“The challenge is to improve yourself. To enrich yourself,” says Captain Picard.
Star Trek is more than just a science fiction franchise. The series and films have integrated elements that also play a crucial role in the classic utopian literary tradition. New technologies change a civilization, an entire miniature society develops on a starship, and an android, of all things, mirrors our humanity and wants to become like us. Finally, the Borg show us a future world we’d better not aspire to.
Star Trek has been answering many questions about our present for over five decades, and since the days of Captain Kirk, the series has become one of the most recognizable pop cultural phenomena in the world. From its early beginnings to the current series Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard, the lecture aims to bring closer what Star Trek has in common with classic utopias, how humanity has evolved for the better in the future, how the Federation defends its utopian ideals, and how the political relations between alien species reflect past and present conflicts in our real world.