Star Trek has become a staple for studying the interrelations of
popular culture and international politics. In the literature on Star
Trek and international politics, this quintessential component of
American popular television, and culture beyond, has been seen
to represent ‘progressiveness’ in many respects (e.g. race relations
and women’s liberation). In the present article, this perception and
the long duration of the various shows under the franchise are
utilized to investigate the transformation of the social imaginary of
torture. The article explores all of the representations of torture in
the five live-action shows of Star Trek (TOG, TNG, DS9, VOY and
ENT) from the viewpoint of social imaginaries of torture in relation
to the discernment of truth by its means. While there have been
studies of Star Trek and international politics, these have tended
to shy away from systematic engagement with the entirety of the
franchise. The present article contributes here by providing a
longitudinal study into torture norms. Such an investigation
shows how Star Trek relates to broader social imaginaries of
torture and the discernment of truth as visualizations of violence,
and follows general trends in regard to these in American television:
there is both an increase in the on-screen use of torture and
a change in the torture norm in Star Trek.