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As a mental exercise I like to perceive Star Trek as a racist propaganda show.

Star Trek can be seen as the way, a fascist empire wants to be perceived. The whites are in control but benevolent. Minority groups have their token share of roles but they never threaten the control of the whites.

The visible people are mostly white and never have a brown, black and Asian percentage that could be expected from a united earth.

The organisation is hierarchical. A militarized society would be the solution to overcome all conflicts.

It is clear that the casting was needed to gain market share in the US but that also means that the show can trigger nostalgica in those who want to continue those proportions.

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tensorpudding@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I agree with all you said, I just can’t believe it is possible for conservative viewers of the show to be blindered to the numerous, numerous ways where the show morals, both implied and very much stated, are antithetical to the entire value structure of the modern right-wing of the USA.

But then again, when I think of the Trek fans I know in real life, it is surprising how many of them are Republicans. Not a majority, but enough. So they might just be overlooking the things they don’t agree with.

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- SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Because Republicans are dumb illiterate inbred morons. Like how they didn’t get that Colbert Report was satire and they thought Colbert was a conservative. Or that they thought that South Park was Republican humor because of Cartman. Even though Cartman is obviously just a vehicle to portray how fucked up RepubliKKKans are.
  
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- Ancalagon@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Lead hits hard.
  
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- plyth@feddit.org ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I would even say that right-wing people have almost the same moral values as left-wing people, just not for the out-groups. So within the ship, there is no big difference.
  
  Hospitality for strangers is also part of conservative’s values, so in passing contact, aliens are treated alike.
  
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- 4am@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  They probably saw it all and said “yeah, even in the future we’ll never be rid of the libs but see it all works out because all these other things are still true”
  
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AppleTea@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Part of the reason the show works is that we never really see Federation life outside of Starfleet. Mostly this is for practical budget reasons; what does a post-scarcity egalitarian society actually look like? That’s difficult to depict in a show designed to recycle the same set every episode and only very occasionally go outside to film.

So what little we see of the civilian federation looks… a lot like the US. There’s a president. Member ~~states~~ planets. Constant references to US history. A military that operates how Americans like to think their military works, rather than what it actually historically has done.

Newer shows take this even further. Section 31, as it was first introduced, was supposed to be a highly illegal, unsanctioned conspiracy acting in the shadow of the proper Federation. Now they’re presented as the ultra official, coolest badasses who are the only reason any of the egalitarian principals are able to survive.

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Crashumbc@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Tell me you know nothing about Star Trek without telling me.

ST broke so many cultural barriers, nothing else in its time period even comes close. Other than that they wore uniforms almost nothing is militaristic. It was a science vessel not a warship. Money and capitalism were virtually non-existent and when they did show up, they were ridiculed. I could go on, but you should learn for yourself.

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- balance8873@lemmy.myserv.one ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  You may need to cool off and re read the entire message
  
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