Living with Star Trek American Culture and the Star Trek Universe

by Geraghty, Lincoln

• ISBN13: 9781845114213
• ISBN10: 1845114213
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-15
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

This book is a welcome and original contribution to the world of 'Star Trek.' The book not only sets 'Star Trek' in dialogue with ideas and stories of utopia, community, self-improvement, that are central to American culture and history, but goes further to examine the complex ways in which these are taken up and used by 'ordinary' fans, who engage with 'Star Trek' in complex and significant ways. Lincoln Geraghty explores, for example, 'Star Trek's multiple histories and how 'Star Trek' and the American Jeremiad, one of the nation's foundational texts, refer back to the past to prophesy a better future. He reveals how fans define the series as a blueprint for the solution of such social problems in America as racism and war and shows how they have used the series to cope with personal trauma and such characters as Data and Seven of Nine in moments of personal transformation. This is all in all a revelatory and original book on 'Star Trek' as both TV and cinema.

Author Biography

Lincoln Geraghty is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies in the Department of Creative Arts, Film and Media, University of Portsmouth.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Living with Star Trek

"Carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives": History, Myth, and 'Star Trek's Exemplary Narratives

A Look to the Past: Reality and 'Star Trek's Multiple Histories

Telling Tales of the Future: 'Star Trek's Exemplary Narratives

Creating and Comparing Myth: 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars'

"For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us": The American Jeremiad and 'Star Trek's Puritan Legacy

"The shifting signs of the times": The Jeremiad and American Culture

A Change in the City: 'Star Trek's Puritan Legacy and the Politics of the Cold War

A Network of Support: Identification and Emotion in 'Star Trek' Fan Letters

"A Reason to Live": 'Star Trek's Utopia and Social Change

Help when Times are Hard: Coping with Trauma through the 'Star Trek' Community

The Pleasure of the 'Trek': Confessions of Self-Improvement and Individualism

Fans on Film: Explorations of Future History and 'Star Trek' Fan Culture

Poles Apart: Future Time, 'Deep Space Nine' and 'Enterprise's "Faith of the Heart"

"Oh my God, it's Real!": Crossing the Frontiers of 'Star Trek' Fandom in 'Galaxy Quest'

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.