Star Trek and Humanity
64Earth Aflame
The Next Chapter
I know a lot has been written about the implications of Star Trek on society. While I’m sure Gene Roddenberry had a few in mind when he developed Star Trek, some seemed to be brought on by popular famdom. I think Star Trek’s biggest draw is that it showed a future Earth where everyone is equal, government is just, and warfare is eliminated. The people of Earth have turned to making themselves better, rather than chasing materialistic dreams. Wealth is not even a measure.
Roddenberry’s rosy outlook on our future came at a time while the Cold War raged, and was, I’m sure, a sought after end-game. Who wouldn’t want that utopia where everyone worked towards a common goal. Before this starts to sound like a certain John Lennon song, hear me out. I think the idea Gene was trying to get across was that we will be unable to explore and live in the vastness of space, until our home planet is peaceful and free of tyranny. Hunger, famine, war, terrorism, bigotry, etc all need to go away for the human race to take that next step. This sounds a bit preachy, even to me, and understand I’m a realist, and that these things will come neither easily, or soon.
I guess my original thought of why Star Trek appeals to so many, is that it is a universal beacon. That the future can indeed be better than today.
(That’s assuming the world doesn’t end in 2012. Just kidding!)
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Which Star Trek Series do you like the most?
See results without voting- Star Trek's Impact on Society and Technology
Popular culture has an impact upon aspects of people’s lives, the global culture, and even the economy. The romance of space exploration can find no better influence than Star Trek.
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A great hub and I am an avid fan of Star Trek,so this one was a treat.
I vote up;and now look forward to reading many more by you.
Take care
Eiddwen.
I was drawn by your username, of course. I hope the directors and creators who have inherited Roddenberry's Trek will remember this core value of his vision: hope, the idea that we really can make a better future. In entertainment, nowadays, it's a trend to show greed, petty factions, and the ugly side of humanity eroding our aspirations and working against our better impulses. This trend started in Star Trek not long after Roddenberry passed away. It's all too true: we tend to start great enterprises with words of "hope" and "change" and end up getting brought up short by practical, political, and other barriers. Infighting and conflicting self-interests take their toll. But Star Trek is an important symbol to remind us of what we're striving for. I hope Trek's custodians don't lose sight of that potent mythology in the pursuit of trying to make Trek more realistic, and its characters and portrait of the future more humanly flawed.
Greek, I couldn't have said that better myself. Bravo!
I am a big Trekkie since the Enterprise days. Well done. May you live long and prosper my friend.
You as well, Tammy! Watch those Klingons, they don't take prisoners.
Cool first hub Dave! Sorry, I'm not a trekkie. But I can comment that I too hope the future is better than today. I think you are on to something here . . .
Sharyn
Interesting to look at Star Trek in its social context - particularly in terms of the Cold War.
The original series was sold to the Network VPs and Sponsors as "Wagon Train in space" (a concept they could readily grasp - Westerns were still very big then, and guaranteed money-makers).
I love the idealism of Roddenberry's vision. He was showing us a new world of possibilities, in the ultra-conservative medium of TV. In retrospect, it might seem preachy, but in its time the first Star Trek series was ground-breaking in terms of ethnic casting and women's roles (Yeoman Rand aside).
Hey, thank you for mentioning the "Wagon Train" story, that is absolutely true, and important to mention in Star Trek's early beginnings.
slmorgan 9 months ago
I definitely liked the original series / never had time to follow the others. I only watched a few episodes of the other series / cannot say I did not like them, but that the original was great.I agree with you that Roddenberry's world will not come easy or soon, but we can aspire to the dream. Thank-you for the hub.Interesting.