I have a better understanding of the sci-fi genre over all since the beginning of this semester. That being said I probably was not as skeptical as some students in the class because I had been exposed as a child. I really liked Star Wars growing up and then was further exposed in high school when we read books such as A Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451. I really enjoyed the stories of made up/futuristic societies or worlds. I think my idea of what can be considered science fiction has changed but more specifically my views on Star Trek has changed. I had never seen an episode or even a clip of Star Trek prior to this semester. I think Star Trek is hated by a lot of people that have never even seen it. Star Trek is a lot better than I expected it to be. The cool thing about Star Trek and Science Fiction in general is that it is usually providing criticism on a culture or society in general–this is very important because human kind always needs to strive to get better. I think my view of Science Fiction before this semester was that it was anything that is futuristic. Since then I’ve learn that it also needs to offer technological advancements to be considered science fiction. It can also show utopian or dystopian societies in order to show what is wrong with society and often give a look into certain solutions to these problems.

In conclusion, my views and understanding of science fiction has definitely change over this semester.

The article I chose to write about is, “Star Trek Fandom as a Religion Phenomenon” by Michael Jindara. The essay expolors the ethnographic aspects of Star Trek but instead of looking into the show itself, it takes a look into the fans of the show or as they call themselves: “trekkies”. It examines the history and practice of trekkies in literature, at conventions and in fan clubs. Jindara claims that religion can be found in Star Trek Fandom. He says that in this time scholars are able to find religion in nonconventional locations and this can be seen by the formation of community with regularized practices that involve a heirarchy. There is an argument that these unconventional believes can be religions and some people view them as cults. This article could support this argument because it sees Star Trek’s fanbase as religious followers because of their practices. One of the only religious ties he brings up that I could agree with is the idea that because there is a stigma surrounding the Star Trek community, it is similar to the stigma surrounding certain religions. Jindara’s argument would refute certain arguments held by many religious people who think it is disrespectful to claim anyone can come up with a belief system and then classify it as a religion. Overall, I think it’s an interesting way to look at Star Trek’s community. Jindara, Michael. “Star Trek Fandom as a Religion Phenomenon”. Sociology of Religion, vol. 55, no. 1, Assoiciation for the Sociology of religion, Mar. 1994, pp. 27-51.

Initially I was having trouble wrapping my head around the assignment. After watching the episodes again i realized how easy it was. I did really like the literally analysis assignment because it was a pretty straight forward prompt. After I figured out what my definition of power would be it was easy to find examples from the two episodes and compare/ relate them. My process was fairly simple: I determined how I would define power, found the examples of power throughout the two films and then explained how the relate to my definition of power. The toughest thing about the essay for me was figuring out how to structure the piece. I initially had way too many ideas and it would’ve been too much to put into one essay. I went to the write place at the library and they were very helpful in helping me get rid of the not so necessary points; they also helped me with my structure. I had my broad intro, then defined what some terms in the intro meant in the next paragraph, then had my two example paragraphs then my conclusion. Another hard part was learning how to do the citations for episodes in the correct format. I have never had to cite a tv show before and this gave me some trouble. This inspired me to make some changes for the next assignment because I have been very narrowminded in my structure since high school. We were taught a good way to go about it but I have always went straight to that way as default. The write place and literary analysis examples helped me see past this.

Overall, I really enjoy literary analysis essays because they are pretty straight forward.

mk

The movie I chose that reflects some portion of present day culture is my favorite semi-Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. To give a quick summary: the movie is about a well liked man, George Bailey, who has big dreams as a kid and ends up having to come back to his small hometown to take over his dads business. He is not happy with the way his life turned out and is thinking about killing himself. Right when he is about to jump off the bridge his angel jumps in; being the good man he is, George jumps in to save him. The angel then shows George what his hometown would be like if he died early on in his life. Although the movie is set in the early 1900s, we see a lot of the movie reflected in today’s culture.

You can see the culture portrayed in some of the characters; for example, Mr. Potter, is the villain of the movie and resembles today’s big corporations that keep taking more and more while the lower working class gets left behind. He is the richest person in town and owns pretty much every business. Mr. Potter provides very expensive but poor living conditions to the people in his town. This shows how little today’s rich business men and corporations actually care about the general public. Another character that really resembles today’s American Culture is the main character, George Bailey. He has big dreams and aspirations when hes younger just like many young kids in today’s culture. What we really see is people going into boring professions for money nowadays instead of what they really love. George Bailey gave up his opportunity to travel the world for his dads business. He ends up being very unhappy with the way his life turned out. One part of the movie that really reflects my families culture is at the end of the movie; George is put back into his real life and they have a celebration because Georges wife got the money to get rid of his financial troubles. The scene is of George, family and friends all crowded in a room with lots of conversations and talk. This reminds me of every holiday meal at my grandmas house when the rooms are packed with my big Italian family. This is similar to a lot of Americans with big families and in general portrays the American Dream.

Star trek is known for providing cultural commentary. It is very much so a satirical look at society. Pretty much every episode I’ve seen has made a reference to issues with society. And sometimes provides a solution to them since it’s in the future. The episode I chose to watch for Star Trek is The Cogenitor. The cogenitor absolutely engages in cultural commentary. It brings up the idea of slavery. To give you some background information: the cogenitor basically has the occupation of reproducing and that’s it. The reason it is a reference to slavery is because the cogenitor is born into this life and has its freedom taken away from it around birth. The cogenitor has no gender. This is kind of ironic that they touch on the point of slavery and discrimination as for most of the early versions of Star Trek, there were little to no black actors on the show. I think the writer of the episode chose to make it target slavery because it made for a more interesting episode. Slavery was illegal at the time the episode was made but it was a better episode as opposed to doing one that focused on discrimination against a certain race.

I definitely did not enjoy the project because I do not like essays in general. That being said the topic was easier than most other essays in that it is from personal experience. Obviously it will be easier to write from events you’ve lived through. I would have liked a persuasive essay better because I think there is more to be said about technology that can be said in a short memoir. I did not have a complete rough draft for this assignment which made it harder to edit. It was especially hard because I did not understand the prompt until after I wrote the rough draft. So not only did I not complete the rough draft on time but pretty much everything I wrote didn’t pertain to the essay. Next essay I would prepare for it in advance and ask questions about the prompt. Like I said earlier, I do like the topic of technology itself but I would prefer looking into issues with it. Something that is more like a research essay. Another think I disliked about the assignment is that we had to record it. I do not like hearing my voice on film or recording so that was not exciting. I also do not have a good mic on my headphones so I had to go through the entire thing to edit it. Audacity was giving me issues which made it an even worse experience.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the prompt because it was easy but I would have rather done a persuasive essay about technology. For the next prompt I will prepare ahead of time and make sure I understand the prompt.

This is a response to the piece I read called “The Politics of Star Trek,” by Timothy Sandefur. This essay absolutely helps prove the point that Star Trek was cultural commentary. I am very unfamiliar with the series so the article was pretty hard to follow but from what I read it seems like predominantly cultural commentary with a futuristic twist on it. They seem to incorporate the current issues in with the predictions for the future. Sandefur acknowledges the politcal influence on Star Trek when he says, ” Modeled on Gulliver’s Travels, the series was meant as an opportunity for social commentary, and it succeeded ingeniously, with episodes scripted by some of the era’s finest science fiction writers.” He then provides many specific examples such as a quote from McCoy in the series, “’There are certain absolutes, Mr. Spock, and one of them is the right of humanoids to a free and unchained environment, the right to have conditions which permit growth.’” Since the show was going on during/ right after the Civil Rights Movement, it would be fair to say this is a reference to the rights of African Americans. Another reference is from the episode titled, “The conscience of the King” when we learn that the dude is a Holocaust survivor. This is convenient to Cultural Commentary because during the show three former Nazis were tried for their roles in the horrific event. I think the contemporary audience would have noticed because they are pretty clear references. I don’t know if they would notice as much as one would today because people the writers probably would not have been interviewed. Today’s media is far more active then back then. For the most part though it would have been fairly noticeable that they were referencing social issues.

Science fiction is used for cultural commentary for many reasons but mainly because it allows the readers and or viewers to take a look into the future. Since many people are anxious about the future, science fiction provides some guidance. Science fiction enables writers to provide issues with society and where they will lead us. In this sense, sci-fi can be used two fold –it can reveal a future with many advancements especially in technology and whether the effects it has on society are good or bad. Science fiction often has the goal looking into future science and technological advancements however it is rarely the main purpose. I think in many cases it is effective but not just at predicting the future–it also provides ideas to inventors and scientists. The future portrayed in many science fiction films or books have influenced various people to create. A good example of this is Star Trek. The cell phone was likely inspired heavily by the series. Whether it is effective or not really depends on the specific case because it is hard to judge. Since there will always be a future and anything is technically possible, it would be unfair to say that something is a horrible prediction. I don’t know how you could make science fiction more effective because you’re predicting the future. As long as the author is taking into account current events/ideas and where they could lead, then I see no way to make it more effective. Science fiction is a very important part of society.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton