Lost in the Developing World

Abstract

Star Trek: Voyager (1995–2001) represents a metaphor of being lost in the so-called Third World. Through this metaphor, Voyager focuses on two specific motifs: pragmatism¹ and race relations. The show begins when the star ship Voyager is transported seventy thousand light years from Federation space. It is estimated that to get back to Earth it would take Voyager 75 years using the propulsion means at its disposal. During the course of its daunting effort to traverse this massive expanse of space, the Voyager crew encounters numerous situations fraught with moral/ethnic quandaries. In facing these quandaries/dilemmas, Voyager has to decide whether to be expeditious (pragmatic) in trying to get home, or to prioritize their ethical/moral principles (thereby endangering themselves and their chances of getting home). The strength of the show, in my estimation, is that the Voyager crew consistently chooses to be ethical even in the face of death (or remaining stranded). Moreover, certain villains in the Voyager series are dastardly precisely because they prioritize pragmatism over principle.