Soaology Religron of 1994,55:1 27-51

Star TrekFandomas a ReligiousPhenomenon*

Michael Jindra
University Wisconsin-Madison of

Thisessayis an ethnographic exploration StarTrek of fandorn. Rather themore than common textual analyses theprogram, article of this examines history practice thefansthemselves, the and of on computer networks, consentions in tourism, UStarJleet"clubs infan literature. at and in fan and All these activities fan canstruct addto thealtemative and universe Star of Trek while connecting also it withthepresent. a time At when scholars finding are religion nonconventional in locations,argue I thatStar Trek fandanis oneof these locations. Trek Star fandorn involves sacralizationelements a of of ourculture, alongwiththefonnation communities regularized of with practices include that a "canon" a hierarchy. TrekfarXn is alsoassociated a popular and Star with stigma,givingfans a sense persecution identity of and common active to religious groups.

StarTrek(ST) fandom a phenomenon is unlike other.Now over25 any years it originated old, whenthe original Trek Star television series threatwas enedwithcancellation its firstyear. after Fansimmediately sprang action into witha letter-writing campaign keepit going(Trimble to 1983). Whenit finally wascanceled itsthird after year, showwentintosyndication, ironically, the and thatis whenthe"fandom" phenomenon started takeoff.lThefirstconreally to vention in NewYork 1972.A centralized clearinghouse was in fan organization, the Welcommittee, established 1972to introduce to ST fandom was in fans (VanHise 1990;Bacon-Smith 1992).At thistime,noncommercial magafan zines("fanzines") already were beingwritten; books, and manuals, novels and were published. Efforts revive broadcasts someform to ST in continued. animated An series wasproduced 1973-1974, in 1979the firstof the six (at present) from and ST movies released. 1987Star was In Trek: NextGeneration The (TNG) waspro* A version thisarticle presented theCentral of was at States Anthropologixl Society annual meeting Beloit at College March, in 1993. Thisresearch begun ananthropology uas for seminar Peter by Nabokov theUniversity at of Wisconsin-Madison. aredueto: Peter Thanks Nabokov, Emiko Ohnaki-Tienzey, Visick, Vem David Yamane, the anonymous Sociology Religion of reviewers editor, graduate and tO students numerous mention, tO themany tOO to and SturTrek whotooktime fans withrnetO helpmeunderstand rolein ths phenomenon. responsibility the their AU for interpretations article withtheauthor. in this rests

1 People identify themselves according certain tO "fandoms," asTVandfilmfandoms such (Quantum Leap, Who, Trek, Dr. Star etc.),science fiction, comic books other culture and pop phenomena (Bacon-Smith 1992:309).

27

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OF SOCIOLOGY RELIGION

season in Goingintoits seventh syndication. for duced Paramount first-run by it ratings oftenmaking the tophouryet, its Fall1993,it hasachieved highest showamong of males18-49years age,andalsoa top-rated longshowamong including females. categories, other viewer and of the has phenomenon shown depth breadth popular culture No other that productions") senseof"cultural (in or"productions'}the broad "creations" over are The and has, Star Trek bothofficially unofficially. numbers staggering: 1991),over4 (Paikert sold $500millionin merchandise overthe last25 years dictionaries ST alienlanof millionnovelssoldeveryyear(oftenbestsellers), hunin numbering the thousands, them,"fanzines" thatstudy guages, institutes andtourist groups, discussion on-linecomputer conventions, dreds fanclubs, of Captain broadcast over100countries. in reruns, the sites,plusof course endless (TOS),are series cBn the Kirk Mr.Spock, twomaincharacters the original and names onlyin the UnitedStatesbutin otherEnglish-speaking not household Other theytravel, Erlterprise. popular the on as countries, isthespaceship which celebrated its but culture havecomeandgoneoverthe years, ST recently fads up. and no anniversary shows signof letting twenty-fifth of for explanations thepopularity ST. Newsweek havebeennumerous There of for "theories" the popularity nine (Leerhsen 1986)offered diKerent magazine feelingit to issues, the "family" into from ST, ranging howit plugged "sixties" exudes. of have focusedon the messages the show. of A number academics exstructuralism, Levi-Straussian Peter Anthropologist Claus(1976),utilizing Karen Blair in oppositions theplots. of amined mediation the nature/culture the sees to approach oppositions, the morepsychological CarlJung's (1977),using as oppositions suchas masculine/feminine,in Spock's of mediation internal each mindandemotion.InaHark( 1979)regards storyas a conflictbetween of or with a moral message, lessonon relations "outsiders"on the dangers succumbing computerization. to of is that have Others argued itssuccess dueto theappeal the sevenoriginal 1991:62). This, (Paikert of and characters the development theirrelationships of success the new by is as however, disproved a solereason the overwhelming new series, itsentirely setof characters. with to have academics begunto turntheirattention the hard-to-igRecently, on has published fandom comeoutof a Most work norefansthemselves. recent on whichfocuses howactivefansusethe showfor framework, cultural studies 1992;Bacon-Smith poachers" (Jenkins Fans theirownpurposes. are"textual games) (stories, music, art, works and 1992),whotakethe ST universe create creating in (e.g.,feminism) theprocess themto dealwithsocialissues thatallow commun1t1es. a ternat1ve but with shares somefeatures thislaterwork, I willdeallargely Thisessay body of theorycomingOUt of the sociologyof religion. with a different affinities has that I Specifically,willset out to demonstrate ST fandom strong conceming the discussions on Drawing recent movement. witha religious-type 1991; (Luckmann Swatos religion of contemporary form changing andmeaning in is to that 1992),I willattempt show STfandom onelocation 1983; Wuthnow in which findreligion oursociety. to
. . .

PHENOMENON 29 AS FANDOM A RELIGIOUS STARTREK

METHODS to attempt lookto the showitselfforexplanations The aboveexplanations itself, to hand, lookatfan"culture" for I set of ST'spopularity. out,on theother of the understand nature anysocial of it is in thepractice thefansthatwebetter and method(mainlyinterviews participant/obserThe ethnographic group. me allowed to underS anthropology in training cultural by vation)provided my to understand is argue, oneof the bestways and, takethiskindof study I would one diffuse likeSTfandom. a especiallyrather phenomenon, anygroup reports media occasional only with a Having familiarity ST fandom through for unprepared whatI found. I was "trekkies," quite and of conventions so-called I this that to WhenI mentioned friends I wasundertaking project, wasdeluged seemed everyone Almost fans "big" of theshow. who of withnames people were with up ST who wasa serious fan. I struck conversations to knowsomeone of names fansthanI could SoonI hadmore out who strangers turned to befans. interview. possibly me. impressed Itwas put and Theeffort imagination intoSTanditsuniverse and library to bookI than bigger I hadeverimagined.wentto thepublic much most materials, of which a and stores found wholesectionof StarTrekSrelated and books, novelsfill out the ST uniout. checked Manuals, were(of course) and of descriptions otherplanets aliens,and Trekchronologies, verse,offering itselfand to guides fandom of blueprints ships.Therearenumerous detailed those of by written the founders the movement, whotriedto keepthe memoirs culof to devoted thestudy Klingon on series theair.Thereis a journal original to guides The of dictionaries threealienlanguages. published tureandcomplete that material it wasimpossilisted and Trekmerchandise memorabilia so much bleto takeit all in. of hours conversation several and a I attended localST convention enjoyed of withfansaboutST andwhytheylikedit. I wentto meetings localscience that kind to fictionclubs.I wasalsointroduced a ditferent of"community," of folwas there no wayI could found and on-linenetworks, quickly the computer exof lowall of the ST talkon thesenets,forthe volume the ST newsgroups every messages week. 1,000 ceeded One to ethnography bequiteunique. type this I found latter of "electronic" on anything the net, posting butwithout "participant-observation," couldcallit is This observer. observation of a kind only one remains the total,anonymous the problem observer to avoidthe postmodern idealif onewants thatis almost in It the affecting participants. has its disadvantages that one cannotalways time but what, spending on the net is position) saying social knowwho(gender, conregular of the more some at the allows opportunity leastto get to "know" tributors. being is that knows whathe or shewrites probably everyone Eventhough in forgotten theanonymity this of by read thousands strangers, factissometimes as intimate, surprisingly are the As of the medium. a result comments sometimes on questionnaire a net, a I wewillseelaterin thisessay. alsoposted 28-question mail. electronic all almost of themthrough 33 whichI received responses, from for opportunities researchers immense offers research Thiskindof ethnographic

30

SOCIOLOGY RELIGION OF

to conduct explorations all kindsof cultural into phenomena, theseon-line for services contain discussion groups a variety popular specialized for of and topics. STAR TREK A RELIGIOUS AS PHENOMENON? WhenI undertook research, firstintention to focus howST this my was on draws picture thefuture is attractive many a of that to Americans. early I But on realizedwasdealing something I with much bigger more and complex I had than anticipated. Trekwasnot limited science Star to fictionfans,norwasit justa popculture phenomenon created corporate for profit, willbe made as clearby thisessay. StarTrekfandom seemed to somekindof movemerlt.2 certainly akin It was not a political movement, it hadpolitical but aspects. wassomething It broader thanthat,morelikea religious movement. firstthought seemsrather At this ludicrous, ST is a TV show.Andyet as I looked it further, hadfeatures for at it thatparalleled religious-type a movement: originmyth, set of beliefs, an a an organization, someof the mostactiveandcreative and members be found to anywhere. It is the activities thesefansthatwilltakecenter of stage thisarticle. in To address asa religious ST phenomenon, however, first we needto understand the place religion oursociety, it ischanging, what ischanging of in how and it into.
RELIGION CONTEMPORARY IN AMERICAN SOCIETY

The"folk" definition religion, is,howmostAmericans of reliof that think gion,is thatof a system private, of conscious articulated and beliefs offfrom set the other "spheres"lifesuchaswork, of politics or leisure. viewof religion, This however, resulted fromthe peculiarly Western process societal"differenof tiation" (Tschannen 1991),whereinstitutional religion givena specific was function. the medieval for instance, In era, religious practice intimately was connected everyday Sincethen,however, practice Christianity to life. the of has oftenbecome "abstracted," ordisconnected everyday (Asad1983:245). from life As a result tendto limitreligion its institutional confessional as we to and form, seenin thedenominations,to a setof privatized or religious beliefs areonly that peripherally connected a person's to public (Bellah al. 1985). viewof life et The religion private conscious severely as and also circumscribes understanding our of it. Mircea Eliade writes, the Western "To mind,whichalmost automatically relates ideas the sacred, religion evenof magic certain all of of and to historical forms Judeo-Christian of religious alienhierophanies appear life, must largely as aberrations" (1958:10-11). is alsoimportant notethatone'sreligion It to need not be articulated belief,butis moreoftenan ongoing as experience, out lived andtaken granted for (Pouillon 1982).
2 Using termreligious the movement" follows recent the trend religious in studies from term away the "cult" "sect" their or with often contradictory definitions pejorative and connotations. "Religious movements" alsoallows a broader for definition religion avoids Western of that the model religion, of along linesof the Asad's comments ). (1983

AS PHENOMENON31 STARTREK FANDOM A RELIGIOUS

"DisFised" Religion

form, oftenfailto recognize we and Without institutional confessional its puts religionin our own society,or as ThomasLuckmann it, it becomes forms(Luckmann 1991:169). politicalor cultural "disguised" undervarious Or (Swatos 1983:329). as fromwhatit wasin the past" Religion different "is group a religious has "theDurkheimian notionthatevery Robert Bellah states, or Asia,is forbe in dimension, whichwould seenas obvious southern eastern in the of eign to us.This obscures recognition suchdimensions oursociety" that "wemustget usedto the role of (Bellah1974:41, n.1). Eliadeargues in absolutely everywhere, everyareaof psychology, recognizing hierophanies and life" 1). economics, spiritual social ( 1958:1 minds, elements? many In people's can Where oursociety weseereligious in deities, ancestral spirits nature and "disenchanted" of gods, theworld become has us over and "offers totalmastery ourenvi"men havebecome gods" science like citing Edmund (Lessaand Vogt 1979:413, ronment over our destiny" and inin areas ourculture, of religion expressed many is Leach). Thismodern-day as cluding popular culture, in thecaseof ST,I willargue. in to for Thisis not an easyargument make, "theverymanner whichreliand ambiguous leavestheminherently giousconcepts held andexpressed are Religious change notsim is (Lessa somewhat ambivalent" andVogt1979:413). it in but or plya matter of"belief"or "disbelief" a "shift beliefs," rather, is a between conviction skeptiand of and "complex interplay balance proportion This and and (Lessa Vogt 1979:414). cism,and seriousness merediversion" to and makes religion "difficult locate measure."
Religion's Strerlgth

in in society, argues religion stillstrong Western that is Thomas Luckmann that demise.He argues opposition thosewho see its steadyand eventual to substantially that,in and life religion a partof human hadneverweakened "as people,even in modern in fact, it remained embedded the lives of ordinary 1991:169, 179). industrial societies" (Luckmann to the of ofWestern society mean removal religion does The"secularization" with argues, replacement an its but its own separate sphere, also,Luckmann An of best as emergent of religion, described the privatizationreligion. exform in whichrejects organization terms Age"movement, emplar thisis the "New of of whichallow cultivates "notion networks," the of biginstitutions, instead and whicharecharacterexploitable culticmilieus, the formation of"commercially [T]he weak forms institutionalization.... New of izedbyvaried-generally individmagical world viewsupply of Ageandsimilar representativesa holistic, bricolage" for individual and ualsearchers the bricks somestraw further with 178). (Luckmann 1991:176, on institutions, in words, carried notonlyin large is Religious practice, other from and that networks, features practices vary with butincreasingly smaller in by oftenfostered commercialization. placeto place,butwitha commonality are arguesthat symboliccommunities a partof the KennethThompson

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SOCIOLOGY RELIGION OF

"sacralization" resists that processes secularization. of Thesecommunities becomesacred the extenttheyare"socially to transcendent," is, marked that off from "themundane world everyday of routine" (Thompson 1990:179). esThis saywillseekto demonstrate STfandom among chieflocations this that is the of kindof religious practice forms typeof "symbolic and a community" identithat fies itselfin opposition to the "mundane" the words fansthemselves) (in of world non-ST of fans. First, however, willlookat ST asa fixedsetof consciously I maintained beliefs.This is in partthe "folk'conception religion ourownsociety, a of in as fixedset of consciously maintained beliefs.SomeST fansdo adhere ST to "philosophies" (Paulson 1991),andothers simply are attracted the world by it portrays,reflection dominant a of American cultural themes (Kottak 1990). For both,however, contentof ST provides the themwithan orientation the to world, to its(our) and future.
SOMETHING "BELIEVE" THEWORLD TO IN: VIEW STARTREK OF

ST,of course, to a certain is extenta subset the larger of category science of fiction.Frederick Kreuziger science calls fictiona religion America, its in with "central myth" progress of "which helps peoplelive in or into the future" ( 1986:84). is a universalizing meantforall people It faith, everywhere. Much science fictiondoesnot allowforthe possibility people optoutof the that may type of society envisioned writers, it is assumed willhappily by for all participate in it. Scienceand technology the vehiclesby whichthis future be are will brought existence, into "and should understood religious be in terms" that as which 'sbreathes lifeintohumankind" new ( 1986:15). Therehavebeentwo maingenres sciencefiction,the utopian the of and apocalyptic (1986:100). fallssolidlyinto the utopian category. history ST ST shows waron Earth that eventually stopped} nations planets and and joined together a "United in Federation Planets" whichtheEnterprise ambasof for is an sador, explorer defender. "positive and This viewof the future" one of the is mostpopular reasons liketheshow, theyoftenstatethemselves. fans as William Tyre(1977)seesin ST the mythic themeof paradise, thatlinkspastand one present, thatdisguises pastaspresent. embodies symbols, and or the ST the ideas ways feeling arguments themeaning thedestiny members of or about of its share, one that is uniformly positive.April Selley (1990) sees in ST:TNGan Emersonian transcendentalism is a sortof "naturalism" on the type that based power science humanity's of and manipulation it. Faith placed thepower of is in of thehuman mind,in humankind, in science. ST,threats normally and On are from alienforces, problems aspoverty war disease earth as such and and on have beeneliminated. Somehavecriticized 'sarrogance" the of TNGbecause freof quentreference made the showto howfartheyhave"advancedf' their on over earth ancestors. EvenStarTrekwriter director and NicholasMeyer statesthat "SThas evolvedinto a sortof secular parallel the Catholic to Mass. words the The of Mass remain constant, heaven but knows, music the keeps changing.. . ItshuS .

PHENOMENON33 AS FANDOM A RELIGIOUS STARTREK

The without theology. program's Religion constant. remains buoyant a manism (1991:50). runs karma routinely overitsdogma" mythand similar the frontier to mythology, StarTrekis partof American Kottak arConrad it. Anthropologist that theTV show"Westerns" exemplified themes. . . a American cultural of guesthat ST is "asummation dominant myth" doesnot resonate that American origin of a transformation fundamental ( in allsocieties1990:101-6). at morefully(butproblematically This mythicelementof ST is explored conwhichcompares Monomyth, in 1992:13) TheAmerican times; Jenkins see of culture withthe heroicmyths popular myths seen in American temporary 1987:33). (Jewett Lawrence and was Campbell fondof speaking whichJoseph examine The placein thisexposition. authors takesa central ST popreligion is and science egalitarianism discovery, of Trek mythology progress, howtheStar to and in deeplyingrained ourculture, it is thesenotionswe seekto transmit 1990). exempliST 1976; Kottak and (Dolgin Magdoff the others through world universal scale. fiesthison a literally without or American values,religion myths, One cannottalk of central of of 1991).The origin notions of at seeing"progress"the center them(Lasch and in engaging lengthy with issue, philosophers has progress itselfbeena major 1983). Age of over arguments TheLegiiimacytheModem (Blumenberg complex in and policy("development") is central our underlies economic our Progress extolsthegreat rhetoric whenthe political years, especially election in politics, Carter lost agreed Jimmy that It people. isgenerally of "potential" theAmerican to in malaise" America, contrast in of he spoke a "moral when the 1980election and progress prosperity. message American of upbeat Reagan's endlessly Ronald with of ideals America itsegalitarian and ST mixesthe scientific technical work toworld wherepeoplefromall races a to ideology produce progressive by was The knowledge. following written a to gether a vastendeavor expand in Fiction convention Science of viewing ST,at a World the fanabout firstpublic origins and races,genders planetary in 1966:"Wenoticedpeopleof various Herewasa it Herewasa future did not hurtto imagine. together. working and exploration expansion" emphasizing for tomorrow mankind, constructive 1989:2). (Asherman As ST world; doesthesame. wewillsee us oftenpoints to another Religion ST real is below, world ambiguously to many fans.Inthiswayit is notdifthis of that eschatology sees,in the context a of ferent fromthe tradition Christian on Variations thisthemehavebeenadapted perfection. a linear history, future Marxism. such philosophies, asorthodox other Western bymany thought backa longway,to goes in element Western the Indeed, utopian The period. post-Columbian and the earlysixteenthcentury, the immediate in Moreandotherswerecreatedin this period, compleof utopias Thomas of of and oppositionwith the anarchy disorder conceptions the mentary out notion of"order" impulses theWestern is Also "savage." tiedin withutopian assimilation of of which came the "project" the West, that of universal of have comea number (Trouillot1991:32).On the heels of this impulse ideoS and 1979), it isthisculture-wide (Hobsbawm religious movements utopian draws. ST upon logical inclination which fandom

34

OF SOCIOLOGY RELIGION

has view progressive of the world been of The popularity the optimistic, havebeenpopular view. pessimistic There than much stronger the apocalyptic, of but Rurzeer) the initialdraw vein in SF movies the apocalyptic (e.g.,Bklde by created the fansof universe intothe popular did thesemovies not coalesce of that been havecontinually segments society holdto thepessimistic ST.There thought), but apocalyptic (whichalsogoesbackto Biblical viewof the future century, bysegments held view been thishasalways a minority in the twentieth of acceptance The scale. vastcultural of on boththe leftandright the political utopia. universe-wide of resonance a future the STdemonstrates mythical is themes as view and ThatSThasprogress a "positive of thefuture" central et (Lichtenberg al. 1975;Gerrold by in reaffirmed writing ST fansthemselves "the GeneRoddenberry, manwho by 1984)andverydirectly itS latefounder inhe before died,a 30-page just myth." 1991, months In an created American magazine the in was with terview Roddenberry published TheHumanist, official had to Humanist Association, whichRoddenberry belonged of the American humanist that he since1986.In the interview reveals he hada veryconscious to their of control theirowndestiny, ability taking that philosophy sawhumans in his was intention to express philosophy ST, Roddenberry's the control future. pull secret the network the plugon him lest buthe hadto keepthis intention 1991). (Alexander publicly. their have ST like Others, Roddenberry, used to express philosophy of relevance colleges the "cultural on at courses various Mills Jeffrey hastaught in interference another (forbidding Directive to the Prime He Star Trek." points Combiin Diversity Infinite of philosophy IDIC(Infinite the culture), Vulcan as of of structure the UnitedFederation Planets the and nation), the governing into uponwhichweneedto act if weareto survive thetwentieth kinds ideas of the we its it ST, By century. watching studying andapplying lessons, canmake becomes Trek almost "[I]n Mills written. thislightStar has place, world better a doesin Star doesin 66 books, Trek doesn't WhattheBible it? a sortof scripture, of 79 episodes.... I can'tthinkof a seriesthat reallyspoketo the future in (quoted Paulson as StarTrek" and with humankind as muchclarity vision about "civilreligion," In 1991:29). thissenseST maybe akinto an American more later. whichI willspeak belief an outlook, namely underlying affinities a religious with SThasstrong and nature normative about human messages that andmythology tiestogether of sociand about sociallifewitha construction presentation future statements ety.
FANDOM STARTREK

but as can phenomenon be understood a set of beliefs, the ST asa religious To potential. see of fuller picture itsreligious of activities itsfansgivesusa much of at of of the origins the vastactivities ST fans,let us lookbriefly the history moveST widespread fandom of the sciencefictionfandom, precursor today's ment. in that of is ST fandom in partthe culmination a phenomenon began the but had pulpmagazines a small loyal fiction WarI era,whenscience post World

PHENOMENON35 STARTREK FANDOM A RELIGIOUS AS

from the of set it readership. the beginning hadthe makings a group apart From restofsociety.
writers readers and alike,wasthatit the community, Thecentral about science-fiction fact disdained. that of shared interests outlooks therest theworld and was family. members a The or reading writing of and and Theythought terms science the future, whentheyweren't in theygave them.In so doing, whattheywanted wasto talkabout most about thosethings, 'fandom." cultural phenomenon, scienceSfiction birth thatunique to it. who experienced The science-fiction anyone hasnever to It is verydifficult explain to furtive Christians" pagan of Rome, small, might to the "cellar be closest analogy, perhaps, came by or meeting secret, in shunned evenattacked outsiders, asfans or groups believers, of (Pohl to callthem, "mundanes" 1984:47). the

enmale,withfemales a at Thesefansformed community, firstexclusively to fans theirchildren be fans;thereare teringlater: "fans married andraised to fans thirdS evenfourth-generation beginning showupthesedaysat the and (Pohl for conventions" 1989:47). 'cons' a short term science-fiction fanfiction and So a precedent setforST fandom, it wasoutof science was and of The of domthatthe firstST fanscame. story the origin growth ST fanas a domhas itselfattained levelof mythology, a kindof originmythof the in of movement. of the firstshowings ST, at a sciencefictionconvention One The manner the StarTrekCompendium. in 1966,is recounted the following in experience: in of author of theeventalmost terms a conversion talks
and We at unable leave seats. jUSt nodded eachother tO our After filmwas the overwewere upon the We smiled, began whisper. camecloseto lifting man(Roddenberry) our and to before smiled, wereturned smile and the him shoulders carrying outof theroom.... [H]e and (Asherman ). 1982:2 weconverged himon

into was to the From thenon, according the author, convention divided two and (who factions, "enlightened" sawthepreview) the"unenlightened." the to however, began giveit time audience, ST'sexposure a prime television to to campaigns fiction had.The letter-writing ever a wider audience science than of Bjo as savetheseries nowlegendary, isthe leader thismovement, Trimble, are of the her ( ). wholater published memoirs1983 Init shedetails organizationthe numbers lettersthat weresent to NBC,which of campaign the massive and became The beingcanceled itsfirstyear. movement after saved showfrom the (largely to a badtimeslot) due was canceled evenstronger theseries finally after is by Hereis howST fandom described one of its in 1969afterthreeseasons. earliest fans:
new more starved newinformation, material, fuelfortheirfierf for All in all,fansliterally of future. of obsession fortheiralmost-religiona rnore-than-promising Because a lackof fan hungry ST,fans to becreative.... [E]very of ST was for had material placate mind to a through an were friendwe hadnot met.Conventions like stepping family a distant for of was and into world. force fandom palpable welonged The enchanted doorway another and letters scripts reviews and and we make a reality wewrote it so rebirth. believed could We We We with novels. wished. dreamt. bumed inspiration. We

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OF SOCIOLOGY RELIGION

whichmadethe revivalall the goeson to speakof "suffering," The author against and "intolerance prejudice" It hope." alsobrought ST sweeter. 'brought little their threatens perfect microTrek because somehow "Probably Why? fans. of acceptance' the about "cultural thenspeaks The cosmof existence." writer on an to magic make impact society; ST."STanditsfansstillhavethepowerful (Van Hise the even to manipulate future.That abilityhas been proven" 112). 1990:1 FANNETWORKS
Organitaiions

femiS that phenomenon includes and is ST fandom a widespread complex to it Indeed, seems revolve class the nistsandfamiliest working andacademicsX withsomeof the mainonesbeingfanclubs, of networks fans} different around 1988). 1992; (Bacon-Smith Jenkins writers women nets computer and 200 withnearly of circuit clubs, into a worldwide havegrown Thefanclubs 1991), (Paikert members 100,000 approximately boasting countries, in several of and chapters chapters the newer"Klingon which includeboth Starfleet by clubsis established naming of A (KAG). hierarchy Starfleet Group" Assault as clubs more established givenstatus withlarger, themafierStarTrekvessels, "shuttles." ones whilesmaller arecalled (e.g., starships USSExcelsior) withineach club by the titles given to leaders is Hierarchy established for of are Biographies written the leadership the Starfleet Captain). (Admiral, photosof themposingin whichincludes Communique), (Starfleet newsletter JohnDow,Communications with uniform theirrankandtitle (e.g.,Admiral events,much by moveupthe hierarchy beingactivein group Chief).Members stress and likethe BoyScouts.BothStarfleet KAGorganizations community and fan a them distinguishes from mere group underthis projects; aspect service a aboutbuilding better with lies the seriousness whichtheytaketheirbeliefs world. house informafor clearing isa the among fanorganizations central Included new fans that "Welcommittee" connects andintroduces fansto the tion called are, clubs howto on free Theyprovide advice where fandom. Trek of world Star on information They startclubs,andhow to host conventionsv alsoprovide finStar haveabout Trek one question might any and fanzines justabout other at in began 1972andnowcomprises leastfourteen The dom. STWelcommittee in working many and each with its own "captain" 'screw," areas, geographic (Van countries Hise1990). and states sixforeign the Witness advertiseto continue organizeJ groups NewStarTrek-related club: mentfora correspondence
with and people to beinvolved thedetails way Fleet a great to meet is Ships theThird of Star the from Everyone around Trek. in of that andimagination weallknow thatis included Star lines Story and a on who country joinsis placed a shipandassumesposition is givena rank. by independently the crew are ideas continued and by arebegun shipcaptains thosestory and months areeventually of over Story members. linescanbedeveloped a period twoto four tO for and compiled published thecontributorsread.

STARTREK FANDOM A RELIGIOUS AS PHENOMENON37

Besides shipwriting the work, canalsotakeclasses Third you at Fleet Academy. Third Fleet Academy based RioRancho Mexico. theU.S.mail cantake is in New By you classes either at B.S+, M.S.or Ooctorate levelsandeam degrees fieldssuchas Starship in Operations, Engineering, Medical evenSecurity. and I highly recommend Fleet those youwhoenjoy Third for of writing Trek of missions Star type andenjoy shating withothers them (monthly onStrekSD post listserv).

Computer Networks Electronic and Billboards

Another "community" in the computer fan exists "on-line" networks that haveStarTrekbillboards live discussion or groups. thesenets,individuals On "discuss" show,posting the comments, questions, responding otherposts. or to Fans oftentakeon pseudonyms the characters the show. from in There over are 3}000 postingslmonth the btggest on USENET newsgroup is devoted that solely to Star Trek talk,called rec.arts.startrek (r.a.s.). A similar network BITNET, type is whichalsohasa veryactiveST newsS group(70-90messages/day during academic the year).Othercomputer nets suchas Prodigy, Genie,Compuserve, America-On-Line,haveST newsand all groups haveregularly or scheduled discussion live groups. Theseusers work primarily theirhomes. from Usenet Bitnet primarily and are utilized institutions, by andthough biggest the number users of seemto he men,women alsoactive are on the net. Later thisarticle, willgiveexamples postings thesenets, in I of on andshowhowa process systemization of occurs involving formation unithe of fied beliefsandpractices an ongoingprocess forming maintaining in of and community. Women Eventhough many people thinkof menasthebiggest fans,it is actually ST female thathavebeenwritten fans about mostbyacademics the (Bacon-Smith 1992; Jenkins 1992;Penley1992)+ Women, contrast the ST male"geek" in to stereotype, beenleaders the ST fanmovement the verybeginning, have in from havewritten many the ST novels? werealsoinstrumental setting of and in up theearliest clubs fan (Lichtenbergal. 1975:ch. er 1). Whathavewomen found the show? in Camille Bacon-Smith's book, recent Enterprising Women, mostly is about women writers "fanzines," stories of ST pubS lished privately among network fans. a of These women writers "steal characters" from showandfleshthemout in ways enable the that themto liveoutside the boundariesa restrictive of society. Rather focusing themore than on science and action-adventure aspects the ST universe, of female focus the relationS fans on shipsof the characters. According BaconSmith to (1992:293), thesefans"reconstruct ownreality" "create community" the guiseof play, their and a under protecting themfrom masculine thatportrays as trivial. the gaze play Through the stories women allowed playrolesandexpress are to feelings masculine that culture notallow. does

38

OF SOCIOLOGY RELIGION

COMMUN17sY

(e.g., "communities" certain around to seems revolve Muchof ST fandom it ST, that writers) discuss andremake in varwomen boards, bulletin electronic tied communities such The iousways. localgroups as StarFleetareface-to-face and The muchlike denominations. electronic into a nationalorganization, withthe deal yet diffuse, in someways more are networks a littlemore women's ST as Taken a whole, shortly. clear issues "philosophical" of ST,aswillbemade identiseek where community" people to form a forms typeof "symbolic fandom them ties distinctfromthe outsideworld.As AnthonyCohen describes whichis a kindof world a "create symbolic communities symbolic (1985:63), such Communities as theseare society." of reconstruction empirical fantastic based communities structural of to oftena response the breakdown traditional This lossof and betweenrelatives neighbors. relations moreon face-to-face their or to people choose construct ownidentities (or allows forces) community to communities build Peopleusethesesymbolic 1992:7). and (Lash Friedman to according Cohen. them, around to in theseidentities, opposition theculture memwhenStarfleet quitepersonal become theseidentities In ST fandom, of and ranks titlesandusethemin all correspondencethe berstakeon specific is distinctivenessexThe posts. fan's e-mail on signatures their including groups, the who of in pressed theirdisdain the "mundanes" do not consider alternative an provides opporST constructs. fandom fiction that and worlds futures science and mobility lifelinks common at a timewhenpeople's for tunity fansto build with It style makethis problematic. is veryeasyto strikeup conversations of fansthat a group among reported aboutST, and it is frequently strangers 1989). in ground theirloveof ST (Amesley found strangers common and resist communities the secularization rasymbolic earlier, As discussed here, Yet 1990). thereisa paradox if we life(Thompson of tionalization modern in expressed ST andadthe because ideology this seekto apply to ST fandom, itself, modernism rationalistic of of heredto by many the fansis an expression Or, tomorrow. comparing a belief the progressive thatwe can construct better the of communities"nationalism, ST imag"imagined Anderson's withBenedict theiridentity finding non-nationalistic, explicitly are inedcommunities usually howMy to but not in ethnicity in adherence a visionofthe future. argument, that I argue for of critique modernism, ever,is alongthe linesof a postmodern a Trekis in thefinalanalysis faithitby that the modernism is exemplified Star Trek up that types in selfthatis practiced thevarious of communities make Star fandom.
CONVENTIONS

fromeach isolated abovearerather described communities The different suchas for other,butthereareopportunities themto meetat otherlocations fans whereserious sites,whichalsoserveas locations and conventions tourist fans. meetcasual The fan the were ST conventions among earliest activities. firstST convenafter ST in tioneverheld,in NewYork 1972,entered mythology 3,000people

PHENOMENON 39 AS FANDOM A RELIGIOUS STARTREK

(VanHise 1990:87-88). up showed whenonly300-400peoplewereexpected than90 annually. are untilthere nowmore havegrown Sincethen,conventions mock-ups, bridge literature, artwork, contests, and trivia costume Theyfeature of the Trek Fan's JamesVan Hise, the author by and appearances actors. way: in a describedconvention thefollowing Handbook,
It's to that it's beento a convention, anexperience is difficult explain. like never If you've to facetof the dayhassomething do with every where world, into beingushered another room in the of variety merchandise dealers' or the be It TREK. might seeing incredible STAR it To to questions. describe the and in a of seeing star theseries person having opportunityask in the world a cut very You're much offfrom real wrong. not would befarfrom asa timewarp until of as your forget owntroubles wellasthose theworld thecon You convention. caneasily as attend many people many It's again. no wonder to down earth endsandyouhaveto come a and day two as conventions theycan.It is anintense orthree vacation is quite stimulating (1990:90). experience

in oneselffurther the ST to are Conventions an opportunity immerse lanUsingthe religious oneselfin ritual. much "experience," as one immerses the Witness folmoveon mypart. is not of"immersion" justa rhetorical guage response: a from questionnaire taken quote, lowing
I of the theyhadthisthingabout "Temple Trek." I At a convention wentto a whileback who They in and stayed watched evenparticipated the chanting. hadsomewoman was the And newbom. they"baptized" kidintothispseudo-church. withherbaby fairly there it bizarre even though wasall justa joke.ButI mustadmit I waskindof Pretty it taking allasajoke. there at wonderingthetimeif everyone wasreally

its I reveals,believe, underpractice of over The ambiguity the seriousness Trek potential. religious lying for fandom, theycan to opportunity observe are Conventions oftena unique with and of of expression thefervency fandom of itsrelationships the be a direct as visibility, its oftengiveST fandom mostpublic Conventions public. general them.Onefan fans casual attend themandmany cover usually the localmedia as of to expressed mehis distaste the "nota cluers" he calledthem,thosefans of or littleof thehistory facts theST universe. and whoarenewto fandom know
AND "PILGRIMAGE" TOURISM STARTREK

and In recent yearsthe numberof Star Trek placesof "pilgrimage" anniversary The has exhibitions beenincreasing. twenty-fifth commemorative servedas the occasionfor some of the exhibitions,such as one at the a has and of Museum Science Industry opened 6Z000 The Smithsonian. Oregon the allowfansto experience places Trek foot square permanent exhibit.Other has Studios a ST set in Universal show.As partof theirparkin California, out acting a STplot. in tourists, fulluniform, theyfilmselected which me showed the videoof hervisitthere.The one I visited fanwhoproudly from footage one with out acting parts actual of footage thetourists videospliced part actually of a ST movie. that the giving appearance theywere of the movies,

40

SOCIOLOGY RELIGION OF

Thisfandescribed experience a dream the "as cometrue" which made 2,000 the miletrip"worthwhile." pilgrimage there; ourMecca," toldme. "We out it's she Another showed numerous fan me pictures herposing uniform a mockS of in on upoftheEnterprise built a convention. bridge for Various townsarenowtaking the ST themein order attract up to tourists. Vulcan, Canada turned has itselfintoa ST "theme" town.A townin lowaproclaimed itselfCaptain Kirk's hometown (the Kirk character comefrom does lowa)andhasan annual Captain festival. Kirk Though maybe pure this commercialism the part the towns, on of theirsuccess contingent theirappeal is on to fansasa place tourism. of Thereis actually muchto be saidfora connection between Trekand Star tourism. DeanMacCannell's TheTourzst In classic (originally published 1976) in he names sciencefictionandtourism (alongwithexistentialism) the only as "widespread movements universally regarded essentially as modern," to a akin "modern religion." "are They self-conscious collective movements motivated by a collective questforan overarching (solar galactic) or system, higher a moral authority a godless in universe, whichmakes theentire of world single a solidary unit,a mere world itsproper among worlds" with place the ( 1989:16). Part ST'sappeal in the image society presents, future holds of is of it the it forth.As mentioned before, of the clearest one messages ST fandom how of is much people it asa signof hopeforthe future. appeal ST is notfora see The of kindof personal salvation, forthe future the ST collective but of "we." will "I" notliveuntilthetwenty-fourth century, "we" but certainly according the will, to ST future. ishopeforourselves a society, myth It as a about where havecome we andwhere aregoing. want bepart forming destiny. we Fans tO of that Participation science in fiction, tourism, like "helps person construct the to totalities hisdisparate from experiences. his lifeandhissociety appear Thus, can to himas an orderly series formal of representations, snapshots a family like in album" (MacCannell 1989:15). experience sitting the bridge uniThe of on in formandbeingphotographed filmed or brings intodirect one participation in the universe, much many as rituals fortheonlywayreally "connect" do, tO with something to participate it. Cultural is in productions carry can individuals beyondthemselves the restrictions everyday and of experiences. "Participation. .. can carry individual the frontiers his beingwhere emotions the to of his may enter into communion the emotionsof others'under influence' with the ' (MacCannell 1989:26). is thefan's It dream actually beon theshow, the to and closest things it arebridge to mock-ups studio and tours.3 of thisexperience Out comes closer a identification the universe seek. with they

3 Many celebrity areattempting become of theST universe making fans to part by appearances the on show. Whenplanning TNGwas for under Whoopi way, Goldberg Paramount called inorder play part tO a in theseries, asking a nominal only fee.

STARTREK FANDOM A RELIGIOUS AS PHENOMENON41

LINKING THESTARTREK UNIVERSE THEPRESENT TO

Thisuniverse, however, nota totally is separate, fantastical universe unconnectedto the present. various In ways, StarTrekuniverse "linkeds' the is with the contemporary The lead-in every world. to TNGepisode ("Space: final the frontier. Thesearethe voyages the Starship of Enterprise .")begins .. witha shot of the Earth fromclosein, andthen a gradual "tour" through other the planets the solarsystem of until it finally focuses the Enterprise. seon This quence orients viewer envision events taking the to the as placein hisownuniverse. Other"linkage" accomplished someof the Trekmanuals novels. is by and Therecently published TrekChronology: History theFuture Star A of (Okuda and Okuda 1993), compiles history theworld thepresent the timeof the a of from to latest Enterp7ise thetwenty-fourth in century. This worldis a directprojection the future into fromthe present, the for showcontinually refers historical to events from twentieth the century beand fore.Through time travel,manyplotsactually takeplacein pre-twenty-first century time.Episodes havedonethisarefrequently that among most the popular.4 OnefanI talked focused howspace timearemanipulated the to on and in plots,especially through travel, time whichallows "asecond one chance, . . to . set thingsright again." Timetravel allows thisritualistic us recourse, muchthe same healing way rituals rituals or based origin on myths Origin do. myths often takeplace"inthe beginning" arereally message alltime,a model be but a for to attained oftenthrough reenactment ritual of (Eliade 1958). It hasbeensuggested ST is ahistoric. relates to anyspecific that It not time andplacebutis meant alltime(Amesley for 1989:336-37). William argues Tyre thesame thing:
Mythsno longerlink us to the pastX since we knowthe pastis gone andis of historical, not immediate, relevance the present. to Bicentennialism recalls past.On the otherhand,any the sciencefictioncan linkus to the future.... ST, bydisguising pastasourfuture, us in our puts it, not the historical butthe mythicpastof ourfirstbeginnings.... [T]heseries(ST) itself past mediates tensionbetween pastandthe present establishing thirdtime,thatof first the the by a beginnings. is a timewiththe anticipation wonder the future It and of without anxieties the of the present, with the gloryandsecurity the pastwithoutits remoteness. transcending of By in an ultimately inexplicable the sumof message medium way and STARTREKputsthe fanbecome-believer thattime(1977:713, in 717).

ST hasalsoaffected fans' the lives.Actors oftenrelate theyget letters how fromfanstellingthemhow the showinspired themto become engineers or doctors, to do wellin school(alsosee Lichtenbergal. 1975).ST hasgiven or et people hopeforthe future, inspiring themto takecontrol theirlivesin the of same many way self-help quasi-religions(Greil Rudy and do and 1990).
4 A number sources listed most of have the popular episodes. thatisgenerally One recognizedbeamong to thebest, notthebest, City on dle Edgeof Forever&omTOS, which if is takes Spock McCoy to Kirk, and back the 1930s. best The TNGepisode said many beYesterday's is by to Entnise,which involved travel. also time

42

SOCIOLOGY RELIGION OF

Fans wantto bring into the present also ST time,to order things alongthe linesof theST universe. fanshavehadan impact theUnited ST on States space program, supporting increased funding specific and spaceprograms involving manned exploratory missions. and space Sciencefictionbecomes sciencefact (Asherman 1989:151) "fans as actively engineer eventsto makeit true" (Van Hise1990:14), asnaming first such the space shuttle USSEnise. the In the nextsectionI willexamine attraction ST byseeing the of howit is linkedwith the present world,seen as a "reality," authenticated kept and "consistent," finally and filledout as a complete universe. willprimarily I use quotesfromthe rec.arts.startrek (RAS) newsgroup, of thempostedin most January February or 1992+ THEREALITY THESTAR OF TREK UNIVERSE ST, likemany othershows, actively encourages'ssuspensiondisbelief8' a of andsetsitselfupas a reality in whichfanscan "exist." The reality thisuniof verseis important many to people. Much the talkabout revolves of ST around the characters, as Mr.Spock, Vulcan such the character adheres a phiwho to losophy logicunaffected emotion. Cassandra of by Amesley (1989:330), an in academic article entitled "How WatchStarTrek," to argues viewers that have an"implicit assumption a person Spock that like 'exists"' thatanyperceived and inconsistency "deviates hisreality" from ("Spock wouldn't that" a frequent do is fancomment). view,however, different otherways reading This is from of televisioncharacters whichcriticizes inconsistencies flawed as writing focuses or on the plotanddoesnot bother aboutinconsistent characters. "suspension The of disbelief8'particularly forStarTrekfans "[I] a deepexperience is real gain from watching TOS;the movies reading paperbacks. and the I 'transport' myself tO TOS everytime I watchandthis is especially with the movies" true (RAS Questionnaire). he officers crew. . . arenot real,butthatfactis some"1 and times overlooked thefans" by (Irwin Love1990:47). and Thisperception whatWilliam is Shatner, a controversial in Saturday Night Liveskitsetat a STconvention, poked at whenhe implored fansto "Get fun the a Life!" theyasked questions assumed reality the ST uniS after him that the of verse. ST conventions, At where members STareoftenpaid cast of heftyfeesto make personal appearances, actors sometimes these are questioned if theyare as thecharacters portray. they Actors havehaduncomfortable moments answering suchquestions 'WhatisVulcan as really like7" "Why youmarry and did Spock's mother?" (Irwin Love1978:69). and
FILLING OUT THESTARTREK UN1VERSE

Therehasbeena virtual industry uparound built "filling the ST uniout" verse. Reference books suchas the StarTrek Technical Manual, whichlists the specifications Starfleet of ships, Worlds tht Federaiion, and of which details planS ets andthe races liveon them, that havebeenamong mostpopular. the Dozens of other books in existence, titles suchastheSurfeet Marrulge are with Manual, Starfleet CookBook,andStarfleet OfficerRequirements Hise 1990:41-50). (Van

STARTREK FANDOM A RELIGIOUS AS PHENOMENON43

Languages dictionaries beencompiled the Klingon, and have for Vulcan, and Romulan worlds, threeof thebestknown aliens ST.Theentire of history, geography, philosophy eventhe actual and location the planetVulcan been of has described, sometimes thefullcooperation people academic with of at institutions andeven NASA.5A journal the study the Klingon for of language (HolQed) hasalsobeenintroduced recently, onecanattend Klingon and a language camp. Otherliterature includes moreconventional encyclopedias, handbooks and "crew books" delveintothe characters actors the series. that and in Stories in Trekmagazine alsofilledoutthe biographies the characters have of (Irwin and Love1990). The ST universe beenfilledoutwithjustabout has everything make a to it full,consistent reality, enable to livewithinthisuniverse. is a unito one This verse much larger more and complex complete anyother and than fictional universe. The onlyothers thatcomeclosearethe J.R.R. Tolkiennovelsandthe gamesomewhat based it, Dungeorls Dragons, on and whichhasspawned clubs, videogames, role-playing. and Another compared Trek fan Star withother fandoms:
Consider for a moment why there aren't billboardssuch as: rec.arts.murphybrown or rec.arts.cheers. there are such billboards they have anywhere (IF and near the volumeof R.A.S., I'dbe stunned; system my contains1,406 messages it goes backonly abouttwo and weeks.) I thinkthat the reason"rec.arts.startrek" Trekkies and exist is this:StarTrekis an evolving universe stories, of characters ideasthatgoesbeyond media.It is part television, and the of but goesbeyondit. Eventhe worst episodes StarTrekbuildon thatuniverse enrichit. I'm of and fascinatedby the postingson this billbcardby people who have workedto catalogthat universe whopointout whenthe show's and writers lazyandstepoutside the established get of rules.

ST novelsandfanliterature bigbusiness. are Why? Theyfill outthe story. Following anexchange is between RAScorrespondents, of whom fed two one is upwiththeshow. other The seems becounseling to him:
Maybe the commercial medium it's TV you're upsetat. Perhaps likenovelsbetterbecause you you can use yourimagination conjureup hypothetical to situations mannerisms the and of characters morefreely,insteadof the concrete"that's waytt is"in 1V land.Maybeyou the don't like the lackof technicalinfo in the show? maybeit's too fake? Or Describe whatyou don'tlike. Therearea lot of inconsistencies the showthat the novelstendto fill. Myfavorite Troi. in is Hereshe is reading feelings alienslightyears the of awayin one episode shecouldn't but figure out whatthe womanwasup to in "Silicon Avatar" whenyoudidn'tneed to be telepathic to

5 In a July1991letterto Sky69Telescope magazine, threescientists the Harvard-Smithsonian for at Center Astrophysics co-authored letterwithGeneRoddenberry identified star40 Eradani the sunaround a that the as whichthe planetVulcanrevolves. Thiswasbased recentastronomical on observations revealthe ageof that that staras beingcompatible with a planetthathostslife,whereas previously the named Vulcansun (Epsilon Eridani) couldnot have.

44

SOCIOLOGY RELIGION OF

figure shewanted out revenge. That's pretty anditstheseinconsistencies make poor that the show to swallow." hard

This person continuesin his depressed state:

There those whoI think are few would anyshow matter shitty was longasit like no how it as had"Star Trek" thetitle.uStar in Trek: TJHooker The episodes" 'sStar ThePartridge or Trek: Family Generation," Trek "Star meets Brady the Bunch" would bein the#1 timeslot these all cause people mewould like watch every week hoping thismight theonethatchanges that be myopinion. to beletdown Just onceagain.

THECONSlSTENCY THESTARTREK OF UNIVERSE

The fan literature manuals and havebrought aboutthe completion an of alternate universe, whichthe coherence the universe be maintained in of must for fansto continuetheir"suspension disbelief." go to extraordinary of Fans lengths do this,forinstance, to oftenfocusing the consistency reality on and of the technical details theship: of "The universe possibly most trek is the complex andselfSconsistent fictional reality created. all knowhowthe phaser, ever We transporter,al. work. knowthatyoucan'tbeam et We through shield coma or municate through space 'sub interference'." correspondent 6A responds: "That's whywe likeit because so complete. complete it's A universe whyI'ma ST is fan. . . there's muchmaterial wecanalways so that learn something about new it." Inorder thisuniverse remain "reality,"must keptauthentic. for to a it be We eavesdrop thefollowing on conversation whether details thefilms over the in (as compared say,theseries) "true" not.(Thetechnical to, are or manual referred to in the conversation contains details the technology the show. the of in Technicalmanuals beenamong biggest have the sellers allofficial manuals): of ST
I don't thinktheclassof 1701-C mentioned the air,so theTNGTechnical was on Manual takes precedence ("Ambassador"). people Some claim is an"Alaska" ship, thisisan it class but invention FASA therefore of and worthless. Actually, neither takes IMO one precedence theother.7 TNGTechnical over The Manual's speculations easilybe invalidated the creators the series, could by of muchas early TNG writers' havebeen. guides And,ofcourse, filmed material be invalidated thesame if thewriters can in way, decide they want to. Correct-which leaves withthe question whether newmaterial correct us of the is (i.e., they've revised history) whether the or they're simply being inconsistent failing produce and to a consistent universe. general,tendto take In I Trek Classic feature information and film over anyprovided TNG(oranimated Ilm sure I would in Trek; not how reconcile inconsistencies
6 In the magazine Trek, there is a columncalledStar TrekMysteries Explained" which attemptsto explainthe technical details the series. of 7 IMO/IMHO net shorthand "InMy(Humble) is for Opinion." TOS is the original Trekseriesand Star TNG is the current "TheNext Generation" series.

STARTREK FANDOM A RELIGIOUS AS PHENONIENON 45 if there are any betweenanimatedand featurefilm Trek).Also, non film material cannotinvalidate film material, IMO.Given artinconsistency there,I always takethe film version the accurate as one.

It isnothistorians anthropologists whodebate and alone notions history. of This conversation started the technical on classification the shipandquickly of became debate a about correct history, as it is oftenreferred the"canon." ST or to, References theStarTrek to "canon" frequent thesenewsgroups form are on and the rules thedebate. regularly for A posted "netiquette" (which gives guidelines forposting r.a.s.) on givesthedefinition canon: of
"Canon" meansthat Gene Roddenberry his dulyappointed (or representative) declared has something be officially of the "Star to part Trek" universe. This includes TV episodes the and the movies,primarily. "NonScanon"everything (the books,the animated is else series,comic books,the storyyou madeup when you wereplaying"StarTrek"with yourfriends during recessbackin Kindergarten, Youcan get into someprettygoodarguments people etc.). with on the net aboutwhether not something or actually "happened" the StarTrekuniverse in or not. SinceStarTrekis sciencefiction(to mostof us, anyway), somepeoplehavepointedout that arguing about whethersomethingfictionalis "real" "unreal" or involvesa lot of nul statements ("Nothing unreal exists" fromST IV:The VoyageHome).Still,can be a lot of fun,whenit doesn't devolveinto name-calling.

It should noted,however, otherdefinitions canonareoffered be that of on the net,which usually are more inclusive the above. effect, "canon" than In the forms cosmology the ST world, the of givingit the coherence tiestogether that the manyfansof the showwho devotemanyhoursto discussing show. the Episodes heavilycritiqued theyarebroadcast. seemto "reject" are after Fans someshows acceptothers upto the standards the show.Whatis auand as of thentic "pure" isoftendebated. or Trek Whenonefanproposedmovie a idea, he attached extended an prologue the"philosophical" on problems it: of
[B]ut explainit I needto offeran observation mine,of the nature the rec.arts.startrek to of of hierarchy of trek moregenerally.(It's probably a new one, by any stretchof the and not imagination.) occursto me that thingsare not unlike a religionaroundhere. I've seen It debates aboutHolyScripture whatconstitutes its authenticity, it, etc. otherwise known as whatis canon?(Which,personally,can kindof understand rationale thesedebates, I the to but mostlyI sortof shrugmy shoulders. This is *just*StarTrek.I know,I know,there'sno suchthingas "just" Trek.)We have High Priests Defenders the TrueFaith(e.g., Star and of Lynch,Kanamori, etc.),8 who prophesy, revealanddefendwhatis "true" to thoseof us trek wanderingin the wilderness,etc. (Of course, when the High Priestsdisagreeamongst themselves, get inquisitions, we holy wars,etc.) Then we have God which,of course,is Roddenberry. the fundamentalists the net, Roddenberry's and visionis ab olute. To of word (Oneof the Ten Commandments Trekis surely, of "Thou shaltnot putanyimages before thy Roddenberry.") Gene Roddenberry IMHO,a greatman,witha wondrous Now, was, visionof the future of whatHumanity be. But,if I can nowswitchfrom metaphorical at and can a (and, leastintended, humorous) analysis the concrete, to Roddenberry NOT God. was

8 ZRegulars" the net whopostreviews otherinfo. on and

46

SOCIOLOGY RELIGION OF

The fansof ST haveconstructed ownworld-a consistent their utopian world where science givenuscontrol theproblems lifeweexperience has over of andread aboutin the papers. order complete In to theircreated universe, both thecreators theshowandthefanshaveto rely, of ironically, "science/magic." on As shown above, science the showis one of the mostcommon the on topicsof fandiscussion. technology is givena veneer scientific The used of reality, but mostfans,evenwhiletrying makeit as closeto reality possible, to as recognize thatmostof the technology made andis thuscloser magic. is up to Science thus turnsinto magic, stateof affairs Swatos 1983:330) a that ( anticipates new in religions where magic/science relied is uponto provide control areas in outside ourability master. to ST is a bodyof knowledge is continually that beingadded andrevised. to The on-linecomments novelsareoriented maintaining reality, and to its to maintaining coherence the show.This is fundamentally the of different from otherpopular or series films (suchas theJames Bond Indiana or Jones movies), whichhavean underlying humor about them.The actionin theseis oftenso outrageous consistency "reality"simply possible, dofansexpect that or is not nor it. Ifthesame thingwere tried ST,fans on would howlin protest. Fans haveshown enormous an ability bea part ST,to appropriate to of it for theirownpurposes. David Says Gerrold, writer the original a for series the and author thebest-selling World StarTrek: of The of
A historyof StarTrekfs fanswouldbe a list of enterprising (pun intended)individuals who have builtbridge sets,designed blueprints, sewntheirown uniforms, written songsandplays, put on conventions,makeStarTrekhome-movies writtentheir own StarTreknovels. or They'vepublished Trekfanzines, Star drawn cartoons, painted pictures, builtmodels, designed new costumes makeup conventionmasquerades, and for collectedfilm clipsand videotapes andprops fromthe original series not to mentionall thosewhohavestudied Trek TV Star andanalyzed fromthis position that. it or This then is the essenceof the StarTrekPhenomenon: fanshave claimedthe showas the theirown.Theyareits caretakers. Theyarethe keepers the dream of (1984:xvi).

Whatcanbe made all thiscreativity invention filling of an of this and out entire other universe? I would argue thisisa creation mythology much that of in thesame thatanyLevi-Straussian way bricoleur would it (Levi-Strauss do 1966). Levi-Strauss thisterm(French "handy-man") used for to illustrate process the of creating mythology where bricoleurs use the available "tools" "materials" and of the culture createa mythological to structure a periodof time. In this over situation, bricoleurs act noton theirownculture, on the alternative the but one theyhaveconstructed whichof course (but cannotbe totallyseparated). The creationof new plots and storiesand the ironingout of existingones is essentially mediating contradictions the story(universe). thisunithe of in In verse, contradictions an affront the consistent the are to universe fansso that desperately to seecreated. want In callingthe activities ST fandom of "mythological," not intendto I do eliminate "playful" entertainment the or aspect ST andclaimit is onlyseriof ous.Thereis certainly mixof entertainment seriousness StarTrek a and about among fans,butthis coexistence alsopresent the creation "primitive" is in of

STARTREK FANDOM A RELIGIOUS AS PHENOMENON47

mythology. theseconsumers mythology it to be onlyliterally Do of take true? Heretoo, thereis a mixture reality unreality, entertainment of and of with mythology, ambiguity of (Willis1967; Turner 1979).Onecanseethisin rituals thatinvolve masking, where masked the figure personifies ambiguity the the of person underneath mask the spirit the and thatis the mask. Participation a in masked performance, in the ST universe, as ofteninvolves pretending, utbut terly serious pretending (Lessa Vogt 1979:414). and "Play serious is business," Victor as Turner about says ritual "liminality" and among Ndembu central the in Africa. Turner speaks howplay seriousness of and havebecome separated "industrial" in societies, howdifferent "spheres" have beenconstructed of the separation economics, out of religion, politics, the and domestic. this process, In "meaning, commitment, symbolism and [become] centered consumption, andleisure" on play ( 1984:334). fandom,believe, ST I is an example playand ritualcomingbacktogether, of backto their4'natural" condition coexistence ambiguity. of and
THESTIGMA FAdJDOM OF

Religious movements havea senseof being often persecuted looked or down uponbecause theirzealousness. indeed, of And thereis a stigma associated with ST fandom. stigma quiterealandisone of the mostcontroversial The is aspects of thephenomenon. Disclaimers thepart fansthattheyarenot"hardcore" on of fansarecommon. Many(if not most)fanswantto distance themselves a from segment fansthattheybelieveto havegone"toofar" theirfanactivities. of in Thereis a "lore" surrounding mostfanatic fans,among the ST bothfansand nonfans among staffof the show.Thisbeliefgot its mostwellknown and the encouragement William from Shatner's Saturday NightLive"Get life!" a skit. Jonathan Frakes, plays who Riker TNG,saidon the Arsenio showthat on Hall someTrek are"alittleweird," statement which fans a with actors Wheaton Wil (Wesley Crusher) JohnDeLancie and ("Q") readily agreed (Uram1991:22). BothShatners Frakes's and comments havebeencontroversial, especially the one coming from Shatner, givenhis position the iconicCapt.Kirk, the as and factit appeared SatardWy NightLive,whose on fans, would I guess, themselves see as theantithesis "geeky" fans.9 Trekdirector of ST Star Nicholas Meyer admits "Idon't really understand &ndom.tendto thinkit'speople toomuch I with time on their hands" (Teitelbaum ). 1991 An astounding percent fans in one nonscientific takenat a con 80 of poll vention thatsomefansare"excessively said activeanddevoted." is believed It that thesepeopleconfuse fictionor entertainment reality, neglect with and "real" andsometimes ownmaterial issues their needs thepursuit fanactiviin of ties andmemorabilia. Stories passed are around among about fans people who confuse reality withunreality. person One claimed knewwhathe calleda he "Dataite," a fanwhowould allow no criticism thecharacter of "Data" TNG. on
9 Occasionally someone geton the ST Usenet will newsgroups direct "Get life!" thefans, and a a at eliciting responses those participatethenewsgroup "netiquettet' angry from who in (RAS pOSt).

48

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Someargue (Amesley 1989)thatthere no real are "hardcore" outthere, fans thatit wasallan invention themedia. onelocalfanI metread of Yet Amesley's comment disagreed it, claiming she herself a hardcore and with that was fan. Andin the introduction a livediscussion (called to group Starfleet Academy) on the America-On-Line computer service,10 moderator thegroup the of defended theirreputation:
A "cool" dudewhosescreennamewon'tbe revealed hereonce beamed aboard Starfleet the Academy and,aftera few minutes, decidedthat we wereall "nerds." Perhaps are.Perhaps we the truedefinition a nerdis someone of whoenjoysthe newandunusual isn'tafraid let and to his or herhairdown,takeon the personality an alienraceandtheorize of aboutthe future and what's really in the great out beyond.

ST elicitsthistypeof controversy because,believe, existsin the liminal I it area between entertainment seriousness. and Nonfans sensethe "seriousness" of StarTrekwhentheywitness fandom activities react and against because it they believe should it remain totally therealm entertainment. people in of That take it seriously offends them.ST fans,on the otherhand, wantto be respected and understood, want and their devotion berecognized legitimate.believe is to as I it in thisinterplay between "seriousness diversion,"common and a feature reliof gion(Lessa Vogt1979:414), weseetheroots thetension ST,its and that of over fandom thegeneral and public. Whether serious fandom becoming ST is culturally acceptable notcertain. is Over50 percent Americans saytheyarefans, sinceST hasits roots of now but in an entertainment medium therearelikely goingto be fanswhoresent those who take it moreseriously, "transport" who themselves the ST universe to through viewing discussing attending it, it, conventions belonging fan and to groups.Were it not for the stigma,we wouldprobably even higher see attendance conventions in fanclubs. at and CONCLUSION IsStar Trek fandom religion, at least religious a or a phenomenon? Recently, academics beenexploring have different definitions religion, of prompted the by growth newreligions "quasi-religions."fandom not seemto fit of and ST does the more restrictive, substantive definition religion posits of that beliefin a deity or in the supernatural. It does,however, somecommonalties broader have with definitions religionthat come under rubric of the "quasi-religions," as such Alcoholics Anonymous New Age groups. and Theseorganizations the "ride fencebetween sacred secular" the and (GreilandRudy1990:221), between religionandnonreligion. religious The contentvaries according whomin the to movement talks, howinvolved are. one and they

10 America-On-Line live because is peoplerespond eachotherimmediately to through theircomputers during set time.The USENET a newsgroup similar a bulletin-board is to system whichmessages posted, in are to be readandresponded anytime to withina fewdays.

PHENOMENON49 AS FANDOM A RELIGIOUS STARTREK

dogmas, canonized organization, oftenhave"nostable Thesenewreligions They 1991:178). tend (Luckmann apparatus" or system, disciplining recruitment Transformation as qualifying "Identity to be moretherapeutically-oriented, shiftsin radical to adherents undergo which"encourage (ITOs), Organizations" is This and (Greil Rudy1990:226-27). element lessexand worldview identity" Suluin TOS), Takei(whoplayed but plicitin ST fandom, it is there.George gives usually an inspirational-type speakers, convention popular oneof themore how of the detailing history ST andfandom, theybothshowthe potenspeech and peopleto get theirlivestogether make and tialof humankind helpinspire of than is Lives' more a slogan a TV 'Star "For decisions. thebeliever Trek career where he where belongs, cry not showthatwould die.It is the ritual to a world (Tyre of he has it all together.STARTREKoffersthe comfort religion" of as oneself the source hopecanbe turn The 1977:717). Nietzschean toward et Bellah al. 1985),and (Reiff1966; society our throughout "therapeutic" found of is STfandom onemanifestationthis. ways in differs somesignificant fromthe quasi-relihowever, ST fandom, ST groups. of than organized many theseother It above. is more gionsdescribed on someone of"flaming" (outside apparatus a disciplining may fandom nothave recruita dogmas, low-key doeshaveanorganization, nets),butit the computer to tends be groups of of The and mentsystem, a "canon." appeal many theabove and gender, class, cuts ST of society. fandom across segments to limited certain workingFans otherquasi-religions. comebothfrom thanmany more ethnicity whattheylikeabout (though backgrounds and classandacademic professional with associated serious Eventhoughthereis a stigma the showoftendiffers). for of and commonality unity purpose a wide a ST fandom, doesprovide certain of variety people. of elements a "civilrelihas that argue ST fandom strong I Indeed, would calls the who Bellah, popularized notionof a civilreligion, it "an Robert gion." and in experience the lightof ultimate universal of the understanding American whichis exactly civilreligion, a that (1974:40) seeksto become world reality" of Earth twentyhomogeneous whatwe seemto have in the assimilationist, belief of religious is Star century Trek.A civil religion a "generalizing" fourth trends to as society, a counter "pluralizing" that to necessary havean integrated in involved ST beliefs The 1991:400). generalized dividesociety(Tschannen and humanity a faithin science, above,in putting as consist, detailed fandom funcbeliefs, the displays same fictionin general of Much science future. positive attitudes anthropocentric legitimating like tioning"rather a newcivil religion, a world," priof for compensators the aliensterility the physical andproviding writer-therapist-refiction of career science beingthe interesting example mary (Bainbridge and ligiousleaderL. Ron Hubbard his Churchof Scientology 1987:60). has seemingly lessrelereligion organized culture, fans Formany of popular but looking asbackward it they hecause perceive not asforward vance,partially denominations millennial among to are, Exceptions of course, be found looking. of But the about future. forthebulk the population terms in thatspeak specific denominations mainline is religion morenominal, to whoserelation organized concerned or looking, perhaps and asstatus-quo backward areoftenseeneither

50

SOCIOLOGY RELIGION OF

too muchwithpresent-day politics to provide realmeaning the future. any for Americans traditionally are forward looking, it is eventslikethe space and race thatanimate them.ST fandom embodies idealism offers reasons this and fans to hope. ST fandom nothavethe thoroughgoing does seriousness established of religions,but it is alsonot mereentertainment. interplay seriousness This of and entertainment, I argue, a signof itsvitality. communities, symbolic is The both and geographic, areformed ST fandom evidenceof the ongoing that by are sacralizationelements ourmodernist of of culture express in thefuture. that hope It isa phenomenon relates deep-seated that to American beliefs about nature the of humankind, worldand its future, encourages practices the and the that parallel religious processes codifying, of forming community developing a and nstltutlons gUlCltS praCtlCeS. to e
. . . . . .

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