What i find strange is that we 'geeks'' are frowned upon to some extent, yet if you look at a list of the top 40 grossing movies of all time, it is absolutely DOMINATED by fantasy and scifi movies.
Anyone else sick of Star Trek fans being called "geeks"?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films
Is it?
I find it slightly amusing that someone has come on to a star trek message board to complain about being called geeky. Ill have to remember to complain about being called kinky the next time I go dogging.
Yes.
Your own link proves it. Out of the top 40, only Titanic (#2) and The DaVinci Code (#40) are non genre films. Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Pirates, etc. are all fantasy, as are the Pixar and Shrek films. Everything else is unquestionably SF and/or fantasy.
Thats exactly how I see it. It's a staggering statistic.
I agree. I think it's safe to say that eight sci-fi/fantasy films in the top ten grossing films of all time can be termed domination.
Why do you care about what forms of entertainment some people disregard?
Having been a member of this board for a few years, I can say with certainty that most Star Trek fans ARE geeks. If you are not a geek, then you are the exception. After all, you like Star Trek enough to become a member of a Star Trek internet club: www.TrekBBS.com . I know I did. 
I'd actually throw The DaVinci Code into Genre as well, personally, since it is Speculative, Alternate history Fiction
Movie scifi is about spectacular FX. Even a Hollywood producer can reliably create FX, because, unlike good scripts, it doesn't take independent powers of judgment to buy/lease/hire the good stuff.
Further, movie scifi is not just stupid, but it's militantly stupid. This is about as anti-geeky as you can get. If some of the actors weren't wearing spandex, more people would notice this.
Further, movie scifi is not just stupid, but it's militantly stupid. This is about as anti-geeky as you can get. If some of the actors weren't wearing spandex, more people would notice this.
I don't really give a damn. People can say whatever they want. I have better things to do with my time than care.
It must be pleasant to be able just to switch off at will being affected by this negative attitude toward Trek fans. I've always known I shouldn't care, but that doesn't completely eliminate my being affected by it. I lack that easy "off switch". I wonder if anyone really possesses such a thing...
To anyone who sees "geek" as a fairly benign word... I'm pretty sure that a "geek", originally, was supposed to be a sort of brain-damaged circus freak who would bite the heads off of small animals to entertain people, something like that. It's shifted a bit in recent years... it's not a reference to higher intelligence, but of the social awkwardness which is seen as accompanying higher intelligence. In other words, a geek IS a "loser" or "weirdo" (to them), with "geek" being a bit worse than that, I think.
My comment on that is that even when a Trek fan does have some social awkwardness, this is probably to be expected in a society which often seems uncomfortable around people who are "too smart" (as if there could be such a thing) or who exercise their imaginations, or both. They're not seen as "regular guys" who just want to talk sports, say, which of course they aren't. Being told over and over that you're different, as if that's a bad thing, tends to stunt social integration skills...
The word "geek" is gradually being softened in meaning, and "legitimized"-- sometimes it's even used positively now.
As for big budget special effects movies, non-fans believe in going to that kind of "science fiction" film (including ST films) just to have a couple hours of fun. What they don't get and make fun of is people taking Trek seriously enough to form clubs, go to conventions, discuss it online, and "worst" of all, dress up in costume at cons. This makes non-fans assume that fans actually don't know that Trek isn't real. They're that ridiculously literal-minded about it sometimes. I think the cosplay shows a healthy tendency to take oneself less seriously, actually.
To anyone who sees "geek" as a fairly benign word... I'm pretty sure that a "geek", originally, was supposed to be a sort of brain-damaged circus freak who would bite the heads off of small animals to entertain people, something like that. It's shifted a bit in recent years... it's not a reference to higher intelligence, but of the social awkwardness which is seen as accompanying higher intelligence. In other words, a geek IS a "loser" or "weirdo" (to them), with "geek" being a bit worse than that, I think.
My comment on that is that even when a Trek fan does have some social awkwardness, this is probably to be expected in a society which often seems uncomfortable around people who are "too smart" (as if there could be such a thing) or who exercise their imaginations, or both. They're not seen as "regular guys" who just want to talk sports, say, which of course they aren't. Being told over and over that you're different, as if that's a bad thing, tends to stunt social integration skills...
The word "geek" is gradually being softened in meaning, and "legitimized"-- sometimes it's even used positively now.
As for big budget special effects movies, non-fans believe in going to that kind of "science fiction" film (including ST films) just to have a couple hours of fun. What they don't get and make fun of is people taking Trek seriously enough to form clubs, go to conventions, discuss it online, and "worst" of all, dress up in costume at cons. This makes non-fans assume that fans actually don't know that Trek isn't real. They're that ridiculously literal-minded about it sometimes. I think the cosplay shows a healthy tendency to take oneself less seriously, actually.
^This. That's basically what I was going to say. I'm not big on labels, but there are far worse things to be called. Personally, I take it as a compliment if someone calls me a geek.
Geeks are cool.
It's hip to be square.
It's hip to be square.
Conversely some people might take a similar viewpoint in regards to wearing a football shirt from you're favourite team. The fact that you might not even participate in that sport doesn't even come into it.
True aside from a small minority of people, most people wh dress up at cons only do that at cons. A con at times can be like one big costume party. So surely people are just dressing up for a bit of fun and to let their hair down.
I used to run into this attitude, and not just about Trek. I admit that, back when I was younger, it bugged me that so many people assumed that, just because I was obsessed with science fiction and horror, that I must believe in UFOS, vampires, ghosts, etc. The idea that you can be interested in fantastic, imaginative stuff without actually believing it does seem hard for some people to grasp.
(The same reasoning seems to be behind all those folks who think that reading Harry Potter books will lead kids to Satanism. Again, they seem to miss the fact that most kids know that witches and wizards are just make-believe.)
The trick, honestly, is to take pride in your geekiness and try to find a community that won't hold it against you.
Granted, this is easier said than done. It's easy to dismiss the OP as being over-sensitive to the "geek" word, but we don't know what sort of social environment he's coping with. It's easy to shrug off the "geek" label if you're a secure, long-time fan who has been part of a supportive fan community for years, and don't have to worry about scornful co-workers or high school peer pressure anymore . . . .
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So what we need is a name for the people who never watch Trek and wouldn't know Kirk from Janeway, like when Harry Potter fans call people Muggles.
I guess science fiction fans who make a big deal of hating Star Trek could just be called snobs. For people who hate all science fiction including Trek we need something else.
I guess science fiction fans who make a big deal of hating Star Trek could just be called snobs. For people who hate all science fiction including Trek we need something else.
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