Summary: This post looks at the evolution of the Star Trek “universe” from 1964 through today, using it as a mirror to help us see how we’ve changed. It gives us a clear picture, but one we might not want to see. This is the second in this series about the militarization of American society; see the conclusion tomorrow. {2nd of 2 posts today.}
GARTH: “You, Captain, are second only to me as the finest military commander in the galaxy.”
KIRK: “That’s very flattering. I am primarily an explorer now, Captain Garth.”— From “Whom the Gods Destroy”, first aired January 1969. It was a different America.
Contents
- Evolution of the Star Trek universe.
- The evolution of Star Trek is America’s.
- Other posts in this series.
- For More Information.
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(1) Evolution of the Star Trek universe
One often-mentioned aspect of the great Star Trek saga, first conceived in 1964 and still running, is that it provides a mirror showing the evolution of American society. The longest trend is its gradual militarization. Roddenberry pitched it as a “Wagon Train” to the stars, explorers moving though a new universe of wonders. The Enterprise met new peoples, sometimes hostile, sometimes friends, sometimes incomprehensible.
Mostly episodes in the original Trek featured exploration, commerce, and diplomacy. These took place during a cold war with the Klingons and Romulans, with some conflicts and even battles (echoing the geopolitics of the 1960s). There were shows about frontier clashes (“Balance of Terror”, “Arena”, ), proxy wars (“A Private Little War”), cold war gamesmanship (“The Enterprise Incident”, “Journey to Babel”), fighting off invaders (“By Any Other Name”), and an outbreak of total war (“Errand of Mercy”).
But these were more than offset by the explicitly anti-war tone of the series (“The Doomsday Machine”, “Day of the Dove”, “Spectre of the Gun”, “The Corbomite Maneuver”, “A Taste of Armageddon”, and the twist endings to “Errand of Mercy” and “Arena”).
The series slowly grew darker, generation by generation, as the Star Trek universe shifted from Roddenberry’s original vision to that of today’s neocons. Deep Space 9 was a war story. Voyager journeyed though a realm of high tech races that resembled the Balkans. I consider this among the darkest of scenarios, where sentient species develop god-like powers without intellectual, moral, or spiritual growth.
The last series, “Enterprise” wars are ever-present: between Andorians and Vulcans, an invasion by the Sphere Builders (in which millions on Earth were killed, and the planet itself escaped destruction by seconds), and a temporal cold war (which briefly turned hot and almost destroyed our time line).
(2) The evolution of Star Trek is like that of America
“Nothing that resembles Gene’s humanistic vision would be allowed on TV screens today. What we would get would be a militarized Starfleet, a lot of technobabble and, of course, great special effects; perfect for the action figure market.”
— By LongTomH in a discussion thread at Democratic Underground.
The Star Trek world became one in which trust was for fools, strangers were usually enemies, and often only amoral measures can prevent the end of humanity. Star Trek was always a to help us see the world differently. Like so many things these days, from flying to reading the news,it now serves the neocons.
Especially the news, now a propaganda machine overflowing with stories about civil wars abroad (existential threats to us), rivals building new weapons (a hostile act when done by them), and endless stories about our military and foreign affairs (which concern either economic or military affairs). See one day’s examples here., making us feel insecure and so easily ruled. Plus a constant barrage of fear about so many things, including the imminent threat of domestic terrorism (which seldom appears). The GOP mocks Obama, one of the most aggressive Presidents in his use of force, as weak or even a pacifist.
Fifty years have passed since Gene Roddenberry first pitched his idea to NBC. According to his original vision, by now we would have won the mid-1990s Eugenics Wars (aka WWIII, described in “Space Seed”), with our nuclear powered vessels (like the DY-100 class) traveling through the solar system. Instead we’ve taken the resources with which we could have done great things — especially after the Cold War ended from 1989 (Berlin Wall fell) to 1991 (Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union dissolved) — and in effect burned them.
Instead we’ve increased spending on military and intelligence not just disproportionate to any threat but largely irrelevant to our actual threats (we’re “ready for wars past and future, but not present.”). Even worse, we’ve initiated a mad series of foreign wars that’s set the Middle East aflame.
The result: our confidence in the Republic’s institutions has fallen across the board, with the military (and police) the only ones retaining our confidence (per Gallup).
(3) Star Trek’s fans are Americans, and so blind
Star Trek, like so much of science fiction in American film and TV, has become all war, all the time. It’s true as well, to a lesser extent, of fantasy and science fiction in print.
Oddly, this evolution of the Star Trek series has gone largely unnoticed by Star Trek fans. They see and debate the obvious militarization of Star Fleet — and the degree to which it is justified by the threats to the Federation. But they don’t see that the Trek universe itself has changed from Roddenberry’s vision in which peace and justice could be realized to the neocons’ jungle described by Lord Tennyson’s “In Memoriam A.H.H.” (1849):
- Who trusted God was love indeed
And love Creation’s final law
Tho’ Nature, red in tooth and claw
With ravine, shriek’d against his creed
- … So runs my dream, but what am I?
An infant crying in the night
An infant crying for the light
And with no language but a cry.
(4) Other posts in this series
- A key aspect of the New America: permanent militarization of society.
- The neocons have captured the Star Trek universe, as they’ve captured America.
- Why are we militarizing American society?
(5) For More Information
If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See the bible: Making of Star Trek
For something more serious I recommended reading these to help you better understand our times:
- “War is the health of the state” by Randolph Bourne (1918).
- War Is a Racket
- The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War
- Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power
