Disability in the Star Trek Universe and what it can teach us

It is a largely unknown fact that disability is an important topic in Star Trek which was originally invented to teach about humanist ideas. Starfleet exhibits a level of inclusion of disabled people from which the real world is still light years away.

By Florian Sanden, florian.sanden@enil.eu

Star Trek is a science-fiction franchise that was created by the American humanist Gene Roddenberry. By now it consists of 11 TV shows and 13 movies. The first series to become available is called „Star Trek the Original series“. It was first aired in 1966 and featured the adventures of Captain Kirk and Science Officer Spock on board the spacecraft Enterprise.

Star Trek takes place in an hypothetical future in which humans have developed spacecraft that can reach solar systems many light years away. The technical innovation making this possible is called a warp drive. Due to this extraordinary technological capability, humanity has made contact with many sentient species that originate from outside our own solar system.

Star Trek differs significantly from other science-fiction shows and movies in that one of the main motives for Gene Roddenberry to create the franchise was to teach people about humanism and promote its ideas. Ever since homo sapiens first evolved, we have depended on religion to make sense of a world that presented countless puzzels. The central message of humanism is that humans should give up religion as our guide to explain the world and instead rely on science and technology.

Next to relying on science and technology as key guides, humanism also provides ideas on how society should work. It advocates for societies that enable participation for all, that promote individual liberty while ensuring social responsibility. Open-mindedness, diversity and inclusion are key.

In the hypothetical future Star Trek is situated in, humanity has achieved a societal order based on humanist ideals. Many science-fiction franchises play with our natural fear of the unknown and feature monstrous and brutal aliens set on harming humans.

In Star Trek, humanity has build alliances with many alien species, involving dyplomatic relations and trade agreements. One of these alliances has culminated in the foundation of an interstellar state, the United Federation of Planets, which consists of many different planets, species and cultures. The United Federation of Planets is democratic. It´s laws are voted upon by the Federation Council, a democratically elected parliament, and executed by a government under the Federations´ president. The president comes into office through direct elections.

To explore the depths of space and also have a defence against potential aggressors, the Federation has founded Starfleet. Starfleet is an organisation with a hierarchical, military like structure which is tasked with a variety of functions. Carrying out missions of research and diplomacy are among the most important ones but situations in which military threats have to be countered occur as well. The Star Trek TV shows and movies feature the adventures of the crews of many different Starfleet spacecraft.

In the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet diversity and equality are key. Many episodes evolve around the topic of ensuring tolerance and equity in spaceship crews consisting of people of many different ethnic and cultural origins.

Another re-occurring topic is disability. The spacecraft Enterprise D under the command of Captain Picard and the space station Deep Space 9 have disabled crew members who are full Starfleet officers with rights and obligations equal to others.

When it comes to the Enterprise D from Star Trek the Next Generation, we know at least two disabled people serving in prominent positions. The ships chief engineer, Lieutenant Command Geordi la Forge, has been blind from birth. To be able to have vision, he uses an advanced assistive devise, called a Visor. It is a thin, curved devise worn over the eyes like a pair of sunglasses. It does not allow for standard eyesight but allows the person wearing it to see the electromagnetic spectrum. To cope with this kind of visual input is hard for the brain, la Forge is under persistent pain.

In season 1, episode 1, he is approached by the ships´ medical doctor who offers pain killers or exploratory surgery to medically fix his impairment. In season 3, episode 5, the doctor goes into more detail, revealing that the medical procedure is risky, it might enable better vision but it perhaps not. In this case, there would be no going back. La Forge rejects the offer. Instead of being exposed to a risky treatment without unknown outcome, he prefers to remain with his current solution. His form of seeing the electromagnetic spectrum allows for unique insights that more than once save the day. The message is clear. It is not helpful to „heal“ an impairment at all costs when there are other solutions for example through assistive devices.

Season 3, episode 21 of the Next Generation deals in detail with the topic of neurodiverse disability. Although it is never directly named as such, the diagnostic engineer Lieutenant Reginald Barcley displays many qualities of an autistic person. He has strong social interaction difficulties and engages in repetitive behaviours. The episode very precisely visualises the social dynamics that very frequently turn autistic people into excluded outsiders.

Due to his rich imagnination and passion for fictional stories, Lieutenant Barclay spends all of his free-time in self-written holographic stories. He gets so caught up in them that he often forgets the time and ends up appearing late for duty. When in social situations Barclay has great difficulty to express himself clearly. He starts to stammer and forgets words. When he is comfortable, he can speak clearly. He might have selective mutism which is frequent among asperger autists.

Because of his impairment, Lieutenant Barclays has difficulties to clearly explain his work to superiors and colleagues. He doesn´t understand social cues and thus doesn´t always react appropriately to queries. His colleagues and superiors have little patience with him. During meetings they interrupt and talk over him, when he is too slow to outline his thoughts. They exchange annoyed and patronising glances. The briefing which was his to give, is captured by his colleagues. They proceed to go about their work and leave him alone and frustrated at the briefing table.

In one of the first scenes, he is called in to repair a piece of machinery. When the repairs fail and he can´t overcome his stammering in front of his superior, this is taken as a sign of incompetence. The superiors assume it is his fault that the repairs failed. It later turned out that it was not, because there was a larger technical problem happening.

When concluding the day over a drink, Barclays colleagues gossip about his behaviours, calling him a „poject“ and giving him the nickname „broccoli“. They have obviously no empathy for him. They just don´t understand his behaviour.

His superiors are so feed up that they approach Captain Picard to request a transfer of Barclay off the ship. Picard points out that the Lieutenant has a good working record. There are no faults of his performance of his duties other than he is occassionaly a bit late for work. His superiors are having difficulties in coming up with a convincing reason for wanting him gone.

It seems that the problem is not with Barclay but with them. „I just don´t understand this guy. Broccoli, makes me nervous, he makes everybody nervous. I can barely tolerate being in the same room with him“. Further arguments don´t help to substantiate their cause: „I have examined Barclays psychcological profile. He has a history of seclusive tendencies“.

Upon inquiry, the superiors admit that they have started giving Barclay the disrespectful and patronising nickname „Broccoli“.

Very frequently, autistic people end up being excluded for the very reasons displayed here. Autistic people have a much greater need to be by themselves than others and also display an alternative body language and may find it difficlut to talk when in group situations. Many non-austistic people have difficulties coping with this and become increasing hostile, disliking the person without actually understanding where their feelings are coming from. Name calling, other bullying behaviours or attempts to get rid of the autistic person can be the result, exactly as shown in the episode of the Next Generation.

In real life the superior would very likely have granted the request to get rid of Lieutenant Barclay. It is due to Captain Piccards fairness, that he orders his people to drop the nickname and find a way to include their colleague.

However, is on the ship´s barkeeper, Guinan, who manages to set things right and convince the Chief Engineer la Forge that is on the neuro majority to change their attitude:

“Lieutenant Barclay is imaginative. I thought you engineers liked the imaginative type“.

“Thats not it. He just doesn´t fit it“

“oh“

The barkeeper tells the story about a relative who also was a misfit but also the only person in the family with a sense of humor which one only could discover upon stoping to give him the shoulder.

“The idea of fitting it just repels me“.

La Forge adds “the man is nervous. Nobody wants to be around this guy“.

The barkeeper finally sets this straight. “If I felt that nobody wanted to be around me, I would probably be late and nervous too“.

When listening to this La Forge finally understands. The Enterprise crew starts to change their attitutes about Barclay and thereby enable him to be fully included and develop his potential, an outcome which is rare in the real world.

The Star Trek show Deep Space 9, which introduces us to life on board a space station, also approaches the topic of disability. In season 2, episode 3 Ensign Melora Paslar joins the crew. Being from a world with low gravity, she can not handle standard gravity and requires a wheelchair and other walking aids. Before her arrival the stations´ medical doctor has difficulties in making things accessible because of problems with the built environment. “The station was not designed for this“.

Upon arrival it becomes clear that Ensign Paslar is struggling with being mobile. Her colleagues and superiors start talking about her wondering how to ease her tasks. She clearly tells them what she thinks about that “People often discuss the Melora problem without me. Except there is not Melora Problem, only when they create it. Ensign Paslar insists can she herself will determine when she needs assistance and accommodations.

She strongly questions the involvement of a medical doctor in her affairs. “I wonder why a medical opinion is necessary in this discussion. I don´t need a medical opinion to tell me my own capabilities. I object to being treated like someone who is ill“.

At some point of the episode the doctor proposes a medical procedure, which is rejected because it would elimite the ability to excel in low gravity environments.

To escape any patronising pitty, Ensign Paslar frequently insists on working alone. The episode clearifies later that being independent doesn´t mean doing everything by oneslf. „No one on this station is completly independent. In space, we all depend on one another to some degree“.

When approaching disability, Star Trek strongly promotes equal opportunities and Inclusion which is achieved through the promotion of attidudinal changes among the non-disabled crew members, through the use of assistive devices and reasonable accommodations. It is made clear that independence means self-determination and cooperation not doing everything alone.

The approach to disability in Starfleet is based on the social model of disability which taught us that disability is created through the interplay of impairments and attitudinaly and environmental barriers. In Star Trek a medicalised approach to disability is explicitly rejected. Instead of trying to cure the impairment, the main focus is on ensuring inclusion by changing society. Watching and studying Star Trek can thus teach us much about disability.

This approach to disability was first displayed in the show, Star Trek the Next Generation ,in which Captain Picard comands the Enterprise D. The show aired first in 1987. Thus it showed an advanced understanding of the social model of disability while its developmentwas still in its very early stages. In many ways the level of inclusion of disabled people into a highly demanding work environment shown in Star Trek has not been achieved even until today.

Because of its levels of equality and inclusion Star Trek shows us a future a disabled person would very much like to live in. Until today disabled people rarely achieve prominent positions in public authorities. Let us do what we can, to make society catch up to this possibility of a future.