Pragmatism and Meaning: Assessing the Message of Star Trek: The Original Series

The original Star Trek television series purported to depict a future in which such evils as sexism and racism do not exist, and intelligent beings from numerous planets live in a condition of peace and mutual benefit. As many scholars have observed, from a standpoint of contemporary theoretical analysis, Star Trek: The Original Series contains many elements that are inimical to the utopia it claims to depict and thus undermine its supposed message. A different perspective may be gained by drawing on the American pragmatist movement, in which the value of an idea is judged by its effectiveness, how it ‘cashes out’ in terms of its impact in real life. Thus, the meaning and value of Star Trek: TOS can be assessed by observing its effects on its audience. This perspective coordinates well with Taylor’s discussion of the necessary conditions for the realization of a protreptic moral order in the social imaginary, as well as a pragmatist understanding of audience engagement and education

Teaching Star Trek as Anthropology

The original Star Trek television show is a “natural” for teaching anthropology. Like all science fi ction, the show is a refl ection of contemporary concerns--a form of mythology. Beyond this, the original show relied extensively on anthropological theory and ethnography in the construction of its plots. The author’s undergraduate course, described in this paper, aims to make students aware of these and also of the concerns of the nineteen-sixties (Viet Nam, the Cold War, civil rights, Hippies) that motivated many of the episodes. In the process, it illustrates how popular culture texts can be used in the classroom to engage students in ongoing anthropological debates and to demonstrate anthropology’s enduring perspectives and concepts

Sexism in Space: The Freudian Formula in Star Trek

These words, spoken at the beginning of each televised Star Trek episode, set the stage for the fantastic future. Although the Star Trek series was cancelled in 1969 after only three years of production, it generated a large cult following that flourishes still today. One reason for the series\u27 remarkable longevity is its depiction of the future as a Freudian fantasy. This Freudian vision draws on cultural myths embedded in the patriarchal dominance of men over women characteristic of Western civilization. According to Freud, both sexes are driven by three instincts --- sex, aggression, and the death wish---but men have the most powerful instincts, and they are most driven by their desire to have power over other men. This Freudian worldview is dramatized aboard the starship Enterprise, where women are secondary figures who either provide romance or reveal that any woman\u27s desire for power is abnormal. But men normally struggle for power, and the men of Star Trek usually strive for control over the starship. Sometimes, however, all human life is threatened by nonsexed things, such as viruses or living energy, and the men struggle to defeat these alien forces. Yet in all cases this fantasy of space travel involving a deeply bonded, essentially male group is linked to everyday discrimination against women in contemporary society

Sexism in Space: The Freudian Formula in Star Trek

These words, spoken at the beginning of each televised Star Trek episode, set the stage for the fantastic future. Although the Star Trek series was cancelled in 1969 after only three years of production, it generated a large cult following that flourishes still today. One reason for the series\u27 remarkable longevity is its depiction of the future as a Freudian fantasy. This Freudian vision draws on cultural myths embedded in the patriarchal dominance of men over women characteristic of Western civilization. According to Freud, both sexes are driven by three instincts --- sex, aggression, and the death wish---but men have the most powerful instincts, and they are most driven by their desire to have power over other men. This Freudian worldview is dramatized aboard the starship Enterprise, where women are secondary figures who either provide romance or reveal that any woman\u27s desire for power is abnormal. But men normally struggle for power, and the men of Star Trek usually strive for control over the starship. Sometimes, however, all human life is threatened by nonsexed things, such as viruses or living energy, and the men struggle to defeat these alien forces. Yet in all cases this fantasy of space travel involving a deeply bonded, essentially male group is linked to everyday discrimination against women in contemporary society

Theological and Political Basis of Neoliberalism and Finance Capital

DergiPark: 326206trakyasobedCapitalism is a Protestant / Calvinist Christianity’s mentality world’s produce in Western Europe. Capitalism’s neoliberal version is an elitist politics and economic model which exploits / accumulates interest from “chosen myth” that was inspired from Judaeo-Christian theology. With the 1978 Washington Consensus, globalized system was imposed to all societies and governments. This system was implemented / executed by “perfect storms” until September 2008 financial crisis. This caused American society and all humanity to be victimized by a handful of Wallstreet “Eke” “Shrewd” banker’s theological – political – financial “God Empire / New World Order” project. During that period, it is obvious that economy theories that have a “rational human” base collapsed. It could also be witnessed that, there are subliminal operations that are towards to humanity through Hollywood made movies and television seriesKapitalizm Batı Avrupa’da Hıristiyanlığın Protestan / Kalvinist zihniyet dünyasının ürünüdür. Kapitalizmin neoliberal versiyonu ise Judeo – Hıristiyan teolojiden esinlenen “seçilmiş miti” tarafından beslenen seçkinci bir siyaset ve ekonomik modeldir. 1978 Washington Konsensusu ile yeryüzündeki bütün toplumlara ve devletlere dayatılan küreselleşmiş sistemin Eylül 2008 finans krizine kadar “kusursuz fırtınalar”la başta Amerikan toplumu olmak üzere insanlığı bir avuç Wallstreet “Eke”si bankerin teolojik – siyasi – finansal “Tanrı İmparatorluğu / Yeni Dünya Düzeni” projesinin kurbanları haline getirmiştir. Bu süreçte “rasyonel insan” merkezli iktisat teorilerinin iflas ettiğini görüyoruz. Yine bu süreçte Hollywood yapımı sinema filmleri ve televizyon dizileriyle topyekün insanlığa yönelik bilinçaltı operasyonlarının gerçekleştirildiğine şahit oluyoru

Government, E-Government and Modernity ‘The times they are a-changin’; and even the changes are a-changin

E-government is far too often taken to mean ‘government business as usual’ plus the internet. This paper puts forward the basis for an alternative orientation, locating e-government against a background of profound social changes