popular culture?

[Lance]

Greg Cox wrote:

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The problem, from a dramatic standpoint, is that to have a future celebrity you have to have to first invent some sort of future art or sport

This just reminded me, although they call Baseball a relic which is seldom remembered, it does still seem to carry some currency in the 24th century. Buck Bokai (sp?) is recognised very much as a celebrity.

[The Wormhole]

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

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Also the "Vulcan Love Slave" holosuite programs on DS9. Which, given what we would later see on ENT ("Acquisition"), were probably based on T'Pol.

In fact the novels suggest just that. I think according to a DS9 novel, the author of the original Vulcan Love Slave was the Ferengi played by Jeffrey Combs in Acquisistion.

[King Daniel]

JoeZhang wrote:

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I am trying to think - did we ever see much evidence of 'modern' popular culture in Star Trek? Everyone seemed to be into popular culture from many centuries past, did we ever see a 24th century celeb?

Not 24th century, but we heard about a WWIII movie sweeping the awards in ENT: "Home" in 2254, and Carter Winston from TAS: "The Survivor" was a famous rich philanthropist, who amassed a dozen fortunes and used them to help planets and colonies in need, which had made him quite a celebrity.

[Agonizer]

Jake Sisko was a reporter for the Federation News Service and later published a collection of short stories about living under Dominion rule. In The Visitor, he had become a famous author.

[Timo]

Buck Bokai (sp?) is recognised very much as a celebrity.

...By all of two people in the Federation, it seems - Stubbs and Sisko.

Even today, obscurity can carry the appearance of popularity, as a "personal cult" can be effectively constructed by a single person - the fan, not the target of idolatry. However, it doesn't appear as if either Stubbs or Sisko would have actively marketed the virtues of their hero or his obscure field of proficiency to the rest of the world(s). They just found these personally intriguing. I don't think this quite meets the criteria of "popular", as the population involved is so insignificant. (Well, insignificantly small, at any rate.)

Timo Saloniemi

[TheGoodNews]

I'd think Roddenberry's idea was that human civilization had matured above and beyond the Bread and Circuses of today, or as Guy Debord called it "the Society of the Spectacle."

From the Situationist International anthology:

"The future will only contain what we put into it now."

"The Golden Age was the age when gold didn't reign."

"Commodities are the opium of the people."

"The more you consume, the less you live."

"Are you a consumer or a participant?"

"You will end up dying of comfort."

"Boredom is counterrevolutionary."

"In the decor of the Spectacle, the eye meets only things and their prices."

Data, on regarding television: "That form of entertainment didn't last beyond the year 2040." I keep thinking Roddenberry meant more than just holodecks with that statement.

[JirinPanthosa]

Maybe Data forgot to mention, after 2040 people got their entertainment solely from the internet.

I think in 1987 television was considered strictly light entertainment, there was nothing like Sopranos or Breaking Bad, there were mostly network sitcoms and procedurals. So saying we got tired of that is just an extension of saying we stopped caring about frivolous distractions.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

JirinPanthosa wrote:

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Maybe Data forgot to mention, after 2040 people got their entertainment solely from the internet.

Or perhaps at that time, TV became *part of* the Internet. Which it pretty much already is, right now.

[R. Star]

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

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Or perhaps at that time, TV became *part of* the Internet. Which it pretty much already is, right now.

Pft, I'm holding out for futuristic wifi where you can download movies directly into your brain!

[Garrovick]

Well, there were a number of references to the sport of Parrises Squares on TNG and VOY, and it seems to be fairly widespread in the Federation, at least. Given how entrenched sports are in our pop culture now, I'd think they will probably still be a part of it in the 24th century.

Also, there's always Marauder Mo!

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I would really like to know exactly what kind of sport Parrises Squares is, and how it's played. All we know is:

- The rhythm of the game depends on having exactly four players on a team.

- There's a ramp.

- There's an "ion mallet", whatever the hell that is.

[TheGoodNews]

Roddenberry was probably trying to remain intellectually and maybe even philosophically consistent. The absence of the monetary system in his future vision should presuppose the absence of its main technique for self-perpetuation in the public consciousness (i.e. pop culture/media-consumerism/idolatry). I mean I don't think Roddenberry envisioned Black Fridays or Paris Hilton for his future humanity.

"The Spectacle is capital accumulated to the point where it becomes image." Guy Debord - The Society of the Spectacle.

[robau]

A future without celebrities sounds awesome. They can start by no longer airing the obscene Academy Awards circle jerk.

[Greg Cox]

I don't know. The celebrities of the future may not be movie stars and pop bands and such, but there are bound to be colorful, exceptional individuals whose exploits, accomplishments, and/or scandals attract public interest. That's pretty much a constant throughout human history. Look at Cleopatra or Lord Byron or Mark Twain or Charles Dickens or Houdini or Nellie Bly or Buffalo Bill or whomever. Can't imagine that will have changed by Kirk's time.

Indeed, according to "Amok Time," Spock had already become something of a living legend on Vulcan, which is why T'Pring did not want to marry him. Guess she didn't want the spotlight of being the wife of a celebrity!

And I imagine Lenore Karidian generated lots of press. Think about it: glamorous actress-turned-murderer tries for comeback after being "cured" by advanced 23rd century psychiatry. The tabloid headlines practically write themselves!

[Nerys Myk]

Greg Cox wrote:

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I don't know. The celebrities of the future may not be movie stars and pop bands and such, but there are bound to be colorful, exceptional individuals whose exploits, accomplishments, and/or scandals attract public interest. That's pretty much a constant throughout human history. Look at Cleopatra or Lord Byron or Mark Twain or Charles Dickens or Houdini or Nellie Bly or Buffalo Bill or whomever. Can't imagine that will have changed by Kirk's time.

Indeed, according to "Amok Time," Spock had already become something of a living legend on Vulcan, which is why T'Pring did not want to marry him. Guess she didn't want the spotlight of being the wife of a celebrity!

She could go on the the Real Housewives of ShiKahr.