ABSTRACT
The Star Trek universe presents us with a society in which many of the sociopolitical and economic problems currently affecting humanity have been resolved. In this universe, social issues such as racism, sexism, ableism, militarism, or even capitalist greed are projected and debated within the framework of cultural encounters between humans and non-human species from other planets. The plot of “The Drumhead” begins with an explosion that occurs in a chamber hatch aboard the USS Enterprise-D spaceship. Suspecting that the explosion was caused by an enemy spy aboard the ship, the leadership of the enterprise engages in a thorough investigation of the incident. The impetus to compare is partly driven by the notion that there are particular insights to be gained by examining and relating texts emerging from different national or cultural contexts to each other, insights that are not easily discernible by analyzing such materials in isolation from one another.
