• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
      Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
    • CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
      CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
    • WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
      WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
      Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
    • It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
      It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
    • What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
      What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • No image
      Pentimento’s Open Mic is Like an Old Patchwork Quilt–Worn, Yet Cozy
    • No image
      Kanye’s Antisemitism Steps on his Shoe Brand
    • Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
      Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Sports and Wellness
    • Student-Athlete of October
      Student-Athlete of October
    • Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
      Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
    • The Case for Body Neutrality
      The Case for Body Neutrality
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
      Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
    • Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
      Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
    • The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
      The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Brenda Perez Pelaez Arts, Popular CultureOctober 3, 2021

Star Trek vs Star Wars: Do They Make You A Geek?

Which do you prefer? (image courtesy of author)

Everyone who’s ever been involved in pop culture and media has heard the question: “Star Trek or Star Wars?” Why is this question so prevalent in the media? And more importantly, why do you automatically think about geeks when you do? 

The two franchises are more different than the average person realizes. While the geek stereotype was created from their collective influence and the media generalizes them to be nearly the same thing, they can only be minimally compared. 

Star Trek was first introduced on NBC in the mid-1960s with its first series, which did phenomenally well and introduced notably famous characters like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. The Star Trek universe is science fiction and tells the story of a ship crew who works under the mantle of “Starfleet.” They travel around the galaxy in a utopian future to discover new civilizations and introduce them to their peaceful humanitarian agenda. Star Wars, on the other hand, falls within the fantasy genre as a space western, and starts off with its original trilogy in the late 1970s. It centers around a darker plot about the Skywalker family and the war between the Rebellion against the Empire, which happens to take place a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. 

Both Star Trek and Star Wars peaked in the late 1960s to 1980s. According to Entertainment Weekly, all three films in the Star Wars original trilogy raised over an average of 700 million dollars domestically (with modern inflation). According to the Press-Courier (1968), when Star Trek was on the brink of cancellation by NBC, more than 200 Caltech students marched to NBC’s Burbank, California studio to support Star Trek in January 1968, carrying signs such as “Draft Spock” and “Vulcan Power.” Berkeley and MIT students organized similar protests in San Francisco and New York City. Both franchises coincided in the spotlight when the Star Wars Original Trilogy came out between 1977 and 1983, and Star Trek was coming out with its own movies, with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” coming out in 1979. This overlap of content would be the start of when people would get both franchises mixed up or paired together as something extremely geeky. 

Geek culture has clearly made a love of Star Trek and Star Wars as a quality of the stereotypical geek personality. This stereotype has become what it is due to media representation over the last few decades. Parodies originated from SNL to the MAD comics to Futurama to Black Mirror, sometimes with actors and actresses from either franchise having a hand in some light mocking of geeks who adore the franchises. This geek stereotype also put off people who appreciated the franchises, as they did not want to be deemed socially unacceptable.

In recent times, however, the renewed spark of these franchises has been subverting this stereotype. With notable new Star Trek movies and series like Chris Pine’s Star Trek (2009) and Sonequa Martin-Green’s “Star Trek: Discovery” (2017), as well as the recent Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, starting with “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015), a resurgence of love for these franchises opened discussion for both old and new fans. The old portrayal of geek culture became reclaimed by the newer generations, becoming incredibly popular for being inclusive of traditionally marginalized groups, with new headcanons and praise for the diverse, queer-like and disabled representation in both Star Trek and Star Wars spaces. 

In general, fandoms have become more open as newer generations adopted what their predecessors left behind, and added more content than ever before. New geeks are more vocal in the diverse representation, because most old franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars only had cisgender, heterosexual white outlooks on life, even though both take place in the future and consist of prevalent alien contact. 

The franchises took into account what they represent, and adapted themselves to modern outlooks, such as “Star Trek: Into Darkness” (2013) confirming main crewmember Lt. Hikaru Sulu canonically gay and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015) introducing Finn as their first Black main character. Liking Star Trek and Star Wars doesn’t make anyone a geek anymore, with the geek stereotype being something of the old past now. So don’t be afraid to like what you like and be as “geeky” as you want!

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleWhy The Green Knight Divides Rather than Conquers
Next articleSonnyboy: A Goldfish Bowl Loaded with Magical Realism

You may also like

Pentimento’s Open Mic is Like an Old Patchwork Quilt–Worn, Yet Cozy

Kanye’s Antisemitism Steps on his Shoe Brand

Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)

1 Comment

  • Simon T says:
    October 3, 2021 at 4:05 PM

    HOWDY !

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top