James Riswick
Staff Writer
There’s a certain minority group being discriminated against in this fine country. A group that has been forced “into the woodwork” so to speak because they fear they will be persecuted, labeled and made fun of. I am, of course, talking about the casual Trekkie.
I began to think about this after seeing two films this past year: “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Trek: Nemesis.” Each a work of science fiction and each prone to having fanatical enthusiasts who enjoy dressing up like Darth Vader and Klingons for film premieres, or just about any time, to proclaim their love for their favorite series. Yet, for some reason, casual Star Trek fans are thought of as synonymous with those crazed convention- bound fanatics.
Say to someone, “Hey, I saw Star Wars this weekend,” and they won’t think anything of it. But say to that same person, “Hey, I saw the Star Trek movie this weekend” and that same person will probably label you a Screech-like nerd. In fact, some of you reading this may have already labeled me as such. Oh, well.
Why is it that these two science fiction series with similar themes and similarly crazy fans receive such drastically different reactions from “normal” people? It is certainly true that Star Wars was one of the most successful films of all time, and its sequels and recent prequels have raked in tons of money. But most people, including die-hard Star Wars fans, would admit that the prequels haven’t exactly been living up to the standards set by their predecessors. Need I say more than Jar Jar Binks?
Contrast that to “Star Trek: Nemesis,” which many thought had interesting dialogue, a strong story and realistic special effects. It was a good movie, and without the specters of the original Star Wars success and the uber-nerd Star Trek fan stereotype, “Nemesis” could possibly be thought of as a better movie. Some critics even agreed.
When I saw both films at the theater, not a single person seemed out of the ordinary. No Chewbaccas, no Mr. Spocks. So why is it that a person who watches Star Trek is automatically viewed as a nerdy weirdo who just traveled 300 miles to a convention in a bad Klingon costume, when in reality, most fans are no different than anyone else? Meanwhile, there’s nothing wrong with having the entire Star Wars movie collection on your shelf. Seems like a strange double standard.
I suppose I don’t get it. I’ll admit to watching both series, but like many other people, I can really only admit that I like one of them. Oh well, I suppose I just admitted it to Pepperdine.
So I propose this: casual Trekkies (you know who you are) should all stop caring about hiding your tastes so much. Because maybe if normal fans started coming out of the woodwork, the stereotype could be changed from the nerdy guy with fake pointed ears who can explain how a warp engine works to something a little closer to the guy who just likes watching Star Wars.
– Do you secretly like Star Trek? E-mail me at jriz29@hotmail.com.
January 23, 2003