An International Approach to Star Trek.
Running Time: 1 hour 45 minutes 25 seconds
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Is the final frontier of Star Trek’s imagined future as quintessentially American as its 19th-century forbear, the Wild West? For more than 50 years, Star Trek has presented a decidedly internationalist vision of humanity’s future, while at the same time leaning very heavily on ideals and rhetoric specific to the United States.
In this episode of Primitive Culture, hosts Clara Cook and Duncan Barrett discuss Star Trek in an international context, in comparison with some other sci-fi shows from around the world. We touch on the German show Raumpatrouille, a fascinating contemporary of TOS which, sadly, only ran for seven episodes. We also consider how our own status as fans outside the US has influenced our appreciation of Star Trek, question whether the franchise’s vision of the future is one that could only have sprung from mid-20th-century America, and ponder what Star Trek might have looked like had it emerged from a very different culture.
Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
American Exceptionalism (00:10:11)
Dubbing, Subtitles, and the Universal Translator (00:28:40)
Hyphenated Identities (00:44:25)
Comparative Treks (00:53:45)
Stowaways and Space Pirates (01:05:40)
The Past Is Another Planet (01:17:20)
Meanwhile, in a Parallel Universe … (01:29:26)
Hosts
Clara Cook and Duncan Barrett
Production
Clara Cook (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)
Music in Star Trek. We take a look at how Trek’s underscore has developed over more than half a century with musicologists Jessica Getman and Evan Ware.
Half a Decade of Primitive Culture. In this special episode, recorded earlier this year, we look back on the podcast and how Star Trek has changed in the time we’ve been podcasting.
Cardassian war crimes and The Man in the Glass Booth. We look at the DS9 episode “Duet” alongside The Man in the Glass Booth, as well as the presentation of war crimes in Star Trek more generally.
Autistic representation in Star Trek. We look at Trek’s history of (accidental) representation of neurodiversity, considering characters such as Data, Seven of Nine, Reginald Barclay, and Sylvia Tilly.
Star Trek’s Double Troubles. We look doppelgängers and duplicates from The Original Series through Lower Decks.
Trans Representation in Star Trek. We look at how Star Trek accidentally addressed the topic in TNG and DS9.
The Alien franchise and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. We take a look at “All Those Who Wander” alongside the Alien franchise.
How Star Trek’s leaders reflect our own. We talk about the parallels between Star Trek’s leaders and our own, and ask whether Star Trek has finally managed to marry the military ethos of Starfleet with the business of intergalactic politics.
Star Trek’s backdoor pilots. We take a look at the original attempt to establish a spinoff series, “Assignment: Earth,” as well as more recent examples including Strange New Worlds and more potential offspring of Discovery.
What if it wasn’t the Vulcans who made first contact? In honor of First Contact Day, we imagine how things might have played out for humanity had it been the Klingons, Romulans, or others passing by on April 5, 2063.