Among Us: Cross-Cultural Encounters in Science Fiction Media by Nicole Valeria Companiytsev A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology University of Alberta © Nicole Valeria Companiytsev, 2019 ii Abstract Storytelling is an essential part of our experience as human beings. We turn to narrative to explain our own lives – casting ourselves as protagonists, others as secondary characters and antagonists, and the myriad of events that happen to us as a coherent, linear story. Fiction and metaphor are lenses for our collective imagination – a representation of how we see ourselves as a society, and how we see others outside of our culture. In the Western world, nowhere is this view more prominent than in the genre of science fiction. In the fictional interactions between humans and aliens – diplomacy, conflict, oppression, misunderstandings, and cultural sharing – we can see a reflection of our society’s values, its moral prescriptions, and its warnings for the future. Anthropologists, as experts on extracting cultural rules from observation, and picking up on cross-cultural misunderstandings, have long been aware of the human tendency to exaggerate difference between cultures in order to define them as distinct. Thus, an anthropological study of science fiction is crucial for understanding how a society defines itself. In this thesis, I undertake an analysis of the influential science fiction television serial, Star Trek. I seek to answer how the portrayal of specific alien societies in Star Trek inform and reflect the American society’s understanding of both itself and “the other”. Through film analysis and in creating a virtual ethnography, I suggest that Star Trek uses visual and textual symbolic choices to show a galactic and ever-changing society which tolerates a wide array of different cultures, but is still influenced heavily by Western ideals and stereotypes of “the other”. I focus on the interaction between human and alien characters, as well as looking into how they have changed throughout the serial. I discuss both the visual choices (made in the form of costume, props, and body language) and the dialogue (in the form of tropes, metaphors, and other symbolic language) in order to extract broader patterns in the subtext that suggest American and Western cultural rules and attitudes. I delve into historical patterns of colonialism within ethnographic and fictional writing in order to suggest influence on modern science fiction. Finally, I suggest that the way these fictional alien societies are portrayed shows how the (so-called) real-world society sees itself, and what it considers to be an innately “human” way to behave. Through this project, I hope to show how an anthropological analysis of science fiction gives us valuable information about the stories our Western society tells about itself and others, and the hopes and fears it projects toward the future. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Marko Živković, for his mentorship and enthusiasm toward my research. Thank you also to my committee members, Professor André Costopoulos, and Dr. Kisha Supernant. I also deeply appreciate the encouragement, support, and advice from my parents and friends. Thank you for listening to me rant about aliens. iv Table of Contents List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................... v Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................. vi Glossary of Terms ..................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction: Seeking New Worlds ........................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Visual Choices and the Galactic Hierarchy ................................................................... 12 The Structure of Metaphor .................................................................................................................. 13 (Mis)representing the Other in Academia .......................................................................................... 22 Visual Cues in Star Trek ...................................................................................................................... 26 Analysis of the Galactic Stage .............................................................................................................. 43 Chapter Two: The Essence of the Alien .................................................................................................. 46 Metaphorical Conceptions of Distance ............................................................................................... 48 The Romanticized Orient ..................................................................................................................... 51 The Klingon Way .................................................................................................................................. 54 Romulans, Vulcans, and the Mystery of Japan .................................................................................. 64 Ferengi as Humans and Fey ................................................................................................................. 71 Hybrids as Interpreters ........................................................................................................................ 75 Concluding Thoughts on the Orient .................................................................................................... 76 Chapter Three: Storytellers and the Future of Humanity .................................................................... 78 Klingons as Storytellers ........................................................................................................................ 80 The Tamarian Puzzle ............................................................................................................................ 86 Human Exceptionalism ........................................................................................................................ 93 Alien Commentary ................................................................................................................................ 96 The Federation and Western Hopes .................................................................................................. 104 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 109 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 118 v List of Tables Table 1. Conceptual Domains in Star Trek: p.112 vi Abbreviations TOS: Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-69) TNG: Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-94) DS9: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-99) VOY: Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001) ENT: Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-05) DIS: Star Trek: Discovery (2017-present) SF: Science Fiction vii Glossary of Terms Star Trek: The entirety of the serial, 1966-present Canon: The aspects of the fictional universe that are accepted by the creators, and not based on fan conjecture. Note on episode citations: Episode citations use the following format: (Series name season.episode “episode name,” timestamp) (e.g., TOS 2.5 “Amok Time,” 3:00) As some episodes are shown in a different order over the fifty years of the serial, there may occasionally be some inconsistency regarding an episode’s number. Where there is disagreement, I favour the online encyclopedia Memory Alpha (memory-alpha.fandom.com), which features the original airing dates. If one episode is referenced several times in a row, I omit the episode name. 1 Introduction: Seeking New Worlds It barely feels as if I am moving against this backdrop of stars. The starship’s artificial gravity works smoothly, and the machine is large enough that I forget I am not simply walking inside of a large, efficiently-run apartment complex. It is only when I find a port and look out into the vast expanse beyond – the void, the final frontier, the ultimate journey – that I remember the immensity of my voyage. I am a lone anthropologist in the field, travelling between the stars amidst a giant crew of explorers. We orbit planets and negotiate with strange, alien societies; sometimes we find other explorers out here. I have been here for a couple of months now; I realize now that my next step is to leave the safety of the starship: to leave this safe, clean, bubble of a verandah, and step into the unknown on an alien world. After all, is that not why we are all here? - From the ethnography The Final Frontier: A Year Aboard a Starfleet Vessel. Ellen Burnham, 2431. San Francisco: Starfleet Academy Press. Anthropology has deep conceptual ties with speculative fiction (the term that encompasses the genres of fantasy and science fiction). This concern is not a new concept: anthropologists have noted similarities between SF and anthropology; moreover, many seem to be fans of the genre. This interest has been noted on the side of the fiction writers as well: SF author Ursula LeGuin, daughter of anthropologist Alfred Kroeber, sees overlap between her writing and the work