we come in peace, we come in peace!
Now that we've covered what the world thinks we are, who are we really?
Are we just normal people? Are we really aliens? Are we robots? From the future? Mentally ill? The truth is that Trekkies are people who love Star Trek. That's it. That is the one requirement. Of course, you'll run into elitists that say you can only be a "true fan" if you've seen every episode of TOS, TNG, DS9, and Voyager, have seen all the movies, and own over $7,000 in Trek merch. This just isn't true. If there's one thing you should take away from my report here, it's that Trek fans, whatever they call themselves, are one of the kindest, most peaceful, accepting groups you can belong to. The whole franchise's message is peace and acceptance, and in my opinion, anyone that says otherwise isn't really a fan at all. Trekkies are just like fans of other things. I'll talk about their exact contributions to the world of fans in general on the next page, but for now: |
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A lot of Trek fans like to dress up, myself included. It's fun! It's freeing! It's interesting! It's... really hot (velour does not breath as well as you'd hope). It's a major staple of the group and also the source of a lot of the disdain directed towards us. For some reason, even though other groups of fans dress up and run around, it is most often associated with Trekkies. This practice is called "cosplay" by most people, as far as I know. Alternatively, we can just call it "dressing up", or "role-playing" if you get really into it and take on the personality of the character you're dressed as.
What makes dressing up for Trek so fun is that there's an infinite number of people/ things/ aliens to dress up as! There's many different incarnations to pick from, as well as over ten different movies, many books, comics, and cartoons. The choices are virtually endless, opening up doors for people who are just beginning to make costumes. The welcoming nature of the Trek community may be what attracts so many to dress up in comparison to other groups who might not be as welcoming to newcomers and amateurs. Dressing up is a way to express your love for Star Trek! You can be an amateur, a pro, or anywhere in between! You can be female, male, neither, or both! You can be male and dress up in a skirt (the Starfleet uniforms are both unisex!). You can be female and dress as Kirk, Spock, Picard, Geordi, Data, or anyone you want. Gender, sex, looks, and skill rarely govern who dresses up as who, another fun reason for Trekkies to don costumes. |
Every sense but sight narrowed to nothing. All sound hazed into a muted roar. The sickening smell vanished from his mind, and an instinctive and single-minded calm overtook him. Everything morphed into simple patterns of defense and evasion, suus mahna forms laid out before him that plotted the most efficient path of escape.
-- The Lotus Eaters by aldora89 on LJ |
Trekkies like to write. We like to write a lot. More than any other group of fans, I would argue. Or perhaps it's that we've had the longest to do so.
A lot of my fellow fans write this amazing genre of literature called fan fiction. Fan fiction also gets a lot of rebuff from society (this time in general, not directed at Trekkies in particular). There is an impossibly huge amount of Trek fiction out there due to how long it's been published for- Star Trek fans were the ones who popularized fan fiction! Some might argue that all of the Star Trek books, available for legitimate purchase in stores everywhere, are fan fiction as they do not count as "canon". The stigma associated with fan fiction is undeserved and ridiculous, mostly directed towards the... admittedly large amounts of erotic fiction mixed into the genre. Even so, fan fiction is a legitimate form of expression and literature. Many of the pieces written by fans amass word counts in the hundred-thousands, the same length as an average novel. Not only do these works allow for endless hours of entertainment, they allow fans to explore what happens when our favorite characters aren't on screen. Fan fiction is often used to explore a character's inner thoughts and relationships to other characters, adding depth to them in ways the creators can't with the limited amount of time they have to do so on the screen. Much of Trek's canon has been made by fans using fan fiction and accepted by the creators, who admit that they hadn't thought that deeply into a character's motivations or inner monologue. |
Modern daY vs 1973 |
Another of the major activities Trekkies like to do is go to conventions! Conventions are a meeting of fans, sometimes of the same thing (Star Trek Las Vegas) , sometimes of many things (like Comic Con). Celebrities show up to answer questions, take photos, and sign autographs, which is always a treat!
Star Trek has the most conventions specifically for it. The fans are very community oriented, so it's no wonder they do. A convention is a meeting ground for Trekkies who want to meet some new people who share common interests. We also discuss philosophy and interpretations of episodes, dress up, and sell/purchase Trek related crafts! Conventions are basically just a ton of fun, plus an excuse to get dressed up without receiving a single strange look (it isn't a requirement- but it's highly suggested if only for the fun factor). They're held every year around the country and the world, and have been since 1973, when the first Trek con was held. The actors that were invited thought only a few people would show up, thinking the show was no big deal. Little did they know... |