The Final Frontier: 10 Political Messages Beamed Through “Star Trek”
December 12, 2010 at 11:30 pm | Posted in NewsRealBlog | 2 CommentsTags: Borg, Communism, environmentalism, Hollywood, Klingons, NewsReal Blog, Peace, Romulans, science fiction, Socialism, Star Trek, The Concession Stand, United Nations
by Walter Hudson, contributed to NewsReal Blog
Science fiction affords storytellers the opportunity to couch political ideas within fantastic metaphors. In this way, ideas can be explored which might otherwise seem objectionable. In some cases, an audience might not consciously realize they are being influenced to think a certain way.
Perhaps the greatest example of science fiction writing which has pushed a particular ideology upon the popular culture is Star Trek. Over the course of nearly five decades, the brand has expanded from televisions series into feature films, countless books, fan conventions, and mounts of merchandise.
Why has Star Trek been so popular? Creator Gene Roddenberry attributed the original series’ success to the philosophy it espoused.
The whole show was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but to take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms. We tried to say that the worst possible thing that can happen to all of us is for the future to somehow press us into a common mould, where we begin to act and talk and look and think alike. If we cannot learn to actually enjoy those small differences, take a positive delight in those small differences between our own kind, here on this planet, then we do not deserve to go out into space and meet the diversity that is almost certainly out there. And I think that this is what people responded to.
Ironically, this multicultural meme leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Tolerating every idea enables ideas which are destructive. As the franchise has progressed, it has (perhaps unwittingly) demonstrated this flaw in its own message.
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As a lifelong Trek fan, I’m afraid I must violently disagree with many of these conclusions, most notably what is said here about the Borg. It has always seemed completely obvious to me that the Borg are a metaphor for corporate America, right down to the cubes–what could be more obvious? Forcing everyone to conform to the collective goals, eliminate all individual thought, stifle all debate, all ability to make individual ethical or moral conclusions? Hellooooo?!?!? It’s a corporate wet dream! You don’t even have to pay ‘em or give them breaks, because they go and regenerate in the corner and then get back to work!
This also fails to take all of the episodes into account, since the Borg turn out not to actually be an exception to the rule about people’s having the capacity to overcome all enmity. For example, the Borg eventually team up with the Voyager crew to combat a common enemy, and also in Next Gen, there is a point where some of the Borg get accidentally detached from the Collective and discover their individuality. What results is that they begin to think for themselves and make their own decisions and conclusions about moral/ethical issues; even if they don’t all come to the best conclusions, the ultimate message is that there is hope even for the Borg. If anything, it’s an affirmation of liberal ideals in the face of attempted corporate control of our humanity.
Comment by Michal— May 1, 2011 #
There’s one word which unequivocally proves my analogy superior to yours – force. Corporations do not force anyone to do anything. If you don’t want to work for them, you don’t have to. The Left, on the other hand, is all about forcing people to do what they do not want to do. Government is force. That is its nature. Relying upon government activism to craft a “perfect” world is an exercise in tyranny.
The Borg do not ask for volunteers. They do not hire. They do not trade value for value. They do not produce. They do not pay dividends. They do not invest. All they do is consume. Their quest for “perfection,” never met, drives them to expand further and further, to encroach evermore upon the free. Their sole value is sacrifice. How does this compare to a corporation?
The only point at which a corporation takes on the attributes of the Borg is when it co-opts, or allows itself to be co-opted by, government. Again, force is the definitive trait. Whether its corporate subsidies, or regulation which protects a corporate cartel, government is the only entity which can exert force.
Go back and watch those episodes you cite. Why do the Borg team up with Voyager? Is it out of the kindness of their hive heart? No. They reluctantly ally because they have no other choice. It is a pragmatic, not principled decision. They waste no time reneging once their purpose has been served. The individuals who escape the collective are not a testament to its virtue. Certainly, they affirm classical liberal ideals, which are opposite those of the contemporary Left.
Comment by Walter Scott Hudson— May 2, 2011 #