"[Star Trek Fans are] People like everyone else, perhaps slightly more intelligent."
-Shaughn O’Connor
When Star Trek fans are mentioned, lots of people immediately think of someone living in the basement, wearing
Spock ears and Trek uniform, and who has no life outside Star Trek. According to the fans I interviewed, this is
the popular view of the Star Trek fan:
"Geeks, nerds, weirdoes, pick an adjective."
"Overzealous losers"
"Weird, immature, out of touch with real life."
"Too many non-fans are too quick to classify fans as fanatics, extremists, or oddities unjustly."
Others have had better experiences:
"It depends. Most acknowledge it's fun, and kind of cool. While others totally lash out at it. Of course there are
individuals who lash out against equal rights etc, so finding extremists isn't that hard…they usually find you."
Fans are often met with caution, if not contempt. One of the fans I talked to, who runs a day-care centre, had a
mother tell her that she wouldn’t have enrolled her child if she had known in advance that the leader was a Trek
fan. Only with time did the mother realise that Trek fans are normal people.
William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, once did a sketch on TV parodying Star Trek fans, and in it exclaimed:
"Get a life, would you? Move out of your parents' basements! It's only a show!"
While this was a parody, it still reflects the public image of Trek fans. It's rather strange that they should have
this image, considering that, as I wrote in the introduction, a book cover summary said that over half of the USA's
population call themselves fans. This is a contradiction to which I never found an answer. Perhaps it depends on
what the person’s definition of fan is; someone who likes the series may not consider themselves a "geek", and still
look down on those they think are.
The Trek fan is seen as a social misfit who is obsessed with the series, knowing huge amounts of trivia. I have
discovered that Trek fans represent a cross section of humanity, and therefore, there are all types of people,
including those who are considered to take Star Trek to extremes. All of the fans I questioned thought that it
is definitely possible to become too involved in the series and fandom. Their definitions of “too involved” varied
widely; for some, buying merchandise falls under “obsessed”, for others, it starts when people think they are from
the Enterprise.
There are certainly some strange fans out there. An actor who plays a Klingon in the “Star Trek Experience” in Las
Vegas told me that a fan once came up to him and announced he knew how to kill a Klingon before whipping out a
knife, ready to demonstrate it!
The president of one club received letters from a member saying that he’d caught another member giving secrets to
the Klingons and the traitor should be made an example of. He apparently meant it.
One event that many fans told me about was a juror who showed up to court in her Starfleet uniform and had people
call her “commander”.
There is a tendency for some fans to go overboard with their enthusiasm, and some of the people I talked to said
they believe that it is possible for a person to live more in the Star Trek world than reality. Maybe this is
because the Trek universe is a very detailed one, thus enabling fans to immerse themselves in it; perhaps they also
like the lifestyle of the characters, and wish they could live a life like they do.
The fans pointed out that there are no more “obsessed” Trek fans than there are in any other hobby – the problem is
that they are very conspicuous. The media love the stories of fans who wear uniforms to work or believe they are
from the future – and that is where the Trek fans get their reputation. In every social group, there are people
who take their hobby to extremes, and of course, Trek fandom is no different, although the extremists are a small
minority.
However, while it is hard to spot an obsessed stamp collector, Trek fans with cars painted like shuttlecraft are
very visible, and therefore, the media latches onto them, promoting the image of strange Trek fans.
The fans are also quick to point out that Trek fans are no more obsessed than sports fans are, and while the latter
can become rather violent, Trek fans are a peaceful group and don’t do any harm. There are no more Trek fans who
have taken their hobbies to extremes than people with other hobbies.
Most fans don’t react very kindly to this sort of publicity:
“I don’t know anyone with Star Trek addiction, but hopefully such an individual would stand in the kitchen giving
verbal commands to the microwave until they starved and eliminated themselves from the gene pool.” (Bethany
Theilman)
“People wonder why Trek fans get the bad rap, but when you look at all the negative publicity over things like
“Father that only allowed his children to speak Klingon”, what can people expect? Where is the focus on the noble
duties of clubs like ours and the hundreds of other chapters that provide funds for hundreds of charities during
the year? It’s too easy to put the fans of Trek into the “idiot box” and dismiss any truly good effects of their
interests.” (Mike Wilkerson)
So what is the average Trek fan like?
The fans I interviewed were of all ages, from 18 to almost 70 years old. In addition, some told me they’ve seen
clubs where the age range is from 10 to 80; so Trek obviously appeals to all ages!
In the fan clubs that were more into community work and serving others, the greatest number of people was in the
30 - 40 age range, followed by the 40 - 50 range. Numbers declined towards the older and younger ages. There were
slightly more men than women were, but the proportions were the same in each age range. The average age was
considerably lower in clubs that focussed less on community service, and also in online chatrooms and among fans
who ran a Trek webpage.
As far as occupations went, I encountered the same enormous diversity. I interviewed university professors,
housewives, doctors, dentists, nurses, war veterans, jail officers, security guards, students, and people who had
never held a job for any length of time - in short, every kind of occupation. I found that despite the fact that a
stereotype for Trek fans exists, and there are people who fit this stereotype, there is actually nothing every fan
has in common - Star Trek’s appeal is so universal that people from all walks of life join active fandom.
The original series, the show that sparked the whole fan phenomenon, is also the favourite series overall. I
thought that the newer series might be attracting younger fans, but that is not the case. It is the older fans,
often people who grew up with The Original Series, who are in the clubs. The newer series don’t seem to be
attracting many new fans, and of course, neither are the old series, which don’t appeal to the younger generation
that is used to state-of-the-art special effects, and who want action, not morality plays.
One thing I noticed was the lack of teenagers and young adults in clubs. When I started researching this project,
I expected there to be a high proportion of young people, however I found very few. One reason, for certain, is the
fact that they would have to be driven to events and picked up by their parents, which is a lot of trouble. Some
aren’t interested in doing the charity work that is a feature of so many clubs. Other fans I questioned on this
subject said that today’s teens weren’t around when the series first aired, and therefore haven’t grown up with it.
In its heyday, Trek was quite a youth phenomenon, yet today, it is considered something old and unfashionable. If a
new film comes out, then new fans appear, often in the 10-15 range, but lose interest quickly. Teens don’t like the
often-complicated structure of fan clubs, and also fear being laughed at by their friends, since Trek is “out”
nowadays. What attracts those who like it are the special effects, spaceships, weapons, etc, the “gizmos”, of the
newer series, but not the messages that were part of the popularity of TOS.
Star Trek was a rather rebellious series, which appealed to a rebellious generation that went out and demonstrated
against many things. Youth nowadays tends to be more inward looking and self-centred, and couldn’t care for a
series that has a message. Additionally, it is flooded with so many new things that it has become fickle, and is
always looking for yet more new distractions. Such people are not the type to devote themselves to a TV series or
a fan club for any length of time.
Of course there are young people in fandom, if not as many as in the early days. They tend to be more interested in
the Internet and creating WebPages than getting involved in clubs. However, as I interviewed mostly people in
clubs, I can say very little about this side of fandom.
A very high proportion of Trek fans is interested in science. A study by the Purdue University in 1993 revealed
that many children learnt more about science and space from Star Trek than anywhere else. About half of the fans I
interviewed were interested in science, and in many cases, Trek was what sparked their interest. They follow the
latest happenings and discoveries in science and space travel, and hold discussions. Not long ago, the USS Haise,
named for Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise (who is also an honorary member), held a commemorative party for the 30th
anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission. Many fans are pleased to see international space efforts such as the ISS, and
some believe that humanity will eventually start exploring the stars.
The fans also tend to be very creative, something that they can put to use in the clubs. A common hobby is writing
fan fiction to publish in fan magazines. Parodying Trek in many ways is very popular, be it in short stories, films,
or cartoons, some of which are extremely funny. Costuming is a popular hobby among fans, and they sew some
beautiful ones for the costume contests at conventions. Some fans also paint lovely pictures, which they sell at
conventions.
Bethany Theilman says, "I'm just looking for a group in which I can utilise talents not required by my work."
Crystal Berenberg says she likes to “play Star Trek. My brothers and I used to make comical Trek movies, and still
today I write short stories in a Star Trek-based setting.”
I have often heard people say that Trek inspired them to pursue their present careers. Several noted scientists,
such as Mae Jemison, the first Afro-American woman in space, say that Trek was one of the things that inspired them
to go into that field. I asked fans if this was the case with them too. Only very few said yes. One was Bud Cullum:
“I can honestly say that between Scotty and a Junior High School Science teacher’s influence they helped direct me
into the field of engineering.” There were a few similar answers, but for the main part, Trek had no influence at
all on their career choice.
On the other hand, Betty Lou Curatolo said she has met quite a few people who said that Trek had influenced their
choice of career.
Does Trek have any other influences on people? Some fans said yes. Many believe in the ideals of the series, and
try to live by some, such as David Klingman:
“I try to make each day a bit like Gene Roddenberry’s vision - make at least one person’s life better each day.”
What I learnt just from the tone of the answers to my questionnaire was that the fans are very open and
good-natured, as well as generous. They were happy to answer as many questions as I wanted. Even after having a bad
experience with other students doing a similar project who ending up labelling all Trek fans as geeks, one club
was still prepared to not only answer my questionnaire, but they continue to send me their club publications.
They also seem to be intelligent people. Those who are in fan clubs tend to be very
articulate and can express their opinions clearly and thoughtfully, as well as with a
sense of fun and humour. Star Trek is by no means their only hobby, and they seem to know a lot about many subjects. I read a rather heated argument on the physics and biology of Starship replicators!
Trek fans have had a reputation of being very tolerant; I never found out whether this is a result of the attitudes
of the series or whether they liked the series because it promotes the ideals they believe in. I believe that there
is a bit of both involved. Bjo Trimble writes in her book “On the good ship Enterprise” how fans tend to accept
anyone and everyone, and
sometimes even go to extremes to tolerate anti-social behaviour from others. I discovered first-hand that this is
something common to Trek fans world-wide. The atmosphere at Trek gatherings is very welcoming to fans and newcomers
alike.
It is perhaps surprising to discover that Trek itself isn’t that important for the fans whom I talked to. They
enjoy the series, but it is not a big topic of discussion; instead it is more an icebreaker before people get to
know each other. To them, fandom is about friendship, not trivia. Bob Chin says: “I doubt there is anything
specific that would give away the fact that I am an avid Star Trek fan.”, and that goes for many of the fans that
I talked to. Of course there are fans for whom the series is very important, but I interviewed the more socially
inclined people, and therefore, cannot say much about others.
In conclusion, it is impossible to characterize the “true Trek fan”, because there is such diversity among the fans
– and this is perhaps what makes Trek fandom unique. While most series have a specific group to which they appeal,
Trek has such a broad appeal that there are fans from every age group and walk of life from all over the world.
During the campaign to save the original Star Trek, NBC, the studio which showed the series, came across the same
phenomenon. As demographics and target audience are very important to sell a show, the studio spent a lot of money
trying to find out who the definitive Star Trek fan is, but without success. As a computer analyst who worked on
that study said to a Trek fan at the time: “You guys can’t be nailed down to any one label, and it’s driving NBC
crazy!"
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