The significance of composition in supplementing extratextual narrative: a topical cue analysis of Star Trek: discovery to provide narrative meaning within instrumentation
type: CreativeWork
description: This dissertation is an exploration of the latest instalment of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Discovery. In its most rudimentary form, this is a study of the characteristics of the soundtrack, but intrinsically, it is an investigation into the extratextual narratives which the music conveys – the story the music tells – through its musical design. In a great sense, the narrative bases itself on the “Star Trek vision” which perpetuates progressive ideals, at times obstinately against the grain. The vision promises a future and critiques a present, and centres itself around theories of utopianism in various incarnations, from assertions of racial equality through the allusion to Afro-futurism in the racially volatile mid-century, to the hyper-representation of queer identities during a time of ideological turbulence in the American landscape of the late 2010s. Empowerment and idealism-to-a-fault have always permeated throughout the Star Trek vision. The music arguably shares this. This dissertation will explore these themes of idealism and utopianism, in contexts of heroism and romance, by considerations of the musical cues in applicable narrative moments, through harmony, melody, and instrumentation. Existing analyses of the Star Trek musical corpus are sparse, and the field of academia that concerns itself with Star Trek rarely ventures into musicology and music theory. Individual theses and journal articles can be identified, of which only a handful align with this study's analytical methodology, and even fewer with the focus area of Discovery. While concern of this scarcity is valid, the sparse research field contributes to a more creative research approach and methodology. While semiosis is a core figure in the research, other methodological paradigms such as spectromorphology are referenced. Linguistic and morphological notions are key in the ultimate methodology of the analysis. A model of analysis synergises various semiotic and typographic methodologies…
abstract: This dissertation is an exploration of the latest instalment of the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Discovery. In its most rudimentary form, this is a study of the characteristics of the soundtrack, but intrinsically, it is an investigation into the extratextual narratives which the music conveys – the story the music tells – through its musical design. In a great sense, the narrative bases itself on the “Star Trek vision” which perpetuates progressive ideals, at times obstinately against the grain. The vision promises a future and critiques a present, and centres itself around theories of utopianism in various incarnations, from assertions of racial equality through the allusion to Afro-futurism in the racially volatile mid-century, to the hyper-representation of queer identities during a time of ideological turbulence in the American landscape of the late 2010s. Empowerment and idealism-to-a-fault have always permeated throughout the Star Trek vision. The music arguably shares this. This dissertation will explore these themes of idealism and utopianism, in contexts of heroism and romance, by considerations of the musical cues in applicable narrative moments, through harmony, melody, and instrumentation. Existing analyses of the Star Trek musical corpus are sparse, and the field of academia that concerns itself with Star Trek rarely ventures into musicology and music theory. Individual theses and journal articles can be identified, of which only a handful align with this study's analytical methodology, and even fewer with the focus area of Discovery. While concern of this scarcity is valid, the sparse research field contributes to a more creative research approach and methodology. While semiosis is a core figure in the research, other methodological paradigms such as spectromorphology are referenced. Linguistic and morphological notions are key in the ultimate methodology of the analysis. A model of analysis synergises various semiotic and typographic methodologies…
author: Forbes, Aidan Jarod
language: en
keywords: Star Trek
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:46Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: College of Music

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42270