SF, defended from its fans...

[Matt the Poet]

Bit of a rant this, but hopefully it will start an interesting ding-dong.

Speaking as a great and long-time fan of the genre, I’ve just got to know – why are so many of us such incredible dorks? How did such an enormous flock of socially underdeveloped, borderline autists come to congregate around the books, films and TV that I love? And more importantly, how the hell do we stop it?

It doesn’t seem to happen anywhere else. Nobody feels the need to publish, or even discuss, the engineering schematics of Manderlay. There appears to be remarkably little Bleak House fan fiction. There is no collectible range of Harry Angstrom action figures (Rabbit is posable!), and if there were I suspect that even the most rabid Updike fan would have little interest in them.

It irritates me, partially because the general contempt for SF comes from this – it’s no good blaming 'closed mindedness' when the public face of Science Fiction is so deeply embarrassing.

Mainly, however, it’s because I believe it to be the cause of the horrifying poverty of imagination from which the film and TV arm of the genre in particular suffer, On the one hand, the whole ‘nerd movement’ seems to be rather narrow minded, offering vocal and often distressingly angry opposition to things they percieve as ‘off-canon’. On the other they appear to have almost no critical faculties, being perfectly happy to consume endless shonkily-written ‘novelisations’ and obsessive episode-by-episode breakdowns of their favourite TV series.

Is that fair? Or not? If not, why not? If so, what’s going on?

 

[Wolfman]

Bit of a rant this, but hopefully it will start an interesting ding-dong.

Speaking as a great and long-time fan of the genre, I’ve just got to know – why are so many of us such incredible dorks? How did such an enormous flock of socially underdeveloped, borderline autists come to congregate around the books, films and TV that I love? And more importantly, how the hell do we stop it?

It doesn’t seem to happen anywhere else. Nobody feels the need to publish, or even discuss, the engineering schematics of Manderlay. There appears to be remarkably little Bleak House fan fiction. There is no collectible range of Harry Angstrom action figures (Rabbit is posable!), and if there were I suspect that even the most rabid Updike fan would have little interest in them.

It irritates me, partially because the general contempt for SF comes from this – it’s no good blaming 'closed mindedness' when the public face of Science Fiction is so deeply embarrassing.

Mainly, however, it’s because I believe it to be the cause of the horrifying poverty of imagination from which the film and TV arm of the genre in particular suffer, On the one hand, the whole ‘nerd movement’ seems to be rather narrow minded, offering vocal and often distressingly angry opposition to things they percieve as ‘off-canon’. On the other they appear to have almost no critical faculties, being perfectly happy to consume endless shonkily-written ‘novelisations’ and obsessive episode-by-episode breakdowns of their favourite TV series.

Is that fair? Or not? If not, why not? If so, what’s going on?

*sigh*

I have to explain this again?!?

Millions of years ago, the evil galactic emperor Xenu gathered up aliens from numerous worlds who sought to oppose him, dropped them into volcanoes on earth, then dropped hydrogen bombs on them. Their spirits have roamed our planet ever since, and are the cause of all pain, suffering, confusion, mental illness, etc.

Science fiction is a subconscious reflection of the memories of these alien creatures; and sci-fi conventions, when people dress up, are actually one of the most obvious demonstrable truths of what the Honorable L. Ron Hubbard revealed all those many years ago -- it is a re-enactment of the lives and dreams of countless different alien species who now populate our minds.

 

[Matt the Poet]

Why doesn't anybody tell me these things? If only this obvious, plausible theory had the publicity it deserves! Perhaps we could persuade some prominent celebrity to endorse it...

 

[rcronk]

Perhaps the socially retarded (I mean challenged) are compensating for their feelings of inadequacy through fantasy/SF roles - even dressing up as the characters through which they vicariously satisfy their need to feel not only adequate but powerful? The same ilk seems to bury themselves deep in role playing games, perhaps for the same reason. It almost seems like it's a drug to them.

Or, the Hubbard thing.

 

[Fnord]

Why doesn't anybody tell me these things? If only this obvious, plausible theory had the publicity it deserves! Perhaps we could persuade some prominent celebrity to endorse it...

Yeah, we could call the hypothesis "Sciencefictiontheology" or maybe some shortened form thereof!

Never mind ... I made my saving throw, and my character sees through the illusion.

 

[fuelair]

If you have ever been to a recent (last 10 years or so) SF con and hit the gaming room(s), you would reconsider immediately your opinion of SF fans overall - the gamers make the dorkiest of the fans look like true social adepts!! Just in the matter of hygiene there is a hardcore difference.
Trekkies and Warties are pretty bad too just in a mildly different way.

But, as a dealer (huckster) I sell freely and of my own will to all!!! (Well, except to the gamers who do not come to deal/watch/read or buy, but only to game as long as they can/wherever they can - and wash not or rarely).

 

[uruk]

There are a certain breed of people who are born socialy inept. Social ineptitute leads to having extra alone time. This time is usualy spent on reading. The extra brain exercise leads to some deeper thinking about the world around you. This leads some to develope an interest in science.
The interest in science naturaly leads the person to the science fiction genra, since it is for the most part a literary genera and it combines the two things most people, who like science fiction, are interested . Gadgets and women with big metal boob protectors.

No since being socialy inept does not exclude you from the desire to socialize people who share the same interest tend to flock together because they have something incommon to talk about and break the ice.

Now having a little extra brain power and being interested in science and thus science fiction, AND having poorly developed social skills makes for some really bizzare debates about wether Wookies braid armpit hair or if Shanter and Stewart actually enjoyed wearing pantyhose while on horses in Startrek: Generations.

Others realize thier fellow bretherin are willing to pay cash through the nose to know how many toilets there are on a D7 Klingon battelcruiser or if the Tardis can actually make a long distance phone call.

it's basicaly what you get when to get a bunch of people together who share the same interests and want to socialize.

 

[Fnord]

Forgive me, father; it has been 13 years since my last convention.

I have taken Gene Roddenberry's name in vain.

I have committed the apostasy of promoting the Fourth Law of Robotics, and in the name of Asimov.

I have adulterated a "Babylon V" roleplaying game with "AD&D" creatures from the lower planes.

I have canceled my subscriptions to "Analog" and "Astounding" magazines.

There are no books of "Dune" in my home.

I have taught my children to play "Everquest."

I have friends ... yes, father; friends! Real, honest, flesh-and-blood friends! And they like me! ... who publically deny and disavow any interest in the Science Fiction Channel and any movie with the word "Star" in its title.

Finally, father, I have traded my first-issue copy of "THX-1138" for a pirated copy of "Wizards."

What is my penance?

 

[Matt the Poet]

Perhaps the socially retarded (I mean challenged) are compensating for their feelings of inadequacy through fantasy/SF roles - even dressing up as the characters through which they vicariously satisfy their need to feel not only adequate but powerful? The same ilk seems to bury themselves deep in role playing games, perhaps for the same reason. It almost seems like it's a drug to them.

Or, the Hubbard thing.

See,this is my underlying worry with all this. Tom Disch, I think, called SF a 'fundamentally puerile medium', and it worries me that he might be globally correct. Do I just have to resign myself to being surrounded by literary tropes that are catnip to the helpless and immature (evasion of mortality, simplifed (perhaps even no) sexuality, limitless power...)? Am I even still attracted to these tropes - can a love of SF ever be truly psychologically healthy?

 

[Darat]

Forgive me, father; it has been 13 years since my last convention.

I have taken Gene Roddenberry's name in vain.

I have committed the apostasy of promoting the Fourth Law of Robotics, and in the name of Asimov.

I have adulterated a "Babylon V" roleplaying game with "AD&D" creatures from the lower planes.

I have canceled my subscriptions to "Analog" and "Astounding" magazines.

There are no books of "Dune" in my home.

I have taught my children to play "Everquest."

I have friends ... yes, father; friends! Real, honest, flesh-and-blood friends! And they like me! ... who publically deny and disavow any interest in the Science Fiction Channel and any movie with the word "Star" in its title.

Finally, father, I have traded my first-issue copy of "THX-1138" for a pirated copy of "Wizards."

What is my penance?

Analog and Astounding are the same magazine, the name Astounding was last used in the issue dated September 1960, in which it appeared faintly behind the new name of Analog...


(I am not a dork!)

 

[rcronk]

If it is an addiction, it could keep a person from maturing emotionally. Some of the effects SF addiction has on its users seem to be very similar to other addictions. These things all seem to provide an escape from reality to the point that the person rarely has to work through or deal with reality, keeping them stunted in their emotional growth.

I don't think the problem lies with SF as much as it lies with the person using SF as a drug. This conversation sounds a bit silly, but now that I'm looking at this, it really starts looking like an addiction for some people. I've worked with hundreds of addicts and many of them switch addictions (drugs, alcohol, pornography, etc.) and gaming and SF can provide an alternative addiction that is less guilt ridden, less expensive, slightly more socially acceptable, or (on the surface) less destructive. Even escaping into books can provide a similar detachment from reality for some of the addicts I've worked with. And it's usually never about the item being used as much as it is about the user of these items and the purpose for which they are using them. Even conspiracy theories can act as an escape or detachment from reality or even be a method of deriving false self worth through intellectual elitism, etc.

Or, the Hubbard thing.

 

[Matt the Poet]

There are a certain breed of people who are born socialy inept. Social ineptitute leads to having extra alone time. This time is usualy spent on reading. The extra brain exercise leads to some deeper thinking about the world around you. This leads some to develope an interest in science.
The interest in science naturaly leads the person to the science fiction genra, since it is for the most part a literary genera and it combines the two things most people, who like science fiction, are interested . Gadgets and women with big metal boob protectors.

No since being socialy inept does not exclude you from the desire to socialize people who share the same interest tend to flock together because they have something incommon to talk about and break the ice.

Now having a little extra brain power and being interested in science and thus science fiction, AND having poorly developed social skills makes for some really bizzare debates about wether Wookies braid armpit hair or if Shanter and Stewart actually enjoyed wearing pantyhose while on horses in Startrek: Generations.

Others realize thier fellow bretherin are willing to pay cash through the nose to know how many toilets there are on a D7 Klingon battelcruiser or if the Tardis can actually make a long distance phone call.

it's basicaly what you get when to get a bunch of people together who share the same interests and want to socialize.

I don't buy the idea that the socially inept will naturally read SF. Why not detective fiction or police procedurals? Or, indeed, techno-adventure thrillers of the Crichton kind? All of these, at their low end, provide the lack of troubling emotional complexity coupled with obsessive attention to detail that these people seem to crave?

And on the flipside, how is it that nerdosity exists at all outside sci-fi. Are the buffoons who file around Dublin every Bloomsday in search of a cheese sandwich, or the Jane Austen wonks (truliy the Trekkies of 19th century litterature), going through the same psychological process? How can people with poor social skills even read Ulysses - it would surely require an understanding of the human condition that is beyond them?

However, I suspect your penultimate paragraph is, depressingly, the key. Can it be just that there's money to be made from these people? A bit of laser-drenched hackwork, an afternoon signing autographs, cash in hand, ta? How awful...

 

[dudalb]

The Sci Fi /Fantasy fans are bad enough,heaven knows, but their brothers the Comic Books fans (and yes,there is a HUGE Crossover ) are even worse. We have had a few examples here.
The real problems is that only a minority of Sci fi fans actually read Science Fiction. The media obssesed fanboys are now in the heavy majority.
Fnord, a major problem is a lot of Sci Fi "Fans" have never heard of Asimov,let along the Laws of Robotics.

 

[dudalb]

I don't think the problem lies with SF as much as it lies with the person using SF as a drug.

Bingo.
I read a lot of Fantasy and Science Fiction,but avoid organized fandom because of the stupidity factor.
In fact a real problem is that a majority of the fans nowdays don't actually read Sci Fi,but just watch the movies and tv Shows.

 

[Piscivore]

http://www.theofficeconvention.com/

 

[Matt the Poet]

The Sci Fi /Fantasy fans are bad enough,heaven knows, but their brothers the Comic Books fans (and yes,there is a HUGE Crossover ) are even worse. We have had a few examples here.
The real problems is that only a minority of Sci fi fans actually read Science Fiction. The media obssesed fanboys are now in the heavy majority.
Fnord, a major problem is a lot of Sci Fi "Fans" have never heard of Asimov,let along the Laws of Robotics.

My problem that a lot of "fans" seem to believe that the Laws of Robotics are actual, real Laws that Robots will obey if you build them

(I don't like Asimov much, to be honest, being more of a New Wave man. Frankly, any worthwhile AI with that built into its system would go mental considering the ramifications the second you booted it up...).

 

[Magic 9-Ball]

Forgive me, father; it has been 13 years since my last convention.

What is my penance?

You are sentenced to:
- grandchildren who love the genre, want Yoda and Darth Vader beanie babies, and want you to sit and watch Episiode I over and over.
- a new phone number with the last 4 numbers 9368 (XENU).
- a personalized license plate: IMSPOCK

Live Long, and Prosper!

 

[Timble]

Some Sherlock Holmes fans can be pretty obsessive. There's quite a lot of analyses of the books, their continuity, their supposed locations etc...and they do dress up in Victorian gear and reenact the stories.

Definitely could give Trekkers/Trekkies, Whovians, etc a run for their money.

 

[Dunstan]

See,this is my underlying worry with all this. Tom Disch, I think, called SF a 'fundamentally puerile medium', and it worries me that he might be globally correct. Do I just have to resign myself to being surrounded by literary tropes that are catnip to the helpless and immature (evasion of mortality, simplifed (perhaps even no) sexuality, limitless power...)?

Why do you care so much? Repeat after me:

"I will not attempt to prove my worth through my entertainment choices."

You'll feel much better.

Am I even still attracted to these tropes - can a love of SF ever be truly psychologically healthy?

I hope so, otherwise all of the many seemingly normal, non-geeky folks who have enjoyed science fiction on television (Heroes, Lost, the Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica in recent years) and film (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, umpteen others) are psychologically unhealthy. Sci-fi is so mainstream these days that most people like at least some sci-fi, whether they realize it's what they're seeing or not.

It's ok to be a little annoyed by, and occasionally mock, the loony fans. But don't let them detract from your enjoyment, and don't let them push you into becoming one of those insufferable jerks who claims (to quote a T-shirt I saw advertised on The Onion): "I enjoy The Simpsons on a much deeper level than you."

Pretty much every hobby or pasttime has its weirdos. Go read a discussion board for a non-science fiction television show, and you'll find plenty of crazies there, too.

Read and watch what you like. If you despise the lunatic fringe of fandom, then just don't act like them, and don't interact with them.

 

[Piscivore]

Listen to what Dunstan says. And if you think you have a problem, try being a fan of Anime.