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Serving as the sequel to Gene Roddenberry's original television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation pushed the boundaries of the "final frontier." At the same time, the show continued the franchise's celebrated exploration of the human experience, reflecting current social and political events. ST:TNG became immensely successful, spawning four feature films and several television spin-offs.
This collection of new essays explores both the series' characters and its themes. Topics include the Federation's philosophy concerning technocracy, sexuality and biopolitics; foreign policy shifts in the Prime Directive; key characters including Jean-Luc Picard, Data, Deanna Troi, Tasha Yar; and Klingon martial arts, music, and history.
List of contents
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Pushing the Boundaries of the Final Frontier
Part I-Building a Galaxy: Structural Foundations
in Interstellar Government
Engage! Captain Picard, Federationism and U.S. Foreign Policy
in the Emerging Post-Cold War World (Alex Burston-Chorowicz)
An Impossible Standard: Dangerous Knowledge, Moral Progress
and the Prime Directive (Larry A. Grant)
Policing Loyalty: Comparing the Tal Shiar and the FBI's COINTELPRO (Anh T. Tran)
"You will be assimilated": Multicultural Utopianism in the 24th Century (Mehdi Achouche)
Material Agency: The Limits of Technostructure in the 24th Century (Justin Ream and Alexander Lee)
Part II-Gender and Identity Constructions
Perfect Society and Flawless Human Beings: The Biopolitics of Genetic
Enhancement, Cloning and Disability in the 24th Century (Simon Ledder, Jens Kolata and Oonagh Hayes)
The Borg: The Antithesis of Lieutenant Commander Data (Olaf Meuther)
"It's Kirk vs. Picard!": Changing Notions of Heroism from the 1960s
to the 1990s (Katharina Thalmann)
The Queerness of Villainy in the 24th Century (Bruce E. Drushel)
Going Where No Woman Had Gone Before: Women's Roles
on the Enterprise-D as Reflective of Women's Changing Roles
in the American Labor Force (Erin C. Callahan)
I Sensed It: Deanna Troi's Cognitively Restructured Trek and the Futurism of The Next Generation (Joul Smith)
Out of Order: Tasha Yar's Downfall in the Age of Reagan (Peter W. Lee)
Part III-Cultural Textures in Twenty-Fourth Century Living
Klingon Kung Fu: Martial Arts in Future History (Jared Miracle)
Listening to the 24th Century: Music and Musicians Heard Throughout
the Voyages of the Enterprise-D (and Some of the Enterprise-E) (Tom Zlabinger)
The Future Past: Reflections on the Role of History (Alexander Simmeth)
About the Contributors
Index
About the author
Peter W. Lee has written many articles on film and comic books. He lives in Simi Valley, California.
