For example, the Federationās founding members (Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, Humans) were the subject of fan theories and āfanonā for many years before the ENT writers made it official. One of the interesting (and fun) aspects of this recent wave of series has been seeing the writers increasingly add nods to fan theories and pieces of fanon lore over the years. What are some good examples of this?
And relatedly: whatās a fan theory, or piece of fanon, that you suspect the current writers believe, even if they havenāt explicitly stated it on-screen?
I saw this pointed out in an episode reaction thread, but Iām pretty sure āTomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrowā marks the first time the Federation has been explicitly, on-screen referred to as āsocialistā. Fans, of course, have been calling the Federation socialist/communist for a long time. I think it started kind of crystalizing in 90ās Trek, particularly on DS9 and with Picardās little speech about not using money in First Contact.
Itās kind of a throwaway moment in the episode, but it feels big to actually use the word? I suppose modern audiences are much more comfortable with the word than they would have been in the 90ās.
I felt the same way. This reminded me of Discoveryās Admiral Vance openly admitting to ending capitalism being a goal of the Federation.
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I donāt think most people in the Federation think of it that way, I think Pelia (somewhat derogatorily) thinks of it that way.
As a fan / supporter of the āFederation is post-capitalistā theory I actually found that moment a bit disturbing in context. Pelia is ancient and, although clearly eccentric, I think weāre certainly meant to understand her as being a āwise woman,ā so for her to comment that the whole post-scarcity thing may just be a āfadā to me came across as questioning more than supporting, although maybe Iām just being a bit defensive.
To be fair, sheās apparently been around more or less for the entire length of human civilization. Sheās lived under lots of different economic systems, and from her point of view the Federation was basically founded yesterday. Skepticism makes sense in that context, even if she generally approves. We the audience know that by the time of TNG, DS9, and Lower Decks (I have not watched enough Discovery to know if the far-future Federation is still portrayed this way), the Federation has if anything only gotten more post-capitalist, so I donāt know that weāre meant to read her skepticism as wise. I mostly took it as her being defensive and a bit flippant.