... Paved with the Best Intentions? Utopian Spaces in Star Trek, the Original Series (NBC, 1966-1969)

This paper is an examination of the ways in which the science fiction series Star Trek of the 1960s sheds light on a crucial moment in American history, the social context of which includes political turmoil and the questioning of mainstream values. The very structure of the episodes, often introduced by the captain’s log giving a stardate and a summary of the current situation of the starship Enterprise’s mission-in-progress, points to the exploratory traditions of the American nation built over an almost 300-year period of westward expansion. It is possible, then, to draw a parallel between the Enterprise’s journeys through the universe in search of “strange new planets and civilizations” (dixit Kirk’s voice in the credit scene) and the American quest for new lands needed to perpetuate the utopian project of democratic society first set into motion by the Puritans of New England in the 17th century. Indeed, throughout the three seasons Captain Kirk and his crew will beam down to numerous planets said to be, in the words of various characters, a “paradise”. Yet most of these spaces have somehow gone wrong: mad Earthmen have become dictators, terrorized natives are controlled by dysfunctional computers, or apparently beautiful, luxuriant forests filled in fact with poisonous plants kill and maim any human naive enough to venture there. Several other episodes explore the theme of parallel worlds where the “evil” potential of the Federation is exposed: the most emblematic episode entitled “Mirror, Mirror” thrusts Kirk into a parallel universe in which the Federation is a barbaric war-driven empire. One can wonder, then, to what extent the series challenges the utopian roots of the American world-view, treating it as a thin veneer behind which darker intentions can be easily exposed.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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