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How are James Bond fans perceived around the world?
Dragonpol
https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
This is something I've been wondering about for a good while so I thought that I'd create a new thread on it as it doesn't seem to have been discussed here before. I'd, of course, like to get the perspective of other fans on this issue as well. The idea behind this thread concerns how we James Bond fans are perceived by others outside of Bondom around the world. For example, Star Trek fans (and probably Star Wars fan too) are perceived as very obsessive people who dress up a lot as aliens or members of the spaceship crew. Star Trek fans are either Trekkies or Trekkers; I believe there is a difference. Perhaps fans of Doctor Who could be included in this group too. The watchword here is geekiness and nerdiness.
Another type of obsessive fan is, of course, those who follow the late Elvis Presley. I'm thinking especially here of the countless Elvis impersonators who, as at least one commentator said, do more harm than good to Elvis' image around the world and to the perception others have of Elvis fandom.
Besides these few examples of fandom and how it is perceived around the world by others, James Bond fans surely come across as a much more complex, harder to pigeonhole, even a more conservative lot. There isn't the geeky tag that attaches itself to fans of science fiction. There is no one typical type of Bond fan. Most likely, there is no one typical fan of anything, just a majority of fans who celebrate their fandom in a certain fashion. Many Bond fans (like myself) don't go to cosplay events or dress up in a tuxedo while posing with a Walther PPK (not that there is anything wrong with that). There may also be a split in Bond fandom between literary and cinematic fans, Fleming fans and fans of the literary Bond continuation etc.
So, those are my relatively brief views on how Bond fandom is perceived around the world by those outside of it. Of course, I'd also like to hear the views of Bond fans from within our common fandom. Are Bond fans considered less geeky and obsessive than, say, fans of science fiction? Is it actually impossible to pigeonhole any Bond fan into a particular group? Despite all of the new Bond lifestyle websites and forums out there nowadays, are Bond fans generally speaking more conservative in their Bond fandom?
I'd love to hear your views on this one, as always! :)
Another type of obsessive fan is, of course, those who follow the late Elvis Presley. I'm thinking especially here of the countless Elvis impersonators who, as at least one commentator said, do more harm than good to Elvis' image around the world and to the perception others have of Elvis fandom.
Besides these few examples of fandom and how it is perceived around the world by others, James Bond fans surely come across as a much more complex, harder to pigeonhole, even a more conservative lot. There isn't the geeky tag that attaches itself to fans of science fiction. There is no one typical type of Bond fan. Most likely, there is no one typical fan of anything, just a majority of fans who celebrate their fandom in a certain fashion. Many Bond fans (like myself) don't go to cosplay events or dress up in a tuxedo while posing with a Walther PPK (not that there is anything wrong with that). There may also be a split in Bond fandom between literary and cinematic fans, Fleming fans and fans of the literary Bond continuation etc.
So, those are my relatively brief views on how Bond fandom is perceived around the world by those outside of it. Of course, I'd also like to hear the views of Bond fans from within our common fandom. Are Bond fans considered less geeky and obsessive than, say, fans of science fiction? Is it actually impossible to pigeonhole any Bond fan into a particular group? Despite all of the new Bond lifestyle websites and forums out there nowadays, are Bond fans generally speaking more conservative in their Bond fandom?
I'd love to hear your views on this one, as always! :)
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Comments
Perhaps also in Bond fandom more generally there is the element of "The boy who never grew up." As Q also said, "Grow up, 007!"
Usually when I mention to people that I'm a Bond fan, the average response is that they're not fazed. Some will say "Oh, okay.", and then that will be the end of the discussion, followed by two to three seconds of awkwardness before one of us changes the topic. Occasionally, I'll get a slightly better response to work with, like, "So what did you think of that blonde guy, whatshisname? He was pretty good."
There are indeed different types of Bond fans - I fall into the category of collector and sometimes-fan artist who doesn't dress like Bond/Craig in real life; loves all the films, but doesn't get involved in the behind-the-scenes studio/distribution trivia.
The range of different types of Bond fans and levels of obsessiveness compared to say, Trek, is partly due to all the individual elements that make up Bond's world - the cars, clothes, gizmos, locations etc. These things can be accessed in our real world by the fans. Whereas, a universe like Star Wars/Trek is more restricted - because it's science fiction and doesn't generally take place in our universe/time as we know it, any similar elements can be inaccessible to the fans, if that makes sense.
I think you'll find there are indeed non-Bond fans who consider us to be nerds, weird etc., but certainly not to the degree they would a Trekkie, and if so, they're not as vocal about it. However, I used to work with this girl who, when I mentioned that I love the Bond films and making the props, she just smiled and said I remind her of that guy from Big Bang Theory (Sheldon)...
Of course, I look, sound and act NOTHING like that guy, and am definitely (probably) not that obsessed about any one thing. Naturally, I was deeply offended. :)
For my own part, the fandom really limits itself to owning a few Bond comics, books (not all of Fleming's books yet, unfortunately) VHS's, one poster and a DVD collection. That's about it, really. None of the things – other than the books and that one poster is on display, and all of the items can fit inside a storage box. So, if I don't tell anyone I'm a fan, they wouldn't necessary notice!
Sometimes I get very lonely over this.
I think that a good many ordinary Bond fans are in the same boat, though I love the literary Bond a lot too.
I've met two fans in real life, though they were more casual fans than me. One of them seemed fairly enthusiastic about Bond but as far as I could tell he'd only seen the Brosnan films. Another one had seen the Brosnan and Craig films but not all of the others. I would still call them fans because they appeared quite passionate.
Wow, we really are lucky here in Spain...
You're all invited to our Conventions! Lots of Bond fans!!
I've been compared to Alan 'Stop Getting Bond Wrong!' Partridge, which is deeply, deeply offensive.
"Let me just check. Yeah, they're ruined!"