Nostalgia for the 24th Century: How Nerd Billionaires Use Star Trek for Self-Promotion

Abstract

This paper examines how tech industry leaders, who I dub “nerd billionaires,” use references to Star Trek (ST) as a way to connect with the positive impression fans have of its utopian world. I show how they use ST to imply that their business interests serve to benefit, and potentially save, humanity. My study provides background on ST’s utopia and uses Pierre Bourdieu's Field Theory to demonstrate why ST at first appears incompatible with the goals of big business. By applying post-Marxist critical theory to ST media, I examine ST’s ideological implications and analyze why ST has proven to be such an attractive shibboleth for “nerd billionaires.” I argue that the politics of ST and the tech industry’s business practices prove to be less incongruous than they appear by demonstrating how ST has fostered a cultural narrative that presupposes the virtues and feasibility of saving humanity through futurist technology.