I hope that everyone watched the entire clip as it takes awhile to get to the meat of it and why I felt like this was a great clip that needed to be blogged about. The title of the clip is why it is awesome to be a nerd and, obviously, something that Wil Wheaton (famous for being an actor on Star Trek: The Next Generation among other things) was asked to explain to a child in the future at what is clearly a fan convention. To me, this clip, this speech was way more than about being a “nerd” but it was really about being a fan. Maybe fans are nerds?! Obviously, he starts out by admitting that he was a nerd and liked things as a kid that took a little effort to appreciate. Right then and there, I knew he was talking about being part of a fan community, part of a fandom. We all can be casual fans or this, that or the next thing but it takes EFFORT to be part of a fan community. If you are reading this blog post, you have made an effort to click on it and actually read it. That is more than just listening to a Duran song that pops on the radio and you declaring that you like it. After that, he describes a little bit of the stigma and the mistreatment that goes along with being a “nerd” or a “fan”. I think we could all relate to that as people still don’t understand fandom (hopefully they will after reading our book).
He really gets to the heart of the issue, though, when he says, “It isn’t what you love but how you love it.” This, of course, was exactly my point in the paragraph above. Being a fan is so much more than just liking something. There is an intensity to it, a passion to it. We all have that. Every fan does–no matter what s/he is a fan of. Then, he goes on to say that what makes being a “nerd” (or fan) awesome is finding others who love it like you do. I feel so lucky that I found Rhonda. Yes, obviously, she is beyond a good friend who puts up with me and even appreciates me. Beyond all that, she loves Duran Duran like I do, which is very special. We not only love that silly band in the same way but we love to express our love in the same way. We like to tour the same way. We like to talk about them in the same way. We like to write about them and our fandom. Truly, we are the luckiest people on the planet to have found each other.
Later, he discusses how “nerds” will travel to be around people like them, people who love similarly. This explains so much about why I go on tour, why others go on tour. It is why we went to a convention and will be again. It is about being around others like you, who understand you, who love like you do. Then, he finishes up by talking about how this child should find something to love and love it the most that she can. I did that. I do that. At the very end of the clip, he talks about working hard in connection to what you love. I swear he was talking directly to me and Rhonda. It was a reminder. It was affirmation. It was just what I needed.
-A
