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add "political themes"
The Ferengi (mainly in ''Star Trek: Deep Space 9'') had a religion of sorts based on the concept of The Great River (as shown in "Faith, Treachery and The Great River"), which was similar to "[[The invisible hand]]" a phrase coined by [[Adam Smith]]. Ferengi also hold that if they achieve enough profit during their lives, they will meet the Blessed Exchequer who will grant them access to the Divine Treasury, whereas an unsuccessful Ferengi may find himself left in the Vault of Eternal Destitution.
The Ferengi (mainly in ''Star Trek: Deep Space 9'') had a religion of sorts based on the concept of The Great River (as shown in "Faith, Treachery and The Great River"), which was similar to "[[The invisible hand]]" a phrase coined by [[Adam Smith]]. Ferengi also hold that if they achieve enough profit during their lives, they will meet the Blessed Exchequer who will grant them access to the Divine Treasury, whereas an unsuccessful Ferengi may find himself left in the Vault of Eternal Destitution.
==Political themes==
Producer Gene Roddenberry emphasized his “utopian vision” of humanity’s future. Following this vision, humanity is considered to have achieved perfection in Star Trek. This includes overcoming greed, hate, jealousy, as well as ethnic and national rivalries.<ref name=walker>Walker, J., [http://thiswastv.com/2012/08/29/same-as-it-ever-was-star-trek-after-gene-roddenberry/ Same As It Ever Was?: Star Trek After Gene Roddenberry], ''This Was Television''</ref> This is illustrated with the use a Russian man and a black woman as regular minor characters (Chekov and Uhura).
Negative characteristics are generally found only in alien races. In a typical episode, one alien race is trying to enslave another, and the Enterprise intervenes to restore balance. The principle of equality is thus applied universally, with the Declaration of Independence sometimes mentioned explicitly. In these episodes, the Federation stands in for the United States, while the villain species stands in for Communists or Nazis.<ref name=Cantor>Cantor, Paul A., ''Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization'', p. 46.</ref> In other episodes, an alien species is used to comment on imperfections in contemporary America. “Let This Be Your Last Battlefield” (Jan. 10, 1969) depicts a species divided into two races by skin color. For one race, the left side is white, and right side is black. For the other race, these colors are reversed.<ref name=Cantor/>
A kiss between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura was shown in the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” aired Nov. 22, 1968. This is generally considered the first interracial kiss on U.S. television, although Sammy Davis Jr. did give Nancy Sinatra a peck on the check in "Movin' with Nancy." (Dec. 11, 1967)<ref>Miss Cellania, "[http://www.neatorama.com/2013/04/10/TVs-First-Interracial-Kiss/#!rjF17 TV's First Interracial Kiss]”, ''Neatorama'', April 10, 2013</ref> More recent Trek material is restrained in this respect. Picard and Lily did have an interracial kiss in ‘’Star Trek: First Contact’‘ (1996). But this was only a brief goodbye kiss.
The early seasons of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' suffered even more severely from the Roddenberry vision. The character Q is used to parody God. Roddenberry’s skeptical view of religion is detailed in several dialogs between Q and Picard.<ref name=walker /> When Roddenberry’s health declined, he was replaced with Rick Berman. Berman created the ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. This show breaks with the Roddenberry tradition by including various flawed human characters.<ref name=walker /> We even learn of secret Starfleet agency called Section 31, said to be responsible for various atrocities.
As the people of the Federation have access to goods in unlimited supply, it does not have a conventional economy. However, various characters are depicted as running small businesses such as vinyards and restaurants, presumably just for the fun of it.<ref>Yglesias, Matthew, “[http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/11/18/star_trek_economy_federation_is_only_mostly_post_scarcity.html The Star Trek Economy: (Mostly) Post-Scarcity (Mostly) Socialism]", ''Slate''. Nov. 18, 2013.</ref>
== Relationship Views ==
== Relationship Views ==