Star Trek & Civic Imagination:
Forging a Better Future through Artistic Means of Expression
Defining Civic Imagination
How would you reimagine the world? What social, political, or cultural changes would you make? If you’re anything like me, your vision would address the -isms of the world–capitalism, racism, sexism, ableism, classism, elitism, and all other flawed ideologies relying on socially-constructed identities as determinants of “worth” and agency. Creators in film, TV, music and other artistic forms of media have used their creative mediums of expression to address their answers to this question. One of my favorite iterations of this is Star Trek, a show I have grown up watching with my father. Media like that of Star Trek procure imaginative visions of the future that present solutions and alternatives to the issues facing society today. From Metropolis in 1927 to Black Panther in 2018, this concept, known as “civic imagination,” has been a theme in media over the last century.
Civic Imagination as a Catalyst for Change
The Civic Imagination Project (CIP) defines civic imagination as “the capacity to imagine alternatives to current cultural, social, political, or economic conditions.” It’s easy to cast off these depictions of fictional societies as having a marginal impact in influencing systemic cultural change in the real world. In reality, (all pun intended) media embedded in the framework of civic imagination provokes “discussions, debates, a thinking through of new possibilities, and as such, becomes important when our politics seems to hit a dead-end.” And as noted by the second half of the CIP’s definition of civic imagination, “one cannot change the world unless one can imagine what a better world might look like.”
“Over the past few decades, popular culture has increasingly offered the resources people have drawn upon to spark the civic imagination — from the multicultural, multiracial, and multiplanetary communities depicted on Star Trek to the struggles of ragtag rebels against autocratic empires in Star Wars, from images of female empowerment and collective action in Hunger Games to the depiction of an American Muslim superhero in Ms. Marvel. Many of these narratives speak powerfully to a particular subcultural, niche or generational cohort, but these narratives are often hotly contested by other groups who come from different political, spiritual, or ethnic backgrounds. Many minority groups are struggling for inclusion and representation within popular media or to overcome decades of negative stereotyping.”
The World Reimagined
The plot of the show consists of a crew of space travelers known as the “Starfleet” who defend humanity and morality while aboard the “Starship Enterprise.” To understand the ways in which Star Trek offers alternative cultural and social conditions, we must reflect on the social and cultural context of America at the time it was released. Star Trek debuted in 1966, during which time the Vietnam War was well underway, the Civil Rights Movement was ongoing, and humans had yet to step foot on the moon. Racial equality and peace were seemingly far from reach through the eyes of 1966. Things looked very different aboard the Starship Enterprise, whose philosophy reflected “exploration without colonialism, defense without imperialism, and commerce without greed,” an ideology that writer Dylan Roth dubbed “a fairly radical vision for late 1960s American television.”
“To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before”
It’s been 66 years since the first episode of Star Trek first aired on NBC. Since then, the show has developed into a franchise with several television series, movies, video games, and other media. And throughout this time, the U.S. has slowly grown to adopt the inclusion and diversity ideals that were employed decades earlier in Star Trek. The show is responsible for a number of firsts, as outlined in the article published by History below. Star Trek’s cast featured an array of people of different cultures, races, and genders. But most importantly, as writer Sarah Pruitt notes, the show displayed these identities in a positive light. Actors Nichelle Nichols (as Uhura) and William Shatner (as Captain James T. Kirk) shared the first-ever on-screen biracial kiss in the U.S. One could say that Star Trek was more than willing “to boldly go where no Man has gone before” when it came to diversity. Star Trek is a seminal example of the effect that civic imagination can have in fostering real change.
