May the 4th

[author_by_night]

I was inspired by a Facebook post I wrote a few years ago, expressing confusion over all the May the 4th jokes. I then realized that I'd been doing the same thing to people as a huge Harry Potter fan - they would mention they'd read the books, and I'd start going on about something that wasn't immediately clear to more casual fans, leaving them confused.

I still haven't seen past the first Star Wars sequel. I really need to amend that.

Questions for YOU guys:

1. Is there anything you like only casually, only to mislead people into excitement when you mention it?

2. Have you ever confused a casual fan with ALL the love and knowledge?

3. What is your stance on the Star Wars sequels? Do you consider them canon? (If your comment contains spoilers, please mark it. I originally asked that this be spoiler free, but that's not fair to anyone who really wants to get into it! It IS Star Wars Day, after all.)

4. What is a book, movie, or series you WOULD like to see a sequel or prequel to? Or, if it's already had one of those, do you think it could be done better?

Comments

[vivarocksteady]

Answering Question One, because it opened a box inside me:
1. Is there anything you like only casually, only to mislead people into excitement when you mention it?

Definitely Star Wars.

I have that Star Wars (A New Hope) Hong Kong poster shirt that H&M was selling last year. I say "THAT t-shirt" because, well, a lot of people have it.

My boss saw it and was like "What do you think of the Mandalorian?" and I was like, I haven't seen it and don't plan on it. I don't want to get Disney Plus. "But you're wearing that shirt!"

Like, dude. A New Hope is, at this point, a classic, mainstream film. I have Chinese ancestry. I like vintage Asian movie posters. (I had a shirt with a Japanese Barbarella poster years before I actually got to see Barbarella.)
I mean maybe it's on me, maybe I should know by now that nerd culture is so big that people expect you to be a HUGE NERD for something if you have ANY merch for that thing. But like... the first ever Star Wars film is not an unusual thing to like? No, I haven't watched the Mandalorian in the same way that I haven't read any of the tie-in novels. Leave me alone, lol.

This is coming off saltier than I mean it to, haha. My boss is nice and not dumb, but yes I definitely confused him with that shirt.

Marvel movies are sort of similar-- I lost interest in them years ago. I still have a spot in my heart for Thor, but if I go anywhere near a conversation about it, I'll end up in the weeds, and people will be genuinely shocked that I stopped watching those movies.

When I told someone I hadn't seen End Game they were like "Oh, you don't like superheroes?" Sure, I like superheroes. I don't need four superhero movies a year, though. I'm probably good for big blockbuster superhero movies for the rest of my life, in fact.

I don't know, it seems to me like Marvel movies and Star Wars are both so mainstream and popular that it should be okay for someone-- or even most people-- to just have a passing interest in them. /shrug??

[beatrice_otter]

I don't know, it seems to me like Marvel movies and Star Wars are both so mainstream and popular that it should be okay for someone-- or even most people-- to just have a passing interest in them. /shrug??

Of course. But I figure, it's like sports. There are plenty of people who are only casual fans of any particular sport. But fans of that sport are often shocked that there are people who AREN'T hardcore fans. It's so mainstream that they assume that everybody knows and loves it. People who hate sports they can maybe, sometimes, understand. But their default is "everyone knows and loves this and thinks it's important." So someone who's only a casual fan with a passing interest ... does not compute.

[vivarocksteady]

"Nerd" fandom and sports fandom have a LOT in common, you're definitely right about that! Its interesting though, my experience with sports has been that people are more accepting at my non-interest in it than they are about my passive interests in nerdy things. I'm sure there's just as much gatekeeping in sports fandom as nerdy fandoms, but I get way more of it in the nerdy fandoms. Maybe it's because I'm a woman? (And women are still expected to not care about sports?) And maybe it's because I'm actually one of the few people who is extremely disinterested in sports rather than passively interested. I guess "all or nothing" is easier to understand. You either LOVE sports or you don't care about them-- same goes for Star Wars!

I have DEFINITELY made the active decision to avoid wearing any sports merch for that very reason. I saw a really, really cute series of baseball tees in Japanese (like my North American city team logo and colours, but Japanese writing) and I was like "I really really really want this shirt, but I better not risk it, someone might try to talk to me about sports, lol."