Anthropology of Star Trek: Exploring core cultural concepts by Frazetti Daryl

Author:Frazetti, Daryl [Frazetti, Daryl]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2016-07-09T16:00:00+00:00

Family and the Federation

The anti-marital bias of the original series should not be altogether surprising. In the milieu of the late 1960’s, marriage was high on the list of social institutions that came under fire from a broad variety of social critics, including radical psychologists, Marxists, feminists, and various other prophets of counter culture. It was widely believed that freedom from “repressive” and “possessive” monogamous restrictions not only would bring a release of positive psychosexual energies but would also foster a more healthy lifestyle that would in turn lead to more equitable relationship between the sexes. In retrospect, it is clear that freeing sexuality from the constraints of monogamy and traditional morality, on the one hand, and freeing women from the burdens of male domination on the other, are two different issues that are only tangentially related to one another. As the original series illustrates in an unintended way, some classic patriarchal notions can thrive even in a world with little overt restriction of sexuality.6

The 23rd Century society envisioned in the original series idealizes the behavior of humans unfettered by traditional sexual restrictions. Never is it suggested that sex is harmful or immoral. Sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies are, one may assume, things of the past. It is understood from the beginning that people are free in this future world to have sexual relations when and with whom they choose, without it becoming such a moral issue. Yet, this is not a focal point to life in space. In fact, the most striking things about most aspects of sexual relations in the 23rd Century is how little has changed.

One thing, however, has changed radically. In keeping with the anti-marital biases of the original series, marriage and the family have all but vanished from the 23rd Century universe. No central character aboard the original Enterprise has a spouse or regular partner either on or off the ship. They also do not show relatives of much of any kind during the series, though we do see that Kirk had a brother in “Operation: Annihilate,” along with nephews. Roddenberry himself had felt that marriage in its present form could not possibly continue into the distant future.

Marriage, when it does appear, is often portrayed as an escape, a digression, a punishment. Captain Pike is reunited with Vina in “The Menagerie,” but only because he too has been horribly disfigured by an accident, and the life of illusion offered by the Talosians is the only prospect left for him. When McCoy thinks he is terminally ill in “For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky,” he decides to stay on a remote planet and get married; but as soon as his health is restored, he bails out. Captain Kirk finds marital bliss with the Native American character, Miramanee while in a state of amnesia in “The Paradise Syndrome,” but she and their unborn child die just as he recovers the knowledge of his true identity. Spock falls in love while under

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.