Tuesday, August 02, 2005

My Name is MarianEvans and I am a Geek

I watched Trekkies the other night...only to see what I could become, what I am only a few posts on a web forum away from becoming.

Just to give you an idea, in the last week I have:
1) argued heatedly on a Harry Potter forum*
2) schemed with a fellow forum member to begin a new thread
3) partially reread HP canon to prove my theory and disprove another*
4) started using "canon" in reference to the HP books

I am horrified to discover that it's so easy for me to be sucked into the world of obsessive geekdom. This is especially apparent when I reveal that HP is not my main nerd addiction - I am also a devotee of Tolkien and Studio Ghibli.

But what really separates these interests from those considered socially "normal" and "acceptable"? Is it because fans of these particular movies/books oftentimes withdraw from reality and assume the characters they so love? Can it be that these fans are rarely exposed to sunlight? I feel that I have unique perspective since I straddle the line (at least I hope I do!). I see the attraction of a shared world and fantasy, but I prefer to share it with people I know, have actually seen in the flesh. I also do not construct my entire life around one obsession or spend money on fan paraphernalia... Fellow quasi-geeks: what are your thoughts?

*In case you're wondering what the theory/contraversy was about, here it is (HP spoiler alert! run your cursor over to read the hidden text**): I'm a proponent of the popular theory regarding who R.A.B. is in the Half Blood Prince - Regulus Black. I feel that there is more storyline evidence supporting this theory, seeing how so much time is spent on the Black family and its possessions (actually, a locket is found in the house in bk 5). There has been, however, an alternative theory that R.A.B. is Amy Benson, one of the orphans that Tom Riddle takes down to the cave before he went to Hogwarts. This theory is based mostly on the fact that her name is mentioned in conjunction with the cave. The rest of the theory, in my opinion, is based on hooey. So, I have spent (wasted) a lot of time arguing with the main advocate of this theory. In the end, I don't give a rat's ass whether it's Amy Benson or Regulus Black - but I found myself ready to kill this woman because of her dogmatism and her complete ignorance of Ockham's Razor. Sigh. What's wrong with me?

**Oh my god, I have written "spoiler alert".

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

this made me think of you.

a good sign of multi-genre nerddom (nerdishness?) is if you understand this shirt.

janjan said...

and the books come with free shipping! i'm honored you thought of me :)

noirah said...

The previous post, sensual and romantic... intertwined with Moltmannian, is unqualified proof that you are still this side of the line. That said, be sure to get some sun.

janjan said...

BIG SPOILER IN ABOVE COMMENT!!!

noirah said...

Doh! My bad.

Melvin Ming said...

I just want to say, first of all, that your hidden spoiler text is the coolest thing. I feel like I discovered my secret decoder ring in my box of Cheerios.