Tyler van Opstal "Star Trekkin"

    By the time "Darmok" was released as the 102nd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1991, Star Trek already had a mythos far more developed than the handful of stories that the Darmoks are shown using as communicative tools in the episode. The fandom of affectionately named Trekkies already had a deep network of fan-writings, quotes, references, and even songs such as the wonderful 1987 "Star Trekkin'" by The Firm. An original song rather than a parody as many novelty songs are, "Star Trekkin'" is a tribute to the series that makes little initial sense to anyone who doesn't already know at least the baseline stories and characters of the first Star Trek series. 

    In addition to requiring a knowledge of Star Trek to understand, "Star Trekkin'" has left its own marks on the fandom's lingo. The phrase "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it" is now a beloved franchise line but originated as a lyric for the song. Even the lyrics of the song that have been directly lifted from the series for the song are now often recited with the shrill puppet crooning found in the song. 

    Mythos are built upon each other in this way, so that knowledge of one piece interlinks into many others. In "Darmok," Captain Picard is able to piece together communication for varied messages by slotting together characters and settings from a few core myths. Similarly, though initially listening to "Star Trekkin'" without prior Star Trek experience might be a non-sensical experience, repeated exposure to it can instill a base level understanding to the larger mythos it links to, just as the repeated references to Darmok instills a base level understanding to Picard. I heard "Star Trekkin'" courtesy of my father many times before I ever saw an episode of the show, and once I did I found I already recognized most of the roles the characters played in the mythos.

    This cross-reference and entrance point idea expands beyond fictional mythos such as Darmok's or modern mythos like Star Trek. Many people get their first ideas of the great mythos of Earth through small surface level interactions, repeated enough until they rub off and open the door to greater understanding.

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