Blog 22: Abstract

In the Star Trek episode The Cloud Minders, we see a world, Ardana, torn into two distinct classes. One of these classes lives in a floating city, representative of the upper class, and the other is characterized by miners that live on the surface, representative of the lower class. The classism that exists on this planet is a result of unequal opportunity across the two classes to prove themselves and also the upper class’ unwillingness to change what is going so well for them. We see these ideas demonstrated throughout the episode, with scenes where the upper class refuses to use logic in order to keep the lower class in the place they are. This episode has close parallels in our world. The Cloud Minders was released towards the end of the Civil Rights Movement, so it was obviously created with some parallels to the recent surge for black rights in mind. However, there is still discrimination in this world that is very important to be aware of. The Caste system in India is similar in concept to the classism on Ardana. Both systems are ancient in origin, but still have huge effects on society in the present. However, rather than having just two class distinctions, India has four main castes, and a lot of variance among those castes. Although The Cloud Minders was originally intended to be nothing more than good, relevant television, we can see how the work of a crew in the 1960’s still gives us valuable insight into modern discriminations.

Matthew