When Gene Roddenberry first proposed the idea for Star Trek back in the late 60s, his heart was set on creating something different that could tackle cultural problems through futuristic storytelling. He wanted to create a future where kindness and acceptance were key, full of optimism of a united future. As such, many episodes in the original Star Trek series focused on contemporary problems, such as racism and prejudice, which can make for accidental (as it is strongly considered to be accidentally rather than purposeful) discrimination. The problem with the Ferengi is an unfortunate result of the greater problem with a lot of alien representation, albeit strongly present within the Star Trek franchise. When developing alien races and cultures, science fiction creators often fall into the same trap: defining them using human stereotypes. It’s nearly impossible to not do this, as it would involve creating emotions that don’t exist or are at least unfathomable to humans.
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The Klingons, for example, are personifications of a very human sense of pride, honor, and anger, and are heavily based on feudal Japanese culture. The Betazoids represent emotions and empathy, whereas the Vulcans show logic and rationality. These are all human attributes, all just part of what makes a human, human. Each and every one of us shows each of these characteristics, often all at once. Humans are not defined by any of these emotions; instead, a complete culture takes elements of everything.
This is not to say each species in Star Trek is without depth. The Klingons are shown to have empathy, much like the Vulcans are shown, although rarely, to have emotions. They are, however, stereotypes that reduce an entire species, let alone a culture, into one or two characteristics. This becomes an issue when the stereotype defining a particular species has, historically, been dangerously close to an antisemitic one. Star Trek’s Ferengi culture is one obsessed with wealth, capitalism, and a greed unparalleled, all typically discriminative features associated with Jewish people.
While cultural and personality traits may not directly draw a concrete parallel, their physical appearance could also be considered to be dangerously antisemitic. The Ferengi’s defining anatomical features exaggerated large heads, cartoonishly big ears, small dark beady eyes, and demonic pointed teeth. Their overall look had been described as a blend of Nazi caricatures of Jews, most notably regarding their teeth. Some have said that this reflects the story of Nosferatu, a rich vampire who writes in a strange alphabet, comes from the east to Germany bringing a plague with him, and wants to steal a young Christian woman.
The parallels don’t end here, as the Ferengi religion could be described as a parody of traditional Judaism. In the Star Trek universe, the Ferengi follow what they call the 285 Rule of Acquisition, loosely mirroring the 613 Commandments in Judaism. The Ferengi also regard business transactions as almost holy activities, and forbid women from partaking, much like in traditional Jedasim’s exclusion of women studying the Torah. In the Next Generation episode “Suspicion,” it is also revealed that the Ferengi forbid desecration of the deceased body, forbidding Dr Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) from performing an autopsy despite the suspicious cause of death, a belief also held in Judaism.
As a counterargument, the apparent antisemitic stereotype of their appearance, personality, and culture could be explained as a highly unfortunate coincidence. When the Ferengi first appeared in the first season of Next Generation, they were originally supposed to be the next big villains, the new Klingons of the Original Series. With the introduction of peace between the Klingons and Federation, as well as the presence of Worf aboard the Enterprise, the show intended for the Ferengi to take their place. However, there was nothing threatening or particularly scary about the Ferengi, so they were quickly replaced by the Borg. It was only when they returned in Deep Space 9 that the Ferengi were written to be the greedy, money-hoarding barterers. Their design had already been in place long before these characteristics were incorporated.
It is also worth noting that the word “Ferengi” is derived from the Arabic word “faranji,” meaning “Frank,” which refers to the Frankish/European traders who made contact with Arabic traders. It could be possible to say that, with their repressive treatment of women, they actually represent fundamentalist Islam more closely than Judaism. For this reason, it’s possible to explain their culture, much like many of the other races present in Star Trek, as simply an amalgamation of various cultures and human characteristics rolled into one. This results in drawing parallels, albeit unfortunate parallels, with various stereotypes in human culture.
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