Star Trek by Ina Rae Hark

[Therin of Andor]

Welcome aboard, Ina!

 

[Steve Roby]

Hi, this is Ina. Thanks for all the kind words about my book.

Hi, Ina.

If I had to recommend the best two Trek academic studies for the general reader, I'd choose Thomas Richards' The Meaning of Star Trek and Michele and Duncan Barrett's Star Trek: the Human Frontier.

I really like the Barretts' book (review here), but the Richards book I found disappointing. Back when I read it, I wrote:

I read The Meaning of Star Trek last week, and was much less impressed than I'd hoped to be. The author makes some interesting and valid points occasionally, but the book has two very important weaknesses: the author is really only familiar with TNG, as far as Trek goes, and when he discusses Trek in the context of science fiction as a whole he displays a remarkable ignorance of the genre. He makes a number of claims about Trek's uniqueness as SF, not realizing he's discussing things that have been common for more than fifty years. In fact, he only mentions a bare handful of SF titles: the Foundation trilogy, the Dune books, Wells' War of the Worlds, Doris Lessing's Shikasta, and Star Wars. In several instances he writes as though Star Wars were a typical example of science fiction. It is not. It is fantasy adventure set in space. And yet the author often says that because Star Wars is X and Star Trek is Y, that proves how groundbreaking and original and unique Star Trek is.

There's a good book to be written on this subject, but it will require a writer who knows Star Trek in depth (this guy doesn't) and has a broader knowledge of the history and state of the art of science fiction (this guy definitely hasn't).​

 

[Christopher]

Hey, Cardie! Welcome to the TrekBBS!

 

[js]

Adding a hello Cardie - surprised you haven't been over here before!

 

[Sci]

I ran into a copy of an academic work highly critical of Star Trek at the Kent State University Library several years ago. It made some compelling arguments for the idea that Star Trek often falls into a very imperialistic, colonialist narrative about the necessity of spreading "our" culture to "others" for their own good -- the "white man's burden in space" -- and about Trek's tendency to translate the cultural concept of "race" into the biological concept of species.

 

[Cardie]

Adding a hello Cardie - surprised you haven't been over here before!

I was a member a number of years ago and trolls hacked my account. I had a lot of trouble getting my account reinstated and finally gave up. But the board didn't reject my new gmail account, so here I am.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

^^

Welcome to the boards Ina....

 

[Myasishchev]

I ran into a copy of an academic work highly critical of Star Trek at the Kent State University Library several years ago. It made some compelling arguments for the idea that Star Trek often falls into a very imperialistic, colonialist narrative about the necessity of spreading "our" culture to "others" for their own good -- the "white man's burden in space" -- and about Trek's tendency to translate the cultural concept of "race" into the biological concept of species.

See, I told you it was a bad thing.

 

[Steve Roby]

I ran into a copy of an academic work highly critical of Star Trek at the Kent State University Library several years ago. It made some compelling arguments for the idea that Star Trek often falls into a very imperialistic, colonialist narrative about the necessity of spreading "our" culture to "others" for their own good -- the "white man's burden in space" -- and about Trek's tendency to translate the cultural concept of "race" into the biological concept of species.

Hmm... they have Pounds's Race in Space: The Representation of Ethnicity in Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation in their collection, but not Bernardi's Star Trek and History: Race-ing Toward a White Future. So does this look like the book in question?

 

[Sci]

I ran into a copy of an academic work highly critical of Star Trek at the Kent State University Library several years ago. It made some compelling arguments for the idea that Star Trek often falls into a very imperialistic, colonialist narrative about the necessity of spreading "our" culture to "others" for their own good -- the "white man's burden in space" -- and about Trek's tendency to translate the cultural concept of "race" into the biological concept of species.

Hmm... they have Pounds's Race in Space: The Representation of Ethnicity in Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation in their collection, but not Bernardi's Star Trek and History: Race-ing Toward a White Future. So does this look like the book in question?

I do believe that that was the book I saw.

I ran into a copy of an academic work highly critical of Star Trek at the Kent State University Library several years ago. It made some compelling arguments for the idea that Star Trek often falls into a very imperialistic, colonialist narrative about the necessity of spreading "our" culture to "others" for their own good -- the "white man's burden in space" -- and about Trek's tendency to translate the cultural concept of "race" into the biological concept of species.

See, I told you it was a bad thing.

I'm sorry, but I honestly don't remember having had any debates with you about race and species in Star Trek. (Doesn't mean we didn't, I just don't remember.) Jog my memory?

 

[Myasishchev]

You-vosotros; limitation of the English language, that. I have no idea if I was arguing it with the you or not, actually. I'm sure I argued with someone that it was bad allegory, as well as bad science.

Anywho, it was an off-the-cuff remark. Didn't mean to attribute opinions to you (tu) that you may or may not have.

 

[Sci]

You-vosotros; limitation of the English language, that. I have no idea if I was arguing it with the you or not, actually. I'm sure I argued with someone that it was bad allegory, as well as bad science.

Anywho, it was an off-the-cuff remark. Didn't mean to attribute opinions to you (tu) that you may or may not have.

Aaaaah, okay. I take it from the reference to vosotros that you're from España? (I just finished taking 14 credit-hours' worth of Español, and while I'm not particularly amazing at it, I do seem to recall that España is the only place where vosotros is commonly used.)

 

[Trekwatcher]

Welcome aboard, Ina. Glad to have you here.

 

[Myasishchev]

You-vosotros; limitation of the English language, that. I have no idea if I was arguing it with the you or not, actually. I'm sure I argued with someone that it was bad allegory, as well as bad science.

Anywho, it was an off-the-cuff remark. Didn't mean to attribute opinions to you (tu) that you may or may not have.

Aaaaah, okay. I take it from the reference to vosotros that you're from España? (I just finished taking 14 credit-hours' worth of Español, and while I'm not particularly amazing at it, I do seem to recall that España is the only place where vosotros is commonly used.)

Nope, Spanish handily differentiates between the singular and plural second person. Plus, I recalled you (tu) had been studying Spanish, so I thought it would be a good way to make the point.

The Spanish I did learn was Castellano, however--which in retrospect seems a questionable teaching decision, perhaps on par with an English teacher teaching Commonwealth spelling to Americans. I have no idea how they speak elsewhere, and can barely speak it at all tbh--but I can usually read and write Spanish with a small child's comprehension.

 

[rahullak]

Lots of books like that exist. Okay, some of these books deal with more specific angles on Trek, or on one particular show, but there are a lot of books that take an analytical/critical look at Trek. Hark's book is somewhat rare in its general approach and in covering all five live action TV series, though.

Thanks for an excellent link. I have to admit LOLling at "Star Trek and Philosophy: The Wrath of Kant".

That's actually an excellent read even though I might not agree with all of the viewpoints in the book. Their take on Vulcan philosophy specially resonated with me.

 

[Sky]

I just finished "Star Trek" - thanks, Ina, it was a fascinating read - and it made me want to rewatch DS9. Also... is there a free copy of Ina Rae Hark's review of Star Trek XI available? I found a review on Oxford Journals but sadly I don't have access.

 

[Cardie]

I just finished "Star Trek" - thanks, Ina, it was a fascinating read - and it made me want to rewatch DS9. Also... is there a free copy of Ina Rae Hark's review of Star Trek XI available? I found a review on Oxford Journals but sadly I don't have access.

I'm glad you liked the book and winning converts to DS9 is an extra. I do of course have a copy of that review, but the journal would get mad at me if I started passing out free copies. Sorry.

In general I praised the recasting and the speed and excitement but thought the plot a bit incoherent and missed Trek's usual concern more with ideas than with characters' hangups about their parents.

 

[Sky]

I'm glad you liked the book and winning converts to DS9 is an extra. I do of course have a copy of that review, but the journal would get mad at me if I started passing out free copies. Sorry.

Makes sense. I will try to gain access through my university.

In general I praised the recasting and the speed and excitement but thought the plot a bit incoherent and missed Trek's usual concern more with ideas than with characters' hangups about their parents.

Ha, this makes me even more determined to get to read the review. I share your opinion about the incoherence of the plot but I also thought that the speed was a bit too rushed, which undermined the effectiveness of some scenes and plot points.

Thanks!

 

[Therin of Andor]

I share your opinion about the incoherence of the plot but I also thought that the speed was a bit too rushed, which undermined the effectiveness of some scenes and plot points.

I often remember back to that Sydney gala premiere, where they invited 1800 Sydney celebrities, socialites and glitterati, and then 200 fans were able to buy tickets online.

After the event, there were any number of celebrity Facebook, MySpace and Twitter posts where they were saying, "Who'd have thought it possible? I'm a Trekkie!" An excellent viral marketing campaign, but it indicated to me that the general public would embrace the story and pace, no matter whether the diehards ST fans had reservations over plotholes or canon violations.