Leah's Annotated Bibliography (2)

Since Tuesday I have done some re-working of my title, my topic, and my thesis to make it more argumentative and interesting. So please please please let me know what you think!

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.

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To Boldly Go Where No Bard Has Gone Before

My husband is obsessed with Star Trek. He can tell you all sorts of facts and details about the show that most people don't remember. He even spends most of his free time designing starships on his computer. Naturally, since we started dating I've had to learn to love Star Trek as well.

The writers of Star Trek frequently used Shakespeare's plays as inspiration for their episodes. There are a lot of scenes where they recite lines from plays, even acting them out. Other times the plot is based on a Shakespearean play. Even the titles of episodes are frequently a reference. The writers, creators, and actors of Star Trek are huge fans of Star Trek.

Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, and several other actors in Star Trek began their careers as actors in Shakespeare's plays. They may have had a hand in the large amount of Star Trek references that invade the culture.

Here is one the scenes where Captain Picard uses Shakespeare to save the mother of one of his crew members:

In one of the Star Trek movies, a Klingon character references Shakespeare and tells a member of Star Fleet that "you haven't experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon." This idea that Shakespeare could be an alien writer and that it can be enjoyed in other cultures makes Shakespeare's writing even more interesting in its popularity and timelessness.

I am having difficulty narrowing this topic because there are so many things that I want to write about amongst all of these connections. If I were to focus on one play that is referenced I would choose Henry V because it is included so interestingly included. Data, one of the main characters in the Next Generation, is an android. One of the themes that is included throughout the show is Data's journey to understand more about humanity. Captain Picard tries to help him understand by having him perform Shakespeare. One of the plays that he performs is Henry V. I think the use of Shakespeare in this way is very interesting. I'd really like more feedback to know if this is something I should pursue.

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