Historicism, gothicism and paradox: Star Trek and genre

Abstract

The main vehicle for the ‘ritual’ presentation of mythological stories in the various formats of modern media culture is that of genre. Throughout the twentieth century certain generic narrative forms have come to dominate popular culture, providing both familiar narrative environments for their consumers and reliable financial investments for their producers. The origins of genre stretch back to before the invention of cinema to the gothic horror novels of the late eighteenth century and the comic books and detective stories that achieved great popularity in the nineteenth century. In film’s silent era various genres such as the historical epic and the slapstick comedy rose to prominence. Following the coming of sound in 1928, gangster films and musicals were in vogue and in the post-war era ‘film noir’ detective stories and westerns dominated. As TV was established, much of its programming was ‘slotted’ into various genres, such as soap operas, police stories and hospital dramas. In the modern era, science fiction has emerged as perhaps the dominant genre in both film and TV. As the technologies of computers, space travel, genetic engineering and mass media grow in influence, so SF stories have increasingly become the most appropriate ‘language’ for dealing with contemporary anxieties about their potential effects upon society.