New title: Human Condition: The Bard as the Basis for the Prime Directive and Other Ethical Beliefs in Star Trek
Thesis: Although many see Star Trek as a superficial science-fiction television show, the culture and popularity surrounding the franchise have come about because the basis of beliefs within the Star Trek universe can be attributed to the presence of William Shakespeare and his writings which portray the human condition and suggest that hope for humanity comes in recognizing ourselves in others.
Many of the sources that I discovered previously will still be helpful but I am still looking as I narrow my topic.
Social Sources: This is the source type that I'm having the most trouble with. I've tried contacting a lot of different people but haven't heard back from anyone.
Brian Rivera is an amateur actor who performed a video version of the "to be or not to be" speech in Klingon. I tried contacting him via twitter (the only contact information I could find) and have not heard back yet. I felt like his acting and interpretation of the Klingon translation of Hamlet would give him a very interesting perspective.
I also tried contacting Kyle Kallgren who is a pretty active YouTube video maker. He made several about the interesting connections between Shakespeare and Star Trek and I liked a lot of what he had to say. I also made an attempt to contact him and have not heard back.
Luckily my husband is what you can call a Star Trek enthusiast and he knows a lot more about it than I do so I've been able to use him to bounce off ideas for my thesis as well as asking him about sources online that he already aware of.
Informal Sources:
Letizia, Anthony. "Shakespeare and Star Trek." Geek Pittsburgh. N.p., 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://www.geekpittsburgh.com/shakespeare/shakespeare-and-star-trek>.
This article discusses several of the connections between Shakespeare and Star Trek and contains quotes from an associate of a Shakespearean acting group. He touches on many of the reasons why people are drawn to both Shakespeare’s writings and Star Trek. The overarching themes connect with a lot of people. This is very helpful because he talks about how Shakespeare holds a mirror up to nature but also helps us to understand other people, the basis for the prime directive.
"The Noble Heart of Star Trek." The Noble Heart of Star Trek. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016. <http://thenobleheartofstartrek.weebly.com/>.
This website is like a database of Shakespeare references within Star Trek. It was extremely helpful because it not only references canonical sources but also non-canonical sources that many trekkers agree to be useful in understanding the universe and how it is viewed.
If you need any other social sources, my friend/former roommate and I are pretty avid fans of Star Trek and Shakespeare. Both sets of sources seem like really good supports for your claim, I also like the revisions you've made to your thesis.
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