Coming out of the Closet: My Secret Life as a Trekkie

I guess it's hardly a secret life; it's really just a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of life. It started when I was little. I don't remember too much, except my parents liked Star Trek, so I grew up watching it. I watched my fair share of the original series, enough to be familiar with Spok and Captain Kirk, but mostly we watched The Next Generation (that is, the show starting Patrick Stewart as Jean Luc Picard), as that was the show running new episodes.

The Next Generation was really a sitcom. Each episode was mostly stand alone. While in the original series, Captain Kirk was pretty much did whatever the hell he wanted, in The Next Generation they were constantly talking about "The Prime Directive". The Prime Directive was the highest rule, stating that no one should interfere in the issues of an alien species. This came up again and again. My dad told me the show's creator, Gene Rodenberry, was strongly against the Vietnam War, and his new found 'non-interference' philosophy was showing up in the TV show.

Sometime in middle school, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine started (incidentally, after the death of Gene Rodenberry, the original founder of the show, indicating the "cult films" nature of the series). Deep Space Nine was set not on a starship, but on a space station. I didn't like this show at first, but it eventually became my favorite. Since the show was set in one place, rather than travelling around on a space ship, Deep Space Nine was able to deal with intricate and complicated situations (as opposed to single issue episodes) including a war that lasted multiple seasons, so many romantic relationships, and all kinds of political and social agendas.

Two more Star Trek series followed (Voyager and Enterprise), but I haven't gotten attached to either of these yet. (And nor are they in twice a day cable syndication yet, like the other shows are).

Through college no one knew I was a Star Trek fan. Even though Rice might be full of smart kids, luckily most people aren't weird-o nerds. So the Trek fans were actually few and far between. I was almost discovered my junior year when I went to see the new Star Trek movie, but luckily we managed to gather a gruop to go, so no one too much notice. I wasn't really discovered until my senior year, when I discovered The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine on Spike TV and started watching them rather faithfully.

My roommate and I today were discussing if I can be called a "Trekkie." On this point I must concede two things: in middle school, I had a Next Generation poster on my wall, purchased at a Star Trek convention that my parents took us to as a surprise. I also know two words in Klingon. However, I've never sought out a convention, or bought a uniform or crazy mask, or learned any of the languages in full, or studied the schematics of the fictional star ships.

Star Trek is certainly more than a bunch of aliens running around on TV. Like most science fiction, it makes statements and raises questions about our own society by presenting other societies. One of my friends from high school was also a closet trekkie, and we would discuss who each of the alien species represented. The United Federation of Planets (the characters of the show all belong to this) clearly represents the USA. There are species that represent businessmen, technology, supernatural beings, Sweden, and various other countries/societies. I mentioned to a sociology professor of mine last year that I'm a Star Trek fan, and she immediately admitted she was also. "It's very sociological! All the societies, with different norms and customs and laws, interacting, learning to deal with each other. It makes sense sociologists would like it." Ah, finally: a justification for my guilty pleasure!

Sadly, that is far from the reason I enjoy Star Trek. It's a combination of things: the combination of suspense and romance, the characters I have known and loved for so many years, the hilarious "scientific" words the show makes up...

Whew. It feels good to have finally come clean.