Reply #40: It explores cultural and social and political theories in a setting removed from our prejudices.

[jobycom]

By creating a completely distinct world with no connection--aside from name--to ours, the writers were able to explore issues of racism, war, tyranny, government, and even classic topics like beauty, love, grief, all in a setting without the emotional hangups. When Sidney Potier romanced Elizabeth McGovern on screen, many viewers couldn't get over their bigotry enough to listen to the message, but when Kirk kissed Uhura in a place and time completely removed from ours, audiences could view it out of context. It could change their minds because it skirted the mind's barriers.

There's an old Buddhist technique for solving problems of imagining that the problem is already solved, then imagining how it was done. That's what Star Trek allowed us to do--to see a future where our problems had been solved, where we watched inferior (in the show's context) cultures battling with what we had already solved. It was like taking our problems out of our culture and putting them in a laboratory to explore. It gave people answers and hope at the same time.

Sure, the stories were entertaining, the cast was charming, and there were moments of pure catharsis and escapism. But the reason the show resonated so strongly, and lasted so long in terms of influence, was more primal. It touched many levels of a person's psyche, even if the viewer wasn't always aware of why they were so moved.