I'm a trekkie. I know every line and detail about the series, movies and even the books. Complete nerd.I am also a foremost authority on sci-fi in general. I believe that it is an awesome platform to discuss societal themes and problems and bring them to the forefront. I have discovered one thing that is a common thread throughout most sci-fi series or literature, and that is the oppression of other cultures.
When Gene Roddenberry first pitched his idea to the networks, he had to couch it as a "space cowboy" type show. Even the name, "Star Trek" is a variation on the original working title of "Wagon Train to The Stars". Roddenberry had written several episodes for TV westerns of the day and wanted to address the ideas of Indian oppression but was not allowed to do this, not because of any prejudice per se by the network censors, but because no one would watch a show where the Indians won. The image above is from a scene from the original series, where Kirk loses his memory and is adopted into an Indian culture of a distant planet. The episode is terrible and badly written, don't waste your time. However, it is the only overt mention by Roddenberry of what he wants to show the world, we need to get along.
Roddenberry was raised Baptist but his shows were largely agnostic in nature, showing diverse faiths, beliefs and teachings. His ideas sparked a common leaning in most science fiction produced even today. Pick up any sci-fi novel an most likely you will see where a ferocious alien race seeks to come and rid our planet of the virus that is humanity so that they may deplete our resources or stop our spread or merely because we're different and not them. Sometimes they seek to enslave us or even worse, re-educate us into their way of thinking. This last part is ironic in the Star Trek genre in that the newer series, Star Trek The Next Generation, finds the Federation at peace with the Klingons and even allows them to serve on Federation vessels. The Federation's greatest enemy later became a species known as the Borg. They sought not really to conquer but to "assimilate" every world into their collective. There tag line was, "We are the Borg, resistance is futile. We will add your cultural distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile." All you would need at this point is for someone off to the side piping, "Garry Owen" and you would have a Wounded Knee all over again.
I was raised on this golden age of television and never realized until adulthood how rampant this theme would become in most of the sci-fi that came out. There is not one sci-fi series that I know of that has not based there program on this theme of exploration at the cost of humanity or it's enslavement. Below is a list of series and the enemy or oppressive cause. This list is by all means not all inclusive.
Star Trek-Klingons, Romulans, Borg, Cardassians
Battlestar Galactica: Cylons
StarGate: G'uual, Ori
Buck Rogers: Draconians
Space Above and Beyond: Chigs
Dr Who: Daleks and about a million more.
The list goes on and on. Most of these series start out with the battles just being your basic cowboys and Indians type fights. They are a menacing race and we must defend at all cost. Usually, however, about the 3rd season when a series has snuggled in to a secure spot with the network, we see changes. We see an episode where the "Indians" are not so bad. They even show a hidden humanity. Eventually we find a common goal or want or for the most part a common enemy to battle. This leads the "cowboys and Indians" to start playing nice with each other and eventually mutual support and friendship.
I know it's unusual and weird to find a rant about sci-fi on a blog about indigenous people, but it is worth a look into the fantastic to see a reflection of the real.
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