The Voyages of Star Trek : A Mirror on American Society Through Time

Star Trek emerged alongside mini-skirts, bellbottoms, and VW vans; flourished in the shadow of Madonna, big hair, and greed; and expanded with computers, Beanie Babies, and religious revitalization. Star Trek survived the culture shock of 9/11 and experienced a revival in the era of yoga pants, hybrid cars, and Starbucks. After more than 5 decades, Star Trek is alive and well, still voyaging through space and time. But, why is that? How has this science fiction franchise managed to anticipate and adapt to such rapid culture change? In The Voyages of Star Trek: A Mirror on American Society through Time, authors K. M. Heath and A. S. Carlisle, investigate the enduring appeal of Star Trek , noting how it has mirrored, foreshadowed, and adapted to contemporary American culture from 1966 to the present. Through anthropological analysis, the authors examine the evolution of Star Trek by tying its storylines to events and developments in the U.S., assessing the extent to which the visual image of Star Trek is reflected on the screen from “snapshots” of randomly selected episodes and all of the films. By examining how Star Trek addressed contemporary social issues through a sci-fi lens over time, the authors postulate, Americans can better understand their own changing culture. If StarTrek can continue to anticipate and adapt to our rapidly changing world, then it should remain a part of the cultural landscape for another 50 years, truly going where few franchises have gone before. Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 10 Introduction 14 1 Mirror, Mirror: Star Trek: The Original Series, 1966–1969 22 2 Interlude I: Star Trek Fandom: 1969–1987 38 3 Encounter at Farpoint: The Next Generation: 1987–1994 46 4 Q-Less: Deep Space Nine: 1993–1999 68 5 Living Witness: Voyager: 1995–2001 84 6 Terra Prime: Enterprise: 2001–2005 98 7 Interlude II: Star Trek Fandom: 2005–2017 118 8 Context Is for Kings: Discovery: 2017– 128 9 Star Trek in the Theaters 144 10 Melding Fifty-Plus Years 160 Notes 166 Bibliography 192 Filmography 204 Index 218 About the Authors 228 Mirror, mirror : Star trek 1966-1969 -- Interlude I : Star trek fandom 1969-1987 -- Encounter at farpoint : The next generation 1987-1994 -- Q-less : Deep Space Nine 1993-1999 -- Living witness : Voyager 1995-2001 -- Terra prime : Enterprise 2001-2005 -- Interlude II : Star trek fandom 2005-2017 -- Context is for kings : discovery 2017- -- Star trek in the theaters -- Melding 50-plus years "This volume looks at how each Star Trek series reflected the cultural landscape of its time-from the original series that ran from 1966 to 1969 to the most recent iteration-and how it became a worldwide phenomenon, not only generating numerous spin-offs and multiple features but inspiring countless other pop culture shows, films, books, graphic novels, etc" --Provided by publisher