If You Wait Long Enough, Everything Changes
Have I seen Solo yet? No.
Have I seen Avengers: Infinity War? No.
Have I watched even one second of Star Trek: Discovery? No.
Do I care about any of the above? See first three responses.
This attitude began with Star Trek: Voyager, but I at least stayed with that show through its seven-year run out of loyalty to Trek. I gave Enterprise a chance, but was bored after two seasons. I wanted to like the Star Wars prequels, but they were abysmal. That’s probably when the seeds of my apathy were planted.
As a lifelong Star Trek and Star Wars fan, collector, and former fan fic writer, it never occurred to me as a kid that in the future, I would reach a point where I could ignore future installments in these franchises without a second thought, without even a glimmer of curiosity or pang of guilt.
But if you wait long enough, everything changes.
I know I’ve changed. I’m burned out, dealing with that “malaise of the soul” that a writer friend recently discussed on her blog. I’ve felt this way for nearly a year and not just about movies or fandom, but since that’s the subject of this post, then yes, I am also burned out on the unceasing onslaught of Star Wars and comic books movies (although I enjoyed Rogue One), and remakes/continuations of Star Trek. To me, it’s just Disney, Marvel, CBS, and their kin wringing the fans out of every cent they can get out of them.
To make matters worse, I see—yet again—an increasing number of posts spewing racism and sexism in Star Wars fandom, this time in the form of disgusting social media attacks on actor Kelly Marie Tran. What a shock. Same thing happened to Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and others, I’m sure.
Of course, it is no different in Star Trek fandom, a group once renown for its inclusive and all-embracing philosophy. Over the past decade, I watched that deteriorate. This is part of the reason why I decided, over the past few years, to keep fandom at arm’s length and cut back on convention attendance. I don’t bother posting to, or even reading, fandom groups on social media. I have no time for that level of inane, petulant hatred, racism, sexism, nationalism, and all of the other chauvinisms that have infiltrated and corroded a fandom I once loved, a fandom in which I once felt liberated from these ills. This, too, has contributed to my now flourishing apathy. I should have realized, even in my youthful naivety, that nothing good lasts forever.
If you wait long enough, everything changes.
Have I seen Avengers: Infinity War? No.
Have I watched even one second of Star Trek: Discovery? No.
Do I care about any of the above? See first three responses.
This attitude began with Star Trek: Voyager, but I at least stayed with that show through its seven-year run out of loyalty to Trek. I gave Enterprise a chance, but was bored after two seasons. I wanted to like the Star Wars prequels, but they were abysmal. That’s probably when the seeds of my apathy were planted.
As a lifelong Star Trek and Star Wars fan, collector, and former fan fic writer, it never occurred to me as a kid that in the future, I would reach a point where I could ignore future installments in these franchises without a second thought, without even a glimmer of curiosity or pang of guilt.
But if you wait long enough, everything changes.
I know I’ve changed. I’m burned out, dealing with that “malaise of the soul” that a writer friend recently discussed on her blog. I’ve felt this way for nearly a year and not just about movies or fandom, but since that’s the subject of this post, then yes, I am also burned out on the unceasing onslaught of Star Wars and comic books movies (although I enjoyed Rogue One), and remakes/continuations of Star Trek. To me, it’s just Disney, Marvel, CBS, and their kin wringing the fans out of every cent they can get out of them.
To make matters worse, I see—yet again—an increasing number of posts spewing racism and sexism in Star Wars fandom, this time in the form of disgusting social media attacks on actor Kelly Marie Tran. What a shock. Same thing happened to Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and others, I’m sure.
Of course, it is no different in Star Trek fandom, a group once renown for its inclusive and all-embracing philosophy. Over the past decade, I watched that deteriorate. This is part of the reason why I decided, over the past few years, to keep fandom at arm’s length and cut back on convention attendance. I don’t bother posting to, or even reading, fandom groups on social media. I have no time for that level of inane, petulant hatred, racism, sexism, nationalism, and all of the other chauvinisms that have infiltrated and corroded a fandom I once loved, a fandom in which I once felt liberated from these ills. This, too, has contributed to my now flourishing apathy. I should have realized, even in my youthful naivety, that nothing good lasts forever.
If you wait long enough, everything changes.
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