Did the nerds win?

[MGibster]

Toxic fandom is not a new phenomenon. Trekkies sent hate mail to Paramount over the then-rumored death of Spock in 1982’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. What they couldn’t do was actually change the ending of the movie, and when they saw it, they loved it.

In my Gender and Science Fiction course I took as an undergraduate, it was crazy reading fan published zines from the 1920s and 30s, back when some people wanted to keep calling it scientifiction rather than science fiction, and seeing the same toxic traits. It's even crazier because the letters they wrote to the zines included the author's address, so you could send them mail directly or just stop by their house.

With Wrath of Khan, there's speculation that Roddenberry himself was responsible for leaking Spock's death. There was some tension on the set because the studio opted to put someone else in charge because they weren't confident Roddenberry could deliver after the disappointing Star Trek the Motion Picture. Roddenberry was unhappy to have been essentially taken off the project and resented what he saw the militarization of Starfleet. (Don't even get me started on that.) If the creators can exhibit this kind of behavior, I guess fans will follow suit.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

In my Gender and Science Fiction course I took as an undergraduate, it was crazy reading fan published zines from the 1920s and 30s, back when some people wanted to keep calling it scientifiction rather than science fiction, and seeing the same toxic traits. It's even crazier because the letters they wrote to the zines included the author's address, so you could send them mail directly or just stop by their house.

Sure, these people have always been with us, but the internet magnifies their voice.

One village idiot is easy to ignore, but connect all the village idiots in the world and you get a powerful force.

 

[rhythmsoundmotion]

Sure, these people have always been with us, but the internet magnifies their voice.

One village idiot is easy to ignore, but connect all the village idiots in the world and you get a powerful force.

My legions of fellow idiots seem surprisingly fictional.

 

[trappedslider]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/28/50-years-in-dungeons-dragons-is-still-popular-and-profitable.html

50 years later, Dungeons & Dragons still brings in millions of dollars—including nearly $110,000 in 2024 for one small Brooklyn business​

 

[MoonSong]

Sure, these people have always been with us, but the internet magnifies their voice.

One village idiot is easy to ignore, but connect all the village idiots in the world and you get a powerful force.

An anecdote I like a lot -I was very young at the time, but had the chance to talk to people involved-, in my country, back when the Death of Superman happened in the comics, it became a sensationalist news piece and many local radio and TV stations wanted to do their own clips on it. The problem is, at the time comic books were this very niche and underground thing, so they started interviewing randos off the street since they were the closest thing to an expert they could find. This became a kind of beacon* for comic book nerds who suddenly discovered there were others like them across the country, got in touch with each other and started making their own conventions and creating their geeky stores.

The otaku crowd ended up taking over all of that infrastructure, but we owe it to the comic book nerds who used to think they were the only one and organized once they realized they weren't. All of this is pre-internet so it is fascinating how a little spotlight goes a long way.

* a Bat-signal?

 

[Ryujin]

An anecdote I like a lot -I was very young at the time, but had the chance to talk to people involved-, in my country, back when the Death of Superman happened in the comics, it became a sensationalist news piece and many local radio and TV stations wanted to do their own clips on it. The problem is, at the time comic books were this very niche and underground thing, so they started interviewing randos off the street since they were the closest thing to an expert they could find. This became a kind of beacon* for comic book nerds who suddenly discovered there were others like them across the country, got in touch with each other and started making their own conventions and creating their geeky stores.

The otaku crowd ended up taking over all of that infrastructure, but we owe it to the comic book nerds who used to think they were the only one and organized once they realized they weren't. All of this is pre-internet so it is fascinating how a little spotlight goes a long way.

* a Bat-signal?

Marvel tried for a similar touchstone with "Captain America joins Hydra. No, really. We're not lying!!"

They were lying.

 

[MoonSong]

Marvel tried for a similar touchstone with "Captain America joins Hydra. No, really. We're not lying!!"

They were lying.

Even funnier is that DC improvised the Death of Superman, they were ready to get him married that year, but received the mandate that they had to delay the event because Lois&Clark was on TV and the higher-ups wanted the comic event to be simultaneous with the wedding on the series. So the writers needed to come up with a year of storylines at the eleventh hour. Reportedly every year one writer would randomly shout "Let's kill him" as a joke during the writers reunions, but that year he was taken seriously because they were out of ideas.

 

[krillinfan]

In my Gender and Science Fiction course I took as an undergraduate, it was crazy reading fan published zines from the 1920s and 30s, back when some people wanted to keep calling it scientifiction rather than science fiction, and seeing the same toxic traits. It's even crazier because the letters they wrote to the zines included the author's address, so you could send them mail directly or just stop by their house.

With Wrath of Khan, there's speculation that Roddenberry himself was responsible for leaking Spock's death. There was some tension on the set because the studio opted to put someone else in charge because they weren't confident Roddenberry could deliver after the disappointing Star Trek the Motion Picture. Roddenberry was unhappy to have been essentially taken off the project and resented what he saw the militarization of Starfleet. (Don't even get me started on that.) If the creators can exhibit this kind of behavior, I guess fans will follow suit.

No one hates they thing they love more than fans. It's maddening when people aren't able to form their thoughts into constructive criticism, which the vast vast majority of people aren't, so they're just left with a general "feeling" of what they don't like, which they then broadcast into the world, about something they actually do like. It's very bizarre.

 

[Staffan]

No one hates they thing they love more than fans. It's maddening when people aren't able to form their thoughts into constructive criticism, which the vast vast majority of people aren't, so they're just left with a general "feeling" of what they don't like, which they then broadcast into the world, about something they actually do like. It's very bizarre.

There are many areas in which dedicated people find heresy to be a far worse crime than paganism. That is, someone who isn't into the same thing you are... well, their loss. But someone who's into the same thing but doing it wrong, now that's a crime!

 

[GrimCo]

Did nerds win? It all depends on what you constitute as a win.

Some things that were considered nerdy have indeed become more mainstream, or more accurate, they made it more commercially mainstream.

If you asked HS version of me, win condition would be that my abundant knowledge about various sf/fantasy/gaming/anime topics gets me laid with hot girl. As in - nerd stuff is sexy and attractive to girls.

My old ass current version doesn't really care if nerds win. While most of my friends do like nerd stuff, their love for it isn't their defining characteristic. It's just another hobby. Some go fishing, some go hunting, some play amateur futsal, some play tcg/ccg/ttrpg/board games.