Hi. This is for fans of the early Star Treks. I'm a British journalist researching a story about how Star Trek began. The story goes something like this: the studio would only fund the project if the creators could write it as a thinly disguised propaganda tool for the sponsor's extremist right wing views. Basically, Star Trek doesn't come out looking clean. Sounds crazy, but there's a stack of evidence, maybe you could help take the other side of the debate?
Star Trek Conspiracy
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You're right.
It sounds crazy.
It sounds crazy.
I know, as a dedicated fan I was taken aback. There's a pile of evidence that the money for the first series was KKK. Seriously.
Sack of evidence? Lets open that sack shall we?
Er, what? What part of early TOS is extremist right-wing? The original pilot is all about the relationship between sexuality and free will; the second pilot is an apolitical action thriller about a man having to kill his best friend because he's been transformed into a powerful monster. Later TOS episodes dealt with themes like showing the primitive natives that there were no gods, or condemning racial inequality (or, indeed, the very concept of race, by ridiculing the idea of race with the black-on-the-left-vs-black-on-the-right side of the face episode).
The closest TOS really comes to a genuinely conservative political viewpoint would be "A Private Little War," an episode made long after the series had started, in which Kirk believes that he must aid one side in a pre-industrial society's civil war because the Klingons are aiding another. It's an obvious Vietnam allegory, but that's about it.
I've certainly never heard any stories about the original pilots being funded on the basis of promoting a right-wing agenda; neither "The Cage" nor "Where No Man Has Gone Before" promotes such an agenda. And, further, the more conservative network execs wanted Spock to lose his ears and eyebrows because they were "Satanic;" Roddenberry fought to keep them and succeeded (though he did compromise by getting rid of the female second-in-command).
Sack, or Sachet?
OK. Where to start? How about a small point, the preponderance of the letter "K". star treK, KirK, spocK, Klingons. Proves nothing by itself, but interesting when you hear more.
There are a lot of "S" sounds, too -- "jameS t. kirk," "Spock," "Sulu," "Scotty," "enterpriSe," "Star trek," etc. There are also a lot of "T"s -- "james T. kirk," "sTar Trek," "enTerprise." And then there's the preponderance of the letter "U." And the letter "C." And the letter "E." By golly, they used the entire alphabet!
How about we follow the money, shall we? The preponderance of the letter "K" is not a promising start.
A preponderance of the letter "K" could simply mean that these "aliens" were meant to represent the Soviets, lots of K's there.
A preponderance of the letter "K" could simply mean that these "aliens" were meant to represent the Soviets, lots of K's there.
Shatinator said:
Sack of evidence? Lets open that sack shall we?
Better not, because its a sack of s**t.
cheKov. And what's Sulu's first name?
What sponsor? Paramount sold Star Trek to NBC who then sold the ads. Paramount had no control over the ads and didn't have the slightest idea who the sponsors would be when the project was given the go-ahead.
For your conspiracy theory to hold any water, either NBC or Desilu had to have been controlled by the KKK. Hogwash. NBC was owned by RCA who was only interested in selling more color TVs. David Sarnoff, the head of RCA, was Jewish. I don't think he was in league with the KKK. Lucille Ball, the head of Desilu, was notoriously apolitical. Her husband at the time, Gary Morton, was also Jewish.
This "conspiracy" is a complete crock. I agree: show us the evidence or stop spreading totally malicious and unfounded rumors.
This is crap.
Gentleman asks about the monewy. Want to know who paid for the first Star Treks?
Not the worst conspiracy I've heard. There's one in which Trek is semi real, because Nasa has warp drives and is at war with ... somebody (never made clear). So they made Trek as a way to get jim bob in Montana ready to join Nasa to fight the aliens. The whole made up by a cop thing is a cover story.
So no not a right wing thing.
Besides which most statements seem more left-leaning to me.
Conspiracies are bovine fecal matter.
So no not a right wing thing.
Besides which most statements seem more left-leaning to me.
Conspiracies are bovine fecal matter.
The research shows that Desilu was funded by the Marlboro tobacco chain (the packet with three "K" embedded on it). They funded Star Trek. It's been a talking point for many years, unproven, but joined up, that Marlboro used their commercial muscle to propound a political theme. And the influence of sponsors over creative content was no less then than today.
Personally, I am entirely convinced.
Tommy Boyd, it's a good thing we have someone of your investigative wisdom to cast light upon the darkness in our pop-culture.
Journalistic awards await you.
Tommy Boyd, it's a good thing we have someone of your investigative wisdom to cast light upon the darkness in our pop-culture.
Journalistic awards await you.
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