Is Star Trek Utopia?

Sebastian Stoppe

Is Star Trek Utopia?

Investigating a Perfect Future

Star Trek has transcended science fiction through its use of elements that have crucial roles in classical utopian tradition. New technologies change a civilization, a miniature society unfolds on a spaceship, and an android teaches humanity. Star Trek has been answering many questions about our own world for 50+ years, and since the days of Captain Kirk, the franchise has become one of the world’s best-known cultural phenomena.

This book documents what the Star Trek franchise has in common with classic utopias. Chapters analyze how technology changes society and how the Federation embodies utopian ideals. Also explored are the political relations among alien species that reflect past and present conflicts in our real world and how the Borg resembles an anti-utopian society.

“This book expands on existing literature of Star Trek as a utopia, and as a political utopia, and does so in a nicely nuanced way. It will be useful to scholars for some time.”
Matthew Wilhelm Kapell, Pace University

“A very fascinating combination of fan culture and research…”
Lars C. Grabbe, University of Applied Sciences, Münster

“Stoppe zufolge weist das Star-Trek-Franchise alle von ihm genannten Charakteristika einer Utopie auf. Dabei argumentiert er sowohl mit dem Gesamtkonzept des Franchises wie auch mit der Analyse einzelner Episoden.”
Rolf Löchel in open_in_new MEDIENwissenschaft, Rezensionen | Reviews 40 (1) (2023)