawing poll taxes and other disfranchisement tactics. There are many illustrations in which Star Trek brings up the question of these social injustices. To begin with the crew of the Enterprise was racially mixed to represent all of mankind. In fact, two regular characters that represent minorities rapidly gaining status in American society, Lt. Sulu

It revealed a highly nuanced and pragmatic view of humanity 's frequent, destructive embrace of warfare. The enterprise encounters a planet that is at war with one of its neighbors, but it seems to be a thriving civilization, not affected by the carnage of war, but to reduce it to computer simulated attacks and requiring the "casualties" to report for disintegration. The Eminians keep bragging about how their society flourishes despite the war, Kirk destroys their computer which is an abrogation of the treaty signed between the two planets. He destroys the computer of the Eminians, so that they will finally realize that the carnage, brutality of war makes it something to be avoided (instead of continuing the ongoing war for future centuries). War, when reduced to mere numbers, becomes painless and unobjectionable. The moral of the story, it was trying to push across here is to object to that reformulation of war. This episode attempts to address war and peace issues, it could have been made in larger statements nevertheless, it chose not to for various reasons. In fact, this is clearly stated in Captain Kirk 's speech: "death,