Postcolonialism and Science Fiction: Star Trek, TOS

Well, I thought I'd begin a series on postcolonial thought and sci-fi, tracing the development of colonial themes in science fiction. Let's start with the original Star Trek. On the plus side, obviously, there is the Prime Directive, which voices a Western fear of interfering with less technologically developed cultures. There are, of course, some paternalistic aspects to the Prime Directive: It assumes, for instance, that technologically inferior cultures will also be less socially developed. But the Prime Directive also serves as a meaningful expression of distrust against the then dominant "Westerns" colonial narratives of shows like Bonanza and Gunsmoke. The practice of arming natives is condemned in "A Private LIttle War" , a particularly elegant attack on U.S. colonial policies in Vietnam. Less welcome critiques of colonialism come in "THe Apple" and "The Return of the Archons", in which Kirk seems to be an arbitrary decider of entire cultures's fates. Star Trek always had to balance the needs of weekly television with its desires to be politically correct, and in the case of postcolonial narratives, the series suffered by the demands of weekly television. However, compared to the traditional non-sci fi narratives of the 1960's, Star Trek: TOS was a quantum leap forward in sophisticating postcolonial arguments. It should therefore be celebrated, but with caution, for some of its episodes (see the Paradise Syndrome) betray an uneasy racism along with their appeal to techno anti-colonialism.