The struggle in terms of the strange

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L.I. Underhill is a media critic and historian specializing in pop culture, with a focus on science fiction (especially Star Trek) and video games. Their projects include a critical history of Star Trek told through the narrative of a war in time, a “heretical” history of The Legend of Zelda series and a literary postmodern reading of Jim Davis' Garfield.

8 Comments

  1. Contumacy Singh
    June 1, 2013 @ 7:50 am

    I was directed here from Phil Sandifer's blog and can already tell i wil be a regular reader.

    I'm not able to find the entries on Corbomite and Charlie X. Am I being dense? 😉

    Reply

  2. Josh Marsfelder
    June 1, 2013 @ 11:10 am

    Welcome aboard!

    You're far from the first person to be tripped up by those entries: They're embedded within the post entitled "Temporal Incursion". Poke around a bit there and you should find them 😉

    Reply

  3. Cleofis
    June 1, 2013 @ 2:27 pm

    Fellow directee from Phil Sandifer's Tardis Eruditorum here. Good God, and to think I was actually considering doing a blog like this; you've done it more justice already than I ever could. Speaking as a long-time Trek fan, this has been a project I've been dying to see someone tackle, and you're doing a magnificent job so far. It's an incredible relief to know there are other fans out there who actually think about all these things, and I can't wait to see where you with it.

    Reply

  4. Josh Marsfelder
    June 1, 2013 @ 4:09 pm

    Thank you so much! That's some of the best praise I could ever ask for, as one of my major goals with this project is to help bring a new critical perspective to Star Trek discourse. Part of the reason I started this blog was that I was sick of hearing fans make the same arguments and statements over and over again. That and I wound up having so much to say about my history with the franchise this was the only way I could adequately tell my story.

    It's wonderful to have you aboard, and I'd encourage you to share your story somehow too: We can never have too many perspectives.

    Reply

  5. Alphapenguin
    June 2, 2013 @ 5:15 pm

    I never really noticed the fact that this story is such an attack on imperialism – I thought it was just one of those periodic "folly of war" pieces that mourns bloodshed without actually critiquing war and thereby undermining the edifice of military scifi. But then, before reading this blog I hadn't actually watched the original series since high school, so I hope you'll forgive 15-year-old-me for being an idiot.

    It is comforting to know that someone out there has actually thought about the ethics of Star Trek in a way that both makes sense and does not hew to Trekkie orthodoxy. Well done!

    Reply

  6. Josh Marsfelder
    June 2, 2013 @ 8:50 pm

    No worries! I'm more than a little shamed by my views on Trek from 15 years ago myself 😉

    Thanks for saying so: Trying to carve out sensible way to read Star Trek apart from mainline fandom (and that also does its best to keep it something one could conceivably want to recommend to someone in the process) is a big goal of mine.

    Reply

  7. 5tephe
    June 20, 2013 @ 11:28 am

    Ensign 5tephe transporting over from the TARDIS Eruditorum. Requesting permission to come aboard, Captain.

    Love what you've done so far with the project, and will be here for the duration. Excellent essay this one.

    Reply

  8. Josh Marsfelder
    June 20, 2013 @ 2:00 pm

    Permission granted, Ensign: Welcome to Vaka Rangi 😉

    Thanks for the kind words: This post has been a highlight of the blog so far for me too.

    Reply

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