Enchanted Objects: Star Trek & The New Technological Sublime

Article

Shaw, D. B. 2025. Enchanted Objects: Star Trek & The New Technological Sublime. Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman. 6 (1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.16997/ahip.1755
AuthorsShaw, D. B.
Abstract

The Star Trek franchise, inaugurated in 1965 and still going strong, has been the paradigm for the spread of interest in science fiction, and its popularity across multiple platforms over the past century. Adapted analogues of the future technologies imagined by the series have been among the most successful products of contemporary consumer capitalism. This paper interrogates the relationship between consumer desires and imagined futures through an investigation of Star Trek’s promotion of a reified version of Earth’s history. What can it tell us about the relationship between advanced technical objects and the belief that we can get there from here?

KeywordsStar Trek, Artificial Intelligence, capitalism, science fiction, space migration, colonialism, hyperobjects, technological sublime
JournalAnthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman
Journal citation6 (1)
ISSN2633-4321
Year2025
PublisherUniversity of Westminster Press
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Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.16997/ahip.1755
Publication dates
Online04 Aug 2025
Publication process dates
Deposited19 Aug 2025
Copyright holder© 2025 The Author
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