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> "And the most absurd manifestation is the rise of “geek culture” – of people who devote enormous amounts of time and energy to learning and thinking about the
by yellow_lead 5y ago
> "And the most absurd manifestation is the rise of “geek culture” – of people who devote enormous amounts of time and energy to learning and thinking about the minutiae of fictional universes from movies, comics, and games, or who obsess over the work and personal lives of favorite actors, musicians, bands, etc. My point, as longtime readers know, is by no means to disparage such things per se. But for many people today, such trivial pursuits have gone well beyond a point that is spiritually healthy, and have become a kind of substitute religion."
Can't say I find this very convincing. People may find joy out of obsessing over "the work and personal lives of favorite actors, musicians, bands, etc." Or it may allow them to connect with it in new ways. Feser says he doesn't want to disparage this, but it isn't "spiritually healthy." Whatever that means.
- leephillips 5y agoI didn’t get that far in the essay, but experience shows that people who take their fandoms maybe a little too seriously are healthier, and certainly less dangerous, than people who take their religions a little too seriously. At least most of them know that these worlds are fictional. I have strong opinions about TOS being superior to any Trek that came after, but I’m unlikely to start a shooting war over it, or strap on a suicide vest.
- TrainedMonkey 5y agoI suspect this strongly depends on a religion and a fandom. For example, fandoms that cause self-harm in a chase of some fictional perfection vs people who are heavily into Buddhism or derivatives.
- leephillips 5y agoI was forgetting about soccer hooligans.
- dylan604 5y agoor stalkers
- p1necone 5y agoI'd be interested in hearing a few bullet points on TOS vs TNG from you :)
- leephillips 5y agoProbably the most relevant bullet point is the year of my birth.
- prower 5y agoI wonder if it's safe to say that every religion started as pop culture.
- ASalazarMX 5y agoI'm also not convinced. Discussing fictional minutia with Star Trek fans is an experience very far from discussing religious topics. No one will hate and ostracize you for thinking Data shouldn't have adopted a cat, for example. I have to say, this has changed with Discovery. This series has attracted new fans that will definitely hate and berate you if you say the wrong thing about certain characters. Using the incorrect pronouns when discussing trans-characters is an unwritten bannable offense in r/StarTrekDiscovery, for example. That sure feels like religion.
- argomo 5y agoI think the giveaway for this paragraph comes right at the end: "a kind of substitute religion". What's more compelling: myths written for another culture in another time/place or ones written for you by your contemporaries addressing current problems with fantastic production values? Feser is right to be concerned: successful religions, like successful companies, must be wary of flashy startups that can outmaneuver them. Still, a fantastic and insightful article.