Fafnir (Dec 2018)
Mimesis: Beyond Opsis in the Star Trek Universe
Abstract
This case study considers popular examples of science fiction in film and on television for classroom instruction at the junior undergraduate level of coursework. Drawing on the familiarity of Star Trek in popular culture, this study uses episodes from the original series and scenes from the later film franchises as exemplars to introduce the irrational and extra-visual aspects of mimesis in contemporary science fiction. The article offers a conversation between the popular moments of Star Trek and the elements and variations of mimesis as defined by Michael Taussig in his Mimesis and Alterity: A History of the Senses (1993). The distinctive variations of mimesis as examined focus attention on Taussig’s notions of alterity, similarity, contact, and absorption, and how these features combine in terms of self-reflection, representation and self-identification. Variants of mimetics on screen pose further exemplars of degrees of absorption, in co-encounters, co-identifications, and co-poiesis, or shared meaning-making, which can help the reader to make connections with other theorists for future examination. Sample mimetically influenced theories include Adorno’s mimetic comportment, Baudrillard’s telemorphosis, Kristeva’s intertextuality, Hellstrand’s ontological mimicry, and Freud’s primary mode of ego-identification in terms of the cinematic image, as explored by Doane and Metz, as well as the cyborg hybrid figurations of Haraway, Braidotti, and the Deleuzian body-without-organs.
