Optimism Effect

Synonyms:
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Optimism Effect is a phrase coined by Jacqueline Lichtenberg by a chapter in the book Star Trek Lives!.

It is one of the "tailored effects" created by Lichtenberg. Others include Demanding Fantasy, Intimate Adventure, Alien Romance, and The Spock Charisma Effect.

Lichtenberg created the phrase to refer a anti-nihilism, that the idea that the future will not involve mindless 1984 lockstep or nuclear disaster, but that we will "find the wisdom not to destroy ourselves". There's a good deal of Ayn Rand in the "optimism effect" chapter.

Lichtenberg also used the term when describing her Sime~Gen pro book series. One example is a 1976 essay by Betty Herr published in Ambrov Zeor! #1 called House of Zeor and Star Trek. The essay is a bit of cross-marketing and illustrates Lichtenberg's deliberate product placement efforts to utilize not only emotion and tropes found in Star Trek: TOS, but also to "copyright" her other tailored effects.

Despite robust promotion by Lichtenberg in interviews, LoCs, and zine reviews to make the term into a widely-accepted one in fandom, the never really took off.

Another fan-created genre that was heavily promoted by its creator, one which did take on wings of its own, is Paula Smith's term Mary Sue.

Fanworks

• "The Nausea Effect": Star Trek Lives!, essay by Sharon Ferraro (1975)

Fan Comments

1975

Oh golly, Star Trek. Hey, neat, terrific Leonard Nimoy!! Hey oh wow Gene Roddenberry!!! Golly gee whiz gosh oh!

Now that I've discussed the general tone of [Star Trek Lives!], I can get down to specifics. Rarely have I run across a collection of drivel expounded with such pretentious enthusiasm and at such length. Although I commend the authors for holding the book's length to under 200 pages, I think that, nine-tenths of it could, have been cut without losing sight of the purported theme; that is, to quote the title, "personal notes and anecdotes,", The only two chapters that could be said to follow the program set out by the title are the two by Joan Winston, but even those give very little insight into the way Star Trek fandom in general is run.

[...]

If Jacqueline, et al, had meant from the beginning to write a treatise with great social import, why title it "personal notes and anecdotes"? Why discuss it as a fandom book? Why, indeed, talk Bantam into publishing it at all? Surely the 50,000 Spock Shocked Trekkies who will see Star Trek in the title and buy it solely because' of that don't care about "Optimism Effects," "Alienation Effects," "Spock Effects," etc.? For that matter, I don't much care about all that pseudo-Eng. Lit. 0300 either. For someone who once said, "All literary criticism is crap" (during one of the Kraith discussions at International New York Star Trek Con 1973, maybe?), Jacqueline certainly wallowed in it enough. I've said nothing so far about whether or not the critical notions advanced by the book - are valid, and I don't intend to. In the first place I don't have the background in TV criticism to know whether or not' what they "discovered" was really original, and also, frankly, my interests lean to the anthropological and I would much rather have seen an analysis of the fans of Star Trek rather than of the show itself. The show is available in reruns to anyone who wants to watch it, but an insiders view of fandom is rare and invaluable. I feel cheated by Star Trek Lives. I want the fan book that was promised to me in Jacqueline's living room back in July 1972 when I read the first draft of the first chapter. Oh well, I suppose things could have been worse. Then she started off the book with a discussion of gafiating.

Chapters One thru Eight, excluding Three (Which I found delightful, frenzied, and lacking the pretentious philosophical weight of its companions) explore in horrible detail, minute and nitpicking, the reasons for Star Trek's continuing popularity- repeatedly, saying one thing in one chapter and another in the next. The Optimism Effect, the Goal Effect, the Charisma Effect...the Whoopee Effect. I am reminded, more than anything else of the mindless babblings of my short lived days as a Monkees fan. The "Effects" are fairly well thought out, if a little muddled in transmission, but their overwhelming enthusiasm is completely untempered. There is no criticism stated or implied about the creation that was "Star Trek." Like the blind followers of Landru or the spores, enthusiasm is a good thing, but untempered by reality or criticism; it cannot last...

1976

The authors have constructed a well-thought-out thesis and detailing these effects takes up five interesting chapters, "The Discovery Effect" centers on the electrifying effects as fans discover Star Trek and each other. "The Tailored Effect" dissects the various elements of the show which were each aimed at capturing a different segment of the audience. "The Spock Charisma Effect" obviously discussed the Vulcan First Officer and goes into the reasons why he is such a popular character, as well as the great appeal his relationship with Kirk has for fans. Then there is "The Optimism Effect" and the impact of the show's philosophy which said, 'There will be a tomorrow and it will be better than today because man will learn and strive to make tomorrow better". Finally, the authors discuss "The Goal Effect" and the officiousness of infusing goals within a show and trying, with the viewers to surpass these goals.

1978

The Sime Series " optimism effect" is embodied in the idea that mankind will survive even this and make it into space next time (the truly last chance) around. We still have a chance though t make it this time, and the space program should, in my opinion, be given priority - not OVER the environment, but FOR the environment. Space technology will help us clean up this mess. Everything possible should be done to induce industry to run "clean" operations, because no animal can live in its own waste. But no animal can live without PRODUCING waste -and that seems to be the fact the "hysterical environmentalists" overlook.