|
Why that title? I'm sure it's been uttered at least once since my assuming
a role other than just "Member, STARFLEET" for the first time in several years.
(If you haven't been in 'Fleet for more than 5 years, and you don't know the whole story, ask one of the old-timers.)
Anyway, I thought it might be time to once again look at the state of affairs of media fandom.
We're in deep linguini. (Uh oh, he's starting down that "gloom and doom"
path again....well.... let's see where we are first, ok?)
Most of organized Trek Fandom is 50% as large (if not even smaller, in some
cases) than it was in the early part of this decade.
Science Fiction has become much more mainstream. Instead of relying on a
shaky phone network of fans to find out the latest, it's all spoon fed and
a mouse click away....and if you aren't on-line, you know someone who is.
The media has again lost interest in Trek and Media SF from a notability standpoint except when it is over hyped (like Star Wars TPM), or for the
usual "let's make fun of the get-a-lifers" coverage we've all come to know
and despise. Just about 5 years ago, we said our goodbyes to TNG. The press was all over it. In my own area, my club had an early viewing party
in conjunction with our local station, and we had press on-site and coverage in newspapers all over the state. We set up the same thing for
the DS9 finale, and the press just yawned.
There's good product all over the place, even if it stretches the
boundaries of what we might think belongs in the genre. From Farscape to
Futurama, to the quasi-camp of Herc and Xena, there's at least some halfway decent stuff on the air. We don't have to congregate as groups anymore to
save a show, except perhaps for Crusade, and about the best thing we can do
is encourage all to watch so the ratings are good enough for a possible second season pickup. So yet another raison d'etre for fandom is going away.
Conventions: good Fan-Run ones are struggling to continue. The commercial
promoters have cut way back, too. Creation has stopped doing all but a few
major cities. Even the most successful and fan-friendly commercial promoter, Dave & Jackie Scott's Slanted Fedora, have announced that due to
the drop off of interest, they are stopping their expansion into more markets and concentrating on their established core areas.
A faster pace, and the Graying of Fandom: Many people don't have the time they used to.....in many cases these days if you're able to just have
enough time for family stuff, you're lucky. Meanwhile, the younger fen have had all this product and info spoon-fed tot hem, so there isn't quite
the same commitment of the heart to the genre and fandom that there was when we had to fight for everything.
Where are we headed? I've no crystal ball, but perhaps we are headed back
to the pre-TNG days. Let's face it, organized fandom was much more low-key and somewhat more sparsely populated until TNG came along and revived
interest. We may have to make some adaptations, such as one group I know ceased their meetings, and just have occasional activities, but they converse regularly on an internet list that gives them time to communicate
and still fit in with their busy lives. No, it may not be a solution for everybody or even anybody else, but it's something to think about. (There is also a monthly
events/newsletter, so enough from the "have-nots" crowd, then again, since YOU'RE reading this online,
you don't have anything TO crab about, do ya?)
Ultimately, it may require a redefinition of who we are. For me, it has always been the social interaction, the "family feeling" of the group that
makes it work. It may be time to think of ourselves, on both chapter and higher levels, as "a social organization, with Trek/SF as the common
denominator." (A key phrase I use in marketing my own group necessary BECAUSE of the image we have: I often ask people, "Are you a Star Trek
fan?" More often or not, the response is "I like watching the show, but
I'm NOT "A FAN!" Tells you something, doesn't it!) I'm about convinced
that it's time NOT to do events and community service activities in uniforms, but perhaps in some nice unified looking polo
shirts/t-shirts/caps/jackets etc.
Finally, I'll remind you of the thoughts I brought up at the '93 IC, when I
became the founding R15RC:
1) Everyone, from the CS to an individual member, has a responsibility for
a task, whether it's running the show, or taking a door guard shift at a con, or remembering what you're supposed to bring to the pot luck dinner
party. Your responsibility is not just to the task at hand, but how you execute it. You are responsible for doing it right, on time, the first
time, every time. If everyone does that, then everyone doesn't have to
worry about everyone else's task (where a lot of resources get wasted), and all can get on with having fun.
2) The basic litmus test for the worth of an activity. If it doesn't add
value (as you define it) to any or all of the following: the organization,
the region/sector, the chapter, the members, or the communities we live in, THEN DON'T WASTE RESOURCES ON IT.
Peace.
|
