|
Post by SK on Aug 13, 2015 20:05:48 GMT
Hello,
A question for all your fangirls/boys/non-binaries out there.
In real life, I have a couple of friends who enjoy a variety of nerdy things that interact with my interests but very, very few who get as involved and as invested as I do. The closest is a friend who I called for an hour after he finished House of Leaves so we could discuss the book and its myriad of meanings.
So this sometimes makes me feel a bit... odd? I'm a geek and proud, and all my friends accept this, but there's a difference between accepting it and understanding it. For example, none of my friends understood why I got quite so emotional over Captain America The Winter Soldier. Does anyone else have this gap?
(Also, a separate question but kind of tied in - does anyone else get frustrated by how superficial these stories get treated? My degree is essentially in analysis and I love to get into the real debates behind a story and its choices but often get told to lighten up as it's just a story/film/entertainment? Why shouldn't I be allowed to debate the merits (or lack of) of violence in Game of Thrones or the true meaning of Freedom in The Winter Soldier?)
|
|
|
Post by Danielle Wayland on Aug 15, 2015 16:52:20 GMT
I can understand where you're coming from. I really love to watch professional wrestling (mostly WWE but I've been getting int New Japan lately), and while I'm aware the fights are choreographed and the promos scripted, the crap they do is still real and they do get hurt. I'm past the point of wanting to glare at people when they haughtily claim its fake and childish, but it's still annoying that they're so ignorant. It's like, so-and-so movie isn't real either but you don't see me trying to bring people down for enjoying it. And yeah, I get emotionally invested in it when certain story arcs connect with me (for example when my favorite stable broke up because one of them backstabbed the other two-- to me it felt like I was betrayed as well and I'm still not over it!). My mom kinda laughs when I get excited watching it (or stares at me when I start yelling at the tv), but w/e
|
|
|
Post by SK on Aug 15, 2015 19:46:29 GMT
I've never watched WWE/Wrestling but as a sports fan I can see why you'd get emotionally invested in it, and appreciative of the effort that goes in!
A prime example is I'm so very near completing the new Batman game Arkham Knight and I'm totally absorbed in the story, the choices Batman makes, even the side-quests that introduce old favourites (mainly Nightwing). My friend, who's at the same point as me, just wants to rescue Catwoman because she's hot (sigh).
|
|
|
Post by Jᴀy V. Aꜱᴛᴇʀ 💀🐍 on Aug 15, 2015 23:26:49 GMT
Oh, I'm SO there. I get really into certain books and tv shows, and I love getting into deep discussion and analysis about all the symbolism and meanings therein, but my family just rolls their eyes. They've told me to my face that they think that what I watch/read is stupid. Whatever. I am a proud geek, and I will fangirl if I want to. XD I have a coworker who watches Doctor Who, but while I get really excited about plots, theories, and backstory, that guy just shrugs. It's like they only watch things for pure entertainment. Don't they realize that the intense debate, fangirling, and discussion is the best part?
Seriously, Harry Potter theorizing. Marvel theorizing. Doctor Who theorizing. Discussion about the politics behind Avatar: The Last Aurbender and The Legend of Korra. BEST.
I know what you mean about being made to feel odd, though. No one I know in regular real life (except one person who is awesome) really fangirls over things like I do. What really gets me is, geeks have the same deep love for their games/tv shows/comics/books/fandoms that some people have for sports. Yet, it's considered normal for thousands of screaming fans to paint their bodies and support their teams, but the same people think that people who dress up to go to conventions are weird. It's why the show The Big Bang Theory at once amuses and irritates me. It's hilarious, but I just don't like how they portray geeks as huge losers that the regular people have to step in and "fix." It's like the message it's sending is that it's okay to be smart, but not nerdy or geeky.
I feel like creativity and a story told well, or a great fandom, can really make you feel alive. Can't fathom what it must be like to live without ever getting into anything more deeply than as mindless entetainment. At work once, my boss tried to do a team building exercise where she'd start off a story and everyone would add a line about what happened next. UNMITIGATED DISASTER. Most people got blank looks when it was their turn. One guy even turned a violent scene into "Turns out it's the sound of my kids playing video games. Let's just bring it back to reality." -_- Don't even get me started on what it was like playing D&D with (some of) those guys. (Admittedly, some were better at it than others.)
The inside of their heads must be so boring.
In another vein, does anyone else love collecting books, but gets weird looks from people who don't get why you can't just get an ebook reader, or box them up? A room without books feels naked and sterile to me. I have shelves and shelves of books I've amassed since I was a kid. My family accepts it, and they even appreciate paper books, but they just don't understand why anyone would want to have more than a few books. Anyone ever get that?
|
|
|
Post by SK on Aug 16, 2015 10:22:13 GMT
Seriously, Harry Potter theorizing. Marvel theorizing. Doctor Who theorizing. Discussion about the politics behind Avatar: The Last Aurbender and The Legend of Korra. BEST. OH MAN. All the Harry Potter headcanons and theories on tumblr make my life and reignited my love for the books after several years of drifting away from the magic. Have you heard of a lady called ink-splotch on tumblr? She writes these 'what ifs' that reframe the books - so example, Neville being the chosen one not Harry, and they're so incredible I nearly always end up in tears. And the marauders! Oh man, oh man... Avatar and Korra are incredible too although I haven't finished Korra yet (it's on my list I swear). When I try to explain to people why they're so good though I just get looks and 'aren't they for kids'. Such a shame! In another vein, does anyone else love collecting books, but gets weird looks from people who don't get why you can't just get an ebook reader, or box them up? A room without books feels naked and sterile to me. I have shelves and shelves of books I've amassed since I was a kid. My family accepts it, and they even appreciate paper books, but they just don't understand why anyone would want to have more than a few books. Anyone ever get that? I'm in the process of moving out into a new flat with a new housemate and the first thing I took over was one of two bookshelves I have. I would have more but it's not feasible in small rented accommodation. My old housemate supposedly reads but I very rarely saw evidence of this unless it was fitness related. My new housemate is exceptionally smart but primarily about politics and philosophy - his additions to my bookshelves have been mostly about Abraham Lincoln and John Rawls. But at least he appreciates the books! My parents are similar to me - my mum got very upset when her books had to be boxed up for eight months whilst they moved and decorated.
|
|
|
Post by Jᴀy V. Aꜱᴛᴇʀ 💀🐍 on Aug 16, 2015 20:11:52 GMT
OH MAN. All the Harry Potter headcanons and theories on tumblr make my life and reignited my love for the books after several years of drifting away from the magic. Have you heard of a lady called ink-splotch on tumblr? She writes these 'what ifs' that reframe the books - so example, Neville being the chosen one not Harry, and they're so incredible I nearly always end up in tears. And the marauders! Oh man, oh man... Avatar and Korra are incredible too although I haven't finished Korra yet (it's on my list I swear). When I try to explain to people why they're so good though I just get looks and 'aren't they for kids'. Such a shame! I haven't been into the Harry Potter thing lately, though I read some absolutely fantastic fanfiction back before the last two books came out. I should check those out. Have you read a rebooted Harry Potter fic called Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality? It's a 'what if Harry was a mad genius nerd' fic, and it's hilarious and awesome. Also, Avatar and LOK JUST FOR KIDS? If that's true I'm a big blue hipoo. Avatar IS more childish, but awesome adults will love it. LOK actually covers some pretty intense topics though. Towards the end, it becomes more than a children's show. I won't spoil why, but IT'S AWESOME AND EPIC AND DO SEE IT ASAP! There's a reason Nickelodeon actually took it off the air after a while. I had to watch the end online. It's television done right. :-) My parents are similar to me - my mum got very upset when her books had to be boxed up for eight months whilst they moved and decorated. Yes! That happened to me earlier this year. If you didn't catch me moaning on my thread, well...I was moaning on my thread For months until I finally had them unboxed and back!
|
|
|
Post by butterflywings on Oct 2, 2015 1:56:24 GMT
Many people don't reread novels. How they survive, I don't know. I read novels I love more than is probably healthy. They have my friends inside the pages
|
|
|
Post by Jᴀy V. Aꜱᴛᴇʀ 💀🐍 on Oct 2, 2015 5:53:47 GMT
My dad is the opposite of my personality in every way and he just can't fathom why anyone would read anything twice. He was quite surprised to find that when I read, I go from beginning to end, and I don't skip around.
I, on the other hand, was all, PEOPLE *DO* THAT? BLASPHEMY!!!
|
|
|
Post by MelCorbett on Oct 4, 2015 23:17:07 GMT
I so reread novels repeatedly. Yeah! I agree with you, how can you skip around in reading a novel. In a non-fic book I get it. Sometimes you already know the content of a chapter, but otherwise... i can't imagine not reading from end to end.
|
|
|
Post by butterflywings on Oct 6, 2015 13:53:19 GMT
I know a skipper, too. It annoys me. One second he's in the middle of the book and the next he's in the start. "I wanted to read that part and then it reminded me of the earlier part." As if starting at the beginning wouldn't eventually get you to the middle/end?
I can never figure out if he is done with a book either. Just when I think he's close, he starts in on the middle again.
|
|
|
Post by MelCorbett on Oct 28, 2015 22:24:21 GMT
It's why the show The Big Bang Theory at once amuses and irritates me. It's hilarious, but I just don't like how they portray geeks as huge losers that the regular people have to step in and "fix." It's like the message it's sending is that it's okay to be smart, but not nerdy or geeky. [...] In another vein, does anyone else love collecting books, but gets weird looks from people who don't get why you can't just get an ebook reader, or box them up? A room without books feels naked and sterile to me. I have shelves and shelves of books I've amassed since I was a kid. My family accepts it, and they even appreciate paper books, but they just don't understand why anyone would want to have more than a few books. Anyone ever get that? I so love books, physical books, but I've moved 3 times in the last year. Also, I almost entirely read on the kindle now because zoom! But I do miss my books. When I taught English in Argentina, I lived with the head librarian of the town I was in. She literally had her walls lined with books. Shelves with books on the side, just stacked against the wall, on every wall. It was glorious! And so much yes to Big Bang Theory! I love that it brought geeks to main stream, but I feel like a lot of it is more making fun at the guys for being nerds, than laughing along with them.
|
|