A Series on the Edge: Social Tension in Star Trek's Title Cue

JESSICA L. GETMAN

doi:10.1017/S1752196315000188

A Series on the Edge: Social Tension in Star Trek's Title Cue

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2015

JESSICA L. GETMAN

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Abstract

The original series of Star Trek (1966–69) documents the social tensions of the late 1960s, responding positively, on the one hand, to the progressive political and social movements of the Civil Rights era by supporting racial and gender equality, but resisting its own efforts on the other, remaining faithful to conservative power structures. As the representative musical statement of the series, Star Trek's title cue embodies and expresses this paradox. Using audio-visual analysis, as well as sketch scores, interviews, and correspondence from the archives of the series’ composers and producers, this article analyzes the cue's compositional history, its musical codes, its narrative structure, and its use as framing, referential, and leitmotivic material within the series’ underscore in order to demonstrate the ways in which it communicates Star Trek's conflicting ideologies.

Type: Research Article
Information: Journal of the Society for American Music , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , August 2015 , pp. 293 - 320

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752196315000188 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © The Society for American Music 2015

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References

At the time of publication of the article by Getman in the August 2015 issue of Journal of the Society for American Music permission to use notation for the theme from “Star Trek” was not included in the legends to the Examples. The captions for Examples 1, 2, and 4 should carry the following credit:

Theme from “Star Trek(R),” words by Gene Roddenberry, music by Alexander Courage. © 1966, 1970 Bruin Music Company. Copyright renewed. This arrangement © 2015 Bruin Music Company. All Rights Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN 37219. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

Reprinted also by Permission of CBS.

We apologize to the Hal Leonard Corporation, CBS, and to the author and readersfor this oversight.

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