Film Illiterate, wherein the proprietor records movies seen, and sporadic progress through assorted lists of the "best". Originally started after regretfully renting something forgettable for the third time. I've forgotten what, but never again! A tedious endeavour since 2005. Hello. 🙂
In fanfiction circles, the term "slash shock" refers to the way a newcomer's brain shuts down upon their first encounter with a Harry/Draco sex scene, a Kirk/Spock romance, or whatever. It's an instance of what I think of as "fan shock": any obsession is incomprehensible if it's not shared, and the more trivial its object the more ridiculous it seems to those on the outside. You stand, incredulous, on precipice, teetering between awe and contempt. You just can't appreciate fandom from the outside.
And Trekkies, a lurid excursion into the world of Star Trek fandom, is just such a view, produced in the P.T. Barnum tradition of cultural anthropology. One woman wears a tricorder and phaser at her belt and has managed to convince her co-workers to call her "Commander" -- you see, she's a Lieutenant-Commander in the Federation Alliance. There's a family running a Trek-themed dental surgery. Con organizers and Trek cast and crew recount some of their more colourful stories, like the one about the rabid fan who repeatedly asked James Doohan for a blood sample, or the man who bought a glass that John de Lancie had just drunk from for $50.
The tragedy is that it does actually aim for balance. Most of the fans stress points like the importance of community, and it's obvious from crowd shots that the majority of them are not dressed in full Klingon regalia. They certainly wouldn't dress that way to go shopping or to work. That's the tragedy: we're told all sorts of wonderful things about the power of the community, the kindness of its members, the good values expressed in the show itself, and more, but what we're shown is a bunch of weirdos and bemused celebrities.
I, for one, cannot get past my incredulity at the rubber-masked nutbars to see the humanity underneath. If you can, Trekkies is worth seeing, but if not... not.