Growing Up Is Overrated

I've just finished watching the documentary Never Surrender, about the fandom around the movie Galaxy Quest and it has reminded me of something very important.

Being able to get excited about something that we care about is the great gift of life.

I can't count the number of times that someone has told me that someday I'm going to have to grow up.  Usually what they mean is that I will need to stop enjoying things that I love.  No more buying action figures.  Or talking for hours about a show or movie.  Or wearing costumes and wigs to pretend to be a character.  These are usually people who say they like who I am, but just want me to be a quieter, more sedate version of myself.  One that doesn't embarrass them with my general lack of coolness.

Groot thinks I'm cool.

And you know what?  I have grown up.  And I have realized that the problem was never my inherent geekiness.  It was a culture that prizes cynicism over enthusiasm.

To that I borrow a line from Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own.  And my reality is full of amazing, fun things that I am desperately passionate about and enjoy sharing with others.  And then there are other amazing, fun things that other people are passionate about and I want to know about those things, too.  Sometimes I won't end up feeling the same way, but I can be happy for them.  And they can be happy for me and we all end up having a great time.

For me, that is the true strength of geek culture.  It's built on love.  (Which is probably why I feel that geek culture and romance culture fit well together.)

The Villainesses dance troupe

Galaxy Quest struck a powerful chord because at its heart, it's about geek culture.  It's about loving something so much that it becomes real in our minds, even when we know it's fiction.  It's about wanting to share that love with other fans and anyone who was even a little bit involved with the original, be they actors, directors, writers, anything.  It's why I go to Comic Con every year, because even though the cast and crew are often far less enamored of the final product than the fans, there is something magical about getting behind the scenes glimpses. 

The documentary reminded me of how far we've come.  Geeking out about something was shameful for most of my adolescence and adulthood.  We were the punchline of the joke, be it the Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons or the guys on The Big Bang Theory.  Now we're too far in the mainstream to be pushed to the side.  But there are still plenty of people who look down on the freaks in their costumes with their collectibles.

Of course, most of those people have their own fandoms.  Maybe it's music, or sports, or gardening, or baking, or science.  But it's something they're passionate about and that brings them joy in their lives.  No one should have to live a passionless life.

My passion happens to include six inch poseable figures, movies and shows full of special effects, and convention centers with thousands of people in costumes.  And I'm okay with that.  Just like I'm okay with my passion for stories that end with dreams coming true.

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