The impetus behind the conception of the original “Star Trek” series of the late
sixties was to give its audience a change from the stereotypical Western themed
programs dominating the airwaves. From its very modest beginnings, however, Star
Trek’s lead creator, Gene Roddenbery, had much farther-reaching goals. Soon
demonstrating that it was more than a mere “wagon train to the stars” as Roddenbery
originally claimed, the series invariably raised the question: “What makes us human?”
Since its profound beginnings the Star Trek franchise has since expanded to include 5
different television series, not including a brief animated series, and a total of 10 feature
films so far. Of this vast library of pop philosophy regarding the …show more content…
As each theory takes a “top-down” perspective on a text
vis-à-vis consideration of the socio-historic conditions of the culture from which the text
originated, this paper is structured in a similar fashion; first, theoretically significant
connections regarding Marxist and Race / Ethnic consideration will be established within
century America.
the text itself, the antagonistic race of “the Borg” acting as a symbolic threat towards
both individualism and racial identity; second, these conclusions will be applied to
aspects of popular American culture that they mimic, proving that this metaphor
functions in a highly specialized way by tapping into key characteristics of traditionally
threatening aspects of contemporary and historical American ideology. By this method
of critique it will be shown that although these threats have become a thing of the past,
they still retain great influence in contemporary American ideology.
Before moving on to a detailed analysis of “the Borg” in the text of “First
Contact”, a brief introduction to the basic elements of plot are necessary. The film …show more content…
Within the Borg power
structure, all participants’ being part of a single mind, there is no individual limitation
of will, thus no hesitation or conflict. The “drones”, unlike the crew of the “Enterprise”,
have no reservations about sacrificing their lives for the benefit of the collective just as
they can not question orders, something that is portrayed as an issue for the crew of the
Enterprise due to individual interests. Naturally, from a Marxist perspective, the Borg
power structure metaphor represents the highest ideal of socialist government.
While the citizens of the Federation claim that “personal wealth is no
longer the driving force in our life” as it is in contemporary America, Picard, the Captain
and absolute leader of the “Enterprise”, states that they “seek to better ourselves and
humanity” instead. While by neglecting the notion of currency it would seem that this
futuristic ideology also neglects the goal of attaining personal power, this notion is
clearly undermined by the presence of the hierarchal power structure over
sixties was to give its audience a change from the stereotypical Western themed
programs dominating the airwaves. From its very modest beginnings, however, Star
Trek’s lead creator, Gene Roddenbery, had much farther-reaching goals. Soon
demonstrating that it was more than a mere “wagon train to the stars” as Roddenbery
originally claimed, the series invariably raised the question: “What makes us human?”
Since its profound beginnings the Star Trek franchise has since expanded to include 5
different television series, not including a brief animated series, and a total of 10 feature
films so far. Of this vast library of pop philosophy regarding the …show more content…
As each theory takes a “top-down” perspective on a text
vis-à-vis consideration of the socio-historic conditions of the culture from which the text
originated, this paper is structured in a similar fashion; first, theoretically significant
connections regarding Marxist and Race / Ethnic consideration will be established within
century America.
the text itself, the antagonistic race of “the Borg” acting as a symbolic threat towards
both individualism and racial identity; second, these conclusions will be applied to
aspects of popular American culture that they mimic, proving that this metaphor
functions in a highly specialized way by tapping into key characteristics of traditionally
threatening aspects of contemporary and historical American ideology. By this method
of critique it will be shown that although these threats have become a thing of the past,
they still retain great influence in contemporary American ideology.
Before moving on to a detailed analysis of “the Borg” in the text of “First
Contact”, a brief introduction to the basic elements of plot are necessary. The film …show more content…
Within the Borg power
structure, all participants’ being part of a single mind, there is no individual limitation
of will, thus no hesitation or conflict. The “drones”, unlike the crew of the “Enterprise”,
have no reservations about sacrificing their lives for the benefit of the collective just as
they can not question orders, something that is portrayed as an issue for the crew of the
Enterprise due to individual interests. Naturally, from a Marxist perspective, the Borg
power structure metaphor represents the highest ideal of socialist government.
While the citizens of the Federation claim that “personal wealth is no
longer the driving force in our life” as it is in contemporary America, Picard, the Captain
and absolute leader of the “Enterprise”, states that they “seek to better ourselves and
humanity” instead. While by neglecting the notion of currency it would seem that this
futuristic ideology also neglects the goal of attaining personal power, this notion is
clearly undermined by the presence of the hierarchal power structure over