Abstract
The field of Star Trek studies (to coin a phrase) has been maligned by two hugely flawed assumptions: (1) that the original series is a metaphor for the Cold War (professor of US television history, Rick Worland: “The Klingons and the Federation were firmly established as two ideologically opposed superpower blocs”)1 and, even more egregious, (2) that the Federation represents a kind of pro-American political trope (professor of international relations, Mark P. Lagon: “The zealous desire of James T. Kirk, as the hero of the original Star Trek, to spread the Federation’s way of life serves as a mirror to observe the American style of foreign policy”).2 (English professor, M. Keith Booker: “[Captain] Kirk is a walking icon of Americanism.”)3 These misplaced assumptions have worked to devalue Star Trek as pro-American Cold War propaganda.