Star Trek fandom ethnography
Daryl G. Frazetti, a professor of Anthropology and Sociology will soon publish The Anthropology of Star Trek, the results of his ethnographic research in Trek fandom. The conclusions are interesting. I thought that I wasn't what one would describe as an overly engaged Trek fan (I lean a little further toward SF/F books than media), but changed my mind when I realized that I could answer some of the study questions in the affirmative:
Question 1: In what ways do you participate in fandom? (Check all that apply)
99% attend conventions, 17% follow Trek online in some way, 76% play online games, 16% belong to local clubs, 2 % stated they participated in the masquerades or cosplay, 3% utilize Star Trek in some form in their personal or professional lives, 28% purchase merchandise, 8% read the novels or comics, 37% watch fan films, 12 % read fan fiction, 1% responded as participating in other ways.
Me? No Trek-specific conventions, gaming, or local clubs; yes to some of the rest (this year's Nichols and Nimoy autograph purchases, specifically; not spending much on other fandom stuff during this 'lean year').
Am slightly baffled by the idea of utilizing Trek in "personal or professional life", then remembered that I once displayed a small ergonomics poster featuring examples of good & bad monitor use by TOS Uhura and Spock. Are people wearing Trek T-shirts to more casual workplaces, wearing Trek jewelry, displaying Enterprise models on their desks, telling co-workers that their insights are fascinating, or beginning projects with "Engage"?
I'm curious about the "other ways". Songwriting, recipes, building captain's chairs for your parlor? I'm sure that people enjoy being creative about their fandom and would like to read the book to learn more.
In the "Participation Standouts" paragraph, we learn that many fans write scripts, design their own ships, knit emblems, or get tattoos , among other things.
Question 3: What websites do you visit for your Trek news? (Check all that apply)
77% StarTrek.com, 20% Trekmovie.com, 58% Facebook, 34% Memory Alpha, 2% Trekweb, 2% Trektoday, 1% Trek BBS, 5% answered “other”.
"I never visit any Trek sites," I told myself. "Except for a certain LJ community, and a certain blog or two, and there's that Twitter feed I follow, the two Facebook groups, and that one Tumblr...OK, so I do that after all."
Some fans said that they disliked/hated the 2009 reboot and were led to TOS fandom as a result. Each Trek series has its own distinct style and charm that pulls fans into its spell like a tractor beam --- oops, I'm mixing fandoms with that Star Wars reference.
Why did fans begin watching TOS trek? Some similar responses were summarized thus:
“exploration of space, discovering new cultures , the idea of no poverty no need for money”
“As a kid, I was impressed by the morality of the crew and what people could be like in the future.”
"It had awesome characters and although not the most technologically advanced graphics wise, the issues explored were intriguing. Don't forget the gadgets were awesome!! Hyposprays, phasers and tricorders?! Yes please!!"
“Because with Star Trek, some times you have fun, and some times you find yourself thinking to some important stuff like racism or discrimination”
Those are some of the reasons I was drawn to it during childhood. It was hard to resist the idea of what appeared to be a (somewhat) progressive and exciting future. We all dream, don't we?
Anyway, if you're interested, check out the article. I avoided reading the comments to avoid the usual expressions of Spock/Uhura romance hate (if people were honest they'd just admit that it's Uhura hate and their own race/gender issues), but enjoyed the article. Here's the link:
http://startrek.com/article/following-fandom-the-ongoing-analysis-part-i
Question 1: In what ways do you participate in fandom? (Check all that apply)
99% attend conventions, 17% follow Trek online in some way, 76% play online games, 16% belong to local clubs, 2 % stated they participated in the masquerades or cosplay, 3% utilize Star Trek in some form in their personal or professional lives, 28% purchase merchandise, 8% read the novels or comics, 37% watch fan films, 12 % read fan fiction, 1% responded as participating in other ways.
Me? No Trek-specific conventions, gaming, or local clubs; yes to some of the rest (this year's Nichols and Nimoy autograph purchases, specifically; not spending much on other fandom stuff during this 'lean year').
Am slightly baffled by the idea of utilizing Trek in "personal or professional life", then remembered that I once displayed a small ergonomics poster featuring examples of good & bad monitor use by TOS Uhura and Spock. Are people wearing Trek T-shirts to more casual workplaces, wearing Trek jewelry, displaying Enterprise models on their desks, telling co-workers that their insights are fascinating, or beginning projects with "Engage"?
I'm curious about the "other ways". Songwriting, recipes, building captain's chairs for your parlor? I'm sure that people enjoy being creative about their fandom and would like to read the book to learn more.
In the "Participation Standouts" paragraph, we learn that many fans write scripts, design their own ships, knit emblems, or get tattoos , among other things.
Question 3: What websites do you visit for your Trek news? (Check all that apply)
77% StarTrek.com, 20% Trekmovie.com, 58% Facebook, 34% Memory Alpha, 2% Trekweb, 2% Trektoday, 1% Trek BBS, 5% answered “other”.
"I never visit any Trek sites," I told myself. "Except for a certain LJ community, and a certain blog or two, and there's that Twitter feed I follow, the two Facebook groups, and that one Tumblr...OK, so I do that after all."
Some fans said that they disliked/hated the 2009 reboot and were led to TOS fandom as a result. Each Trek series has its own distinct style and charm that pulls fans into its spell like a tractor beam --- oops, I'm mixing fandoms with that Star Wars reference.
Why did fans begin watching TOS trek? Some similar responses were summarized thus:
“exploration of space, discovering new cultures , the idea of no poverty no need for money”
“As a kid, I was impressed by the morality of the crew and what people could be like in the future.”
"It had awesome characters and although not the most technologically advanced graphics wise, the issues explored were intriguing. Don't forget the gadgets were awesome!! Hyposprays, phasers and tricorders?! Yes please!!"
“Because with Star Trek, some times you have fun, and some times you find yourself thinking to some important stuff like racism or discrimination”
Those are some of the reasons I was drawn to it during childhood. It was hard to resist the idea of what appeared to be a (somewhat) progressive and exciting future. We all dream, don't we?
Anyway, if you're interested, check out the article. I avoided reading the comments to avoid the usual expressions of Spock/Uhura romance hate (if people were honest they'd just admit that it's Uhura hate and their own race/gender issues), but enjoyed the article. Here's the link:
http://startrek.com/article/following-fandom-the-ongoing-analysis-part-i