Star Trek reflects the ideas and the ideals of the Civil Rights movement through symbolism. It was noted how the plots of the episodes and the characters of Star Trek portrayed the real world that Earth experiences even to this day. It was also shown how sincere Roddenberry was through the actors he cast. Gene was a man of ideas and ideals. In a cynical time, Gene embraced a shiningly optimistic determinedly afffirmative vision of the human future. He believed that each human being-- no matter how imperfect--each possessed something unique that, in combination with the uniqueness of others can create miraculous results. "Infinite diversity and infinite combination," as he called it. Gene made that ideal an incandecent life force in our times (Takei np). It may have been a Christian reverend who led the Civil Rights movement, but there are people who do not believe in a personal God but still believe in the nonviolent methods. This must mean that these people believe that there is something in the universe which upholds justice (Washington 13-14).
Roddenberry narrated this by symbolizing the universal need for peace. Wherever one goes--even through the outskirts of space--there is a common evil that must be defeated. It does not matter how far technology goes, nor does it matter if humans will ever witness such literal and horrific things like what happened on Cheron. It must be said however, that these types of catastrophes can become a reality if action is not taken to prevent it. The reality has been shown and movements have already begun. Now, the goal should be to continue such movements as Civil Rights until the absolute peace is gained like that on the starship Enterprise.
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Works Cited
"Balance of Terror." Star Trek. Perf. Paul Comi, Mark Lenard, Stephen Mines, Lawrence Montaigne, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, John Warburton. Star Trek. NBC 15 Dec. 1966.
"Journey to Babel." Star Trek. Perf. Leonard Nimoy, Jane Wyatt. Star Trek. NBC. 17 Nov. 1967.
King, Jr., Martin Luther. "I Have a Dream." Washington, D.C. 28 Aug. 1963.
Koenig, Walter. Interview about Star Trek. BBC. Great Britain. 2 Feb. 2002.
"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield." Star Trek. Perf. Lou Antonio, Frank Gershin, Leonard Nimoy, Nichelle Nichols, William Shatner. Star Trek. NBC. 10 Jan. 1969.
Nichols, Nichelle. Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories. N.p., 1995.
"Plato's Stepchildren." Star Trek. Perf. Nichelle Nichols, William Shatner. Star Trek. NBC. 22 Nov. 1968.
Takei, George. To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei Star Trek's Mr. Sulu. N.p., 1994.
Washington, James M., ed. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. 1986. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1991.
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