Star Trek and Sacred Ground: Explorations of Star Trek, Religion and American Culture - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0791443345 ISBN 13: 9780791443347

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 1999

Synopsis

Offers a multidisciplinary examination of Star Trek, religion, and American culture.

Drawing on a number of methodologies and disciplinary perspectives, this book boldly goes where none has gone before by focusing on the interplay between Star Trek, religion, and American culture as revealed in the four different Trek television series, and the major motion pictures as well. Explored from a Trek perspective are the portrayal and treatment of religion; the religious and mythic elements; the ritual aspects of the fan following; and the relationship between religion and other issues of contemporary concern.

Divided into three sections, this detailed study of religion, myth, and ritual in the Star Trek context extends the boundaries of the traditional categories of religious studies, and explores the process of the (re)creation of culture. The first section explores the ways in which religion has primarily been understood in the Star Trek franchise in relationship to science, technology, scientism, and ‘secular humanism.’ What do Star Trek and its creator Gene Roddenberry have to say about religion, and what does this reveal about changing American perceptions about the role, value, and place of religion in everyday life? Section Two examines the mythic power and appeal of Star Trek, and highlights the mythic and symbolic parallels between the series’ story lines and themes taken from both western religious tradition and the scientific and technological components of contemporary North American Society. In the final section, contributors discuss the mythic and ritual aspects of Star Trek fandom. How have Star Trek fans found meaning and value in the television programs, and how do they express that meaning in their lives?

Contributors include Robert Asa, Michael Jindra, Larry Kreitzer, Jeffrey S. Lamp, Peter Linford, Ian Maher, Anne Pearson, Gregory Peterson, and Jon Wagner.

About this title

About the Author:

Jennifer E. Porter is Assistant Professor of Religion and Modern Culture at Memorial University, and Darcee L. McLaren is former Adjunct Professor at McMaster University.

From Publishers Weekly:

In the 13 essays in this book, religious studies professors in Canada, Britain and the United States discuss the role of religion in Star Trek. The first section of the book examines each of the successive television series, the second treats large themes (such as biblical imagery and death) and the third looks at the attitudes of fans. As the essays show, Star Trek has been torn between rejecting religion and affirming a quasi-religious faith in discovery and tolerance. This religiosity was present from the beginningAas in Spock's Vulcan creed of "Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations"Abut the later Star Trek series have more freely explored religious themes. The editors congratulate Star Trek: Voyager, the latest series, for "recovering sacred ground" through New Age spirituality. Unfortunately, while providing a nuanced reading of Star Trek's evolution, the authors pay too little attention to its larger context. The final section on "Trekkies" is valuable, but most of the essays concentrate on the motivations and behavior of the show's characters, ignoring the corporate television producers and the viewers who together broughtAand continue to bringAthese characters to life. The book seems written more for Star Trek fans than for students of religion or American culture. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0791443345
• ISBN 13: 9780791443347
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 328
• Editor: Porter Jennifer E.