The 1960's was a period popularly characterized as a tumultuous time of revolutionary ideals and social dislocation. The longevity of the cultural, social and political upheaval of this period is remembered over the intense conservative reaction it received. Unsurprisingly, the enormity of the change in cultural perceptions, particularly in the United States, could not have been successful without a deep change in popular stereotypes and opinions. A new medium had arrived to assist in this radical departure from traditional values; Television. In 1966 a new show debuted on NBC; Star Trek. Since the inception of this peculiar cultural success it has driven progressive ideas of idealism, tolerance, and above all; hope. Here's ten ways the show was socially progressive...
10. Multiculturalism
The cast of the original series was immensely multicultural in comparison to existent programs. A Scottish engineer, a Japanese pilot, an African American Communications Officer, a Russian navigator and an alien science officer. Remember, in 1966 the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act had only recently been passed, and Martin Luther King Jr. continued to push North to tackle racisms pervasive influence throughout American society. In a world that was rapidly globalizing, with markets in Asia beginning to open up to America, as well as a perverse xenophobic paranoia deeply embedded in the American mindset, this ramshackle brigade of ethnic differences was groundbreaking in the way it challenged the present paradigms regarding race.