The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
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Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
April 2015 back issue
by Shalmon Bernstein
‘Costumes’ can be defined so broadly that it loses all meaning or put another way, so broadly that it alerts us to a
universal practice. Then there are also the more clearly defined costumes, the more limited view, Trekkies number
among these. Although wearing a Star Trek character gets limited display is it any different from a nun's habit? Aren't
they both promoting a somewhat similar set of ideals?
A two page layout from the following photos was published in the August 4th 1977 issue of the Soho News. It was
titled “Star Trek and the History of Western Thought”. The words were by Ben Pesta, Editor, Writer and Philosopher
Extraordinaire (as you might guess from the title). He said; “There's never been an investigation of what causes the
whole phenomenon. Why 'Star Trek”? Why not conventions for the followers of 'Gilligan's Island' or 'My Mother, the
Car'?”
Most of the Trekkies seem of a gentle sort. They were concerned with harmony among the races and included aliens
among them. The younger fans sought refuge from the miseries they were starting to confront upon leaving school
and for their own personal shortcomings. Instead of, as Andrew Weil suggests, replacing the New York Times with a
vase of flowers to start the day, they put a tricorder on the breakfast table. The younger Trekkies relish the optimism,
the hope that the future will be brighter than is generally envisioned. If it is not to be, at least they have found a
community of like minded individuals who speak the language of Star Trek.
Last month a CNN headline read, “Scanadu: The medical Tricorder from Star Trek is here.”
The creator is already shipping models to its crowdfunders. He states: “Star Trek was more than just a movie, it was a
business plan.” Through its sensor, in seconds, it measures heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, oxygen level
and provides a complete ECG reading.
The language of Star Trek is still with us along with the moral code. The young idealists are still absorbing the same
message. It still provides us, as Ben said, with “a moral philosophy for people who've never read Augustine or
Spinoza or Dostoevsky”.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
Jonathan Gleich in Captain's chair: A lovely young man who who says: I was very shy – just wrapped up in my own
little world and happy there.
Jonathan at home: With Star Trek I realized, “Hey, wait a second, this world ain't out to get me. And I opened up and
now I am one of the most outgoing people in the world. And, really, that's for me.”
Angelique Trouvere, “A lot of people know me, they know that old Angelique usually shows up in something
outstanding. I have an ambitious nature and I wanted to be in the Gene Roddenberry “Star Trek” movie, and I feel
that by bringing myself into the light and into his attention I can show him how much I can do as an actress or a
dancer.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
Ed Misrecki, “I was a salesman in a national department store, and right now I am unemployed. However, I am
manufacturing phaser communicator kits as a sideline. They're silicone molds and very expensive.”
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
“I'm an Andorian. They're members of the Federation, self-admittedly a violent race. Predjudice and bigotry and war,
crime and diseae are practically eliminated. We're reaching out for space, which is really great, because that is prime
frontier out there. You're meeting not just blacks, whites, Europeans, Chinese, Rissians, but people from other planets,
other star systems. And you get to know them. You can exchange information with them, learn about them, let them
learn something about you.”
The Bi-Centennial 10 Star Trek Convention, Statler Hilton NYC - September 3-6, 1976.
