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The Social Satire In Star Trek

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Recommended: Television and Society

The subject that I have chosen to focus my report on is the groundbreaking social commentary present in the 1966 television show Star Trek. The original series takes place in the 23rd century on a ship called the USS Enterprise. In this imagined future the earth has unified under the United Federation of Planet, which is founded with many altruistic Principles. In this future of humanity evils such as poverty, racism, sexism, authoritarianism, imperialism, classism, and war are eradicated. With the absence of these negative aspects of human society the principles of an Egalitarian, peaceful society stand unhindered. Humanity of the 23rd century strives for diversity, discover, adventure, exploration and the promotion of citizens working together to great a better future. …show more content…

I will find the specific incidences of these taboo subjects across the many series and movies. From there I will research the public’s reactions to these episodes and what the current standards for appropriate subjects for public discussion were at the time. I will research what sociologist, psychologist, and writers have taken away from the expression of these sexual themes in the show. I will find what the actors who portrayed these controversial character believe was the purpose of their characters were. Finally, I plan to try to find any specified changes in the American peoples understanding of these issues and look for any real world consequences of these issues being discussed on television.
I know my thesis may change and evolve as I conduct this research but for now I have the current thesis as such: The television franchise Star Trek has been able to tackle the socially taboo issue of deviation from hetero-normativity in an innocuous, yet public, setting years before the issues were deemed suitable for public

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