There is a lot to be said by the titles we allow to label ourselves. Many of which revolve around a fandom. This is what I want to take a look at today, and how the New Star Trek fits in to it all.
The very word fandom is a relatively new term that Wikipedia describes as: a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest.
This general term has been the label to describe the phenomenon that is most famously recognized by Star Trek fans. These fans are commonly called Trekkies or Trekkers
The distinction between the two titles vary, the more derrogatory split indicating that a Trekker is a Trekkie without the social stigma attached to the more awkward stereotype, while others describe Trekkies as Original Series fans, while Trekkers are fans of the Next Generation. It is possible to be a fan of the show, and not earn either of these titles, as they tend to refer to the real diehards.
So this brings me to the meat of my discussion. Those labels were interchangeable but identified you as a particularily devoted fan of Star Trek. And now this weekend, Star Trek is about to be changed forever.
In the new film, a time travelling badguy (Nero) will be followed by an aged Spock to their earlier days, and the future timeline will be forever altered. We are not just seeing a prequel, but rather a sequel that has a time travel element that will reboot the franchise and clean the slate. Anything is possible now.
So presuming this starts a whole new franchise and revives a sleeping following, what do we call the new breed of fans? After International Friend Kristina was raving about how she was not a fan and far from a Trekkie, she eloquently stated this new film “owned her ass” to which another TMB regular said she was doomed to be called a Trekkie now!
Will there be a new varient of the fan title? New Trekker? Trekatonian? I know, lets just call them Trekites!!
But have we transcended the need for fan titles here? Now that comic book movies and possibly Star Trek are treading on the mainstream, would there even be an evolved title, or has our little Star Trek fandom grown up and thrown off the need for nicknames?
