The authors nomination for the 20th Century Genius Award goes to Gene Roddenberry. Mr. Roddenberrys gift to the world is a message of the human condition and the endless possibilities that the human civilization holds in their own hands. Through the guise of a simple, low budget science fiction program, Roddenberry presented on a weekly basis, morality tales using futuristic situations as analogies for current problems on Earth.(Day, D) In a time when America was under going geopolitical, social, and political turmoil, Roddenberry gave his audience hope for the future and seamless direction on how to get there today.
Measuring the cultural and social impact of a TV show or event is never easy. But there are numerous indications that Star Trek has had an influence on many peoples’ lives. This can be seen in a variety of ways, from the inclusion in mass-market dictionaries of words and phrases originally invented for the show, to the testimonials of people who claim that their career and life choices were influenced by Star Trek. .(Day, D)
The reader does not need to be a connoisseur of science fiction, nor even have an appreciation for the television series Star Trek. Regardless, the readers life has been affected directly and indirectly by Roddenberrys vision. Star Trek also attracts and excites generations of viewers about advanced science and engineering, and it’s almost the only show that depicts scientists and engineers positively, as role models. (Batchelor, 1993) A generation of youth was inspired by the vision of what if? in the worlds of technology, astronomy, physics, engineering, etcetera. This inspiration led to an explosion in technological advances from cell phones to ion drive propulsion, now in use in interplanetary probes. From the 1970s to present, it was almost as if Roddenberry gave a glimpse of future technologies and how technological advances would help to push civilization forward in pursuit of a better world. Now the dream of what if? has become reality and new technologies come easier, faster, and by some coincidence in the direction for use as played out in Roddenberrys television series.