adriangill Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 The number of times I've been referred to as a trekkie or a nerd I get that being called a nerd might not be that nice but how is being called a trekkie a bad thing? It's simply the name for a Star Trek fan, so if you like Star Trek then you're a trekkie (as am I) It's not a bad thing. Some people just use it with the same disdain that they might use nerd or geek. Being a fan of Trek, other sci-fi in general, attending conventions, having a career path that ended up in IT, plus wearing glasses, I have been called pretty much every variation of geek/nerd/Trekkie/etc that is possible Does it bother me? Not really. People are entitled to their opinions. The only people whose opinions of me that I take notice of are those of my friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatrixKiddo88 Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) Its the otherway round to be fair and based on all the online stuff. Nerds are the ones, as I always put it, like Database from the Simpsons hehe Geeks are the majority of the people at these cons. Regualr average people who happen to be into sci-fi or whatever to a higher level than most. They can blend http://www.wanderinggoblin.com/wp-content/...enn-Diagram.jpg Edited June 1, 2011 by BeatrixKiddo88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adriangill Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I didn't realise there was a diagram Yep, I have been called all of that, and more, apart from intelligent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyrdsister Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) I have read the article, and i feel really bad for the people who feel slammed. Although from what i gathered, it was not an article written by C5 BB, it was written by a newspaper. That I am presumming interviewed these people, and the person photographed gave there permission? (After all, they are poseing Interestingly enough, Channel five and the newspaper in question are owned by the same corporation, so they may have given their consent to be interviewed by one and be used for the other without their knowing or realising they actually gave their consent for it to be used! As for the cosplayer, she may have posed, but she didn't gave her permission to be made fun off. Edited June 2, 2011 by wyrdsister Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurab1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Its the otherway round to be fair and based on all the online stuff. Nerds are the ones, as I always put it, like Database from the Simpsons hehe Geeks are the majority of the people at these cons. Regualr average people who happen to be into sci-fi or whatever to a higher level than most. They can blend http://www.wanderinggoblin.com/wp-content/...enn-Diagram.jpg So very true XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatrixKiddo88 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hehe I wear my geek name with pride! Fight the power and other slogans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurab1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hehe I wear my geek name with pride! Fight the power and other slogans So do I :) Did you get the badges I made from Jemz, Rob? They were very popular at the Hub - we missed you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatrixKiddo88 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Aww I missed going too. Two in a row I've missed now. Wont do that again! An dyes I did, they rock! Have them on my Skynet hoodie Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) 1. People will be given the chance to be interviewed, if you don't want to be on the show, and don't want to risk the way they might be put across, no-one is forceing them. I don't see why BB couldn't have attended, as only people who WANTED to take part would. Quite apart from the fact that people may be unwittingly lured in (bear in mind the people 'recruiting' are likely going to be effectively unscrupulous salesmen, after "oddball" characters for their tawdry program), also bear in mind the press coverage (as pointed out, from the same media group ownership as the TV channel), and they'll no doubt be referring to the whole show as a gathering "of the nation’s biggest oddballs" and everybody there as an "outlandish crowd". So even if you don't audition, you stand the chance as being referred to en masse as "crazy comic geeks" just for being at the event. (The stuff in double quote marks is all taken from the original press story. I wouldn't be surprised if the show itself uses such phraseology to play up how 'wacky' its new recruits are. I'm guessing a lot of show attendees wouldn't be happy to be described thus. Hence, no doubt, SM's decision not to assist them in belittling its customers).2.I know many people are not fans of the show, but on the posstive side, if you did want to be on the show. You could win a lot of money, and become famous for it. It could be fantastic opportunity for someone, which you have now not given them. Winning a lot of money might indeed be good; being famous for winning BB might not be. It's a bit of a label, and one with some negative connatations. And no doubt there will be endless other ways for people to apply to be on the tiresome show, should they really wish to do so.3.Contestants are often seen in a bad light, on opening night, due to past interviews and videos. However, once in the house, viewers often change their mind about contestansts based on WHO THEY ARE ONCE INSIDE the house. Therefore, they could look foolish for a couple of days, but it soon passes. In some people's eyes. The first couple of series, whilst obviously staged and directed were at least tolerable. After that, it just became an exercise in ever more extreme people and situations, ever more manipulated and outlandish, just a tacky freak show, the modern equivalent of going down to Bethlehem Hospital to watch the lunatics. Anybody prepared to give up their job and two months of their life to participate in such a grotesque circus, with their every waking (and sleeping) move potentially broadcast to all, just in exhange for the chance to become a Z-list celeb must be either stupid, desperate or an unhealthily narcissitic exhibitionist with low self-worth. At least, I know a number of people whose views could be summarised thus. They will tend to see the contestants in a permanent dim view. So, a bad light won't always pass. 4. I know of one ex-BB contestant who enjoyed these kinds of events, and he came out of it just fine. I assume he was pleased to be given the experience. I know of somebody who did a short stretch in prison who found it to be illuminating, educational and redemptive. I doubt everybody would have the same experience, and I suspect it wouldn't be generally recommended. I think it's a very smart move by SM, especially given previous experiences with the tacky end of the media. Gentle understanding and sympathetic charcterisation are not the long suits of such media types. (Edited to correct a couple of typos) Edited June 2, 2011 by TommyT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guardianz Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I have read the article, and i feel really bad for the people who feel slammed. Although from what i gathered, it was not an article written by C5 BB, it was written by a newspaper. That I am presumming interviewed these people, and the person photographed gave there permission? (After all, they are poseing Interestingly enough, Channel five and the newspaper in question are owned by the same corporation, so they may have given their consent to be interviewed by one and be used for the other without their knowing or realising they actually gave their consent for it to be used! As for the cosplayer, she may have posed, but she didn't gave her permission to be made fun off. well said! and yes from what i have heard from numerous friends they didnt know they were going to be ridiculed at this event and if your like me and you go to anime cons and cosplay you will understand that we are there to show off our hard work and costumes and there are many photographers there but they are all freelance and not there to mock us. they are there to promote us and their pictures. ive had pictures taken and i posed but if they had done what the tabloids etc had done i would have been mortified. people sometimes think its ok for BB and the media to be at cons because some do not understand as maybe they are not cosplayers but i can tell you a few horror stories. good on SM to not let them in as a lot of my friends would not have come if they had of.. including me x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastian haff Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Dont give a wild sh*te what other people think!! I love going to Showmasters events and have done for many, many years now. If people do not understand why I like to do so then that's their problem, NOT mine As for the press, don't even get me started. Easy targets always get the unwanted attention of the press. That's life i'm affraid. Well done Jason for thinking of the fans first. The same cannot be said for other so called events that i occasionally frequent. That's why Showmasters continue to be the best. End of!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovbug Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) I am presumming interviewed these people, and the person photographed gave there permission? (After all, they are poseing). I'm happy to pose with anyone who comes up to me and asks. I'm not saying anyone from BB WOULD still try to get in and get pictures and quotes covertly but if they looked like every other fan-photographer then that's what I'd take them as. That may be why some people who were photographed (but not interviewed) at the other event "are posing", as if they didn't know their picture would be used for an article they are posing as they would for any fan. Good point, I hadn't thought of this. Edited June 2, 2011 by lovbug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovbug Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 they'll no doubt be referring to the whole show as a gathering "of the nation’s biggest oddballs" and everybody there as an "outlandish crowd". So even if you don't audition, you stand the chance as being referred to en masse as "crazy comic geeks" just for being at the event. This is not how the show has ever been done before, infact they have never shown the areas, in which interviews took place. So i highly doubt this would happen. It's not like x-factor. a tacky freak show, the modern equivalent of going down to Bethlehem Hospital to watch the lunatics. Anybody prepared to give up their job and two months of their life to participate in such a grotesque circus, with their every waking (and sleeping) move potentially broadcast to all, just in exhange for the chance to become a Z-list celeb must be either stupid, desperate or an unhealthily narcissitic exhibitionist with low self-worth. What you have just done there, is disrespect people, the same way the newspaper did. You should know that judging people - calling potential contestants 'desperate', without knowing them is pretty much the same, as calling all Dr Who fans 'geeks'. 4. I know of one ex-BB contestant who enjoyed these kinds of events, and he came out of it just fine. I assume he was pleased to be given the experience. I know of somebody who did a short stretch in prison who found it to be illuminating, educational and redemptive. What has that got to do with anything. My point being, if a person wants to audition for the show, its there right, and maybe you should give them enough credit to think they have thought the whole thing through properly. You don't have to protect people from making this discuission, just because it's not somthing you would do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvaNemesis Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) Channel 5 is trash, as is Big Brother and the kind of people who find Big Brother entertaining are for the most part - NOT ALL - but a lot of, the people who ridicule people like us/the fans who are into sci-fi. The number of times I've been referred to as a trekkie or a nerd and I get people saying "oh you watch Doctor Who don't you?" I don't, my area of greatest interest is Star Trek but people make all these assumptions. As I said to people at work who were slating me for going to an event, the difference between me and you is, you're boring and sit at home watching people on the TV, I prefer to get off my backside and go and MEET the people who are on the TV, something that wouldn't be possible without Showmasters or such great events like Collectormania or LFACC. Besides... how can a waste of space like Channel 5 call anyone sad when they run a highly interesting and entertaining I'm sure programme about a handful of people who have nothing better to do than spend umpteen weeks locked in a house whilst the nation watches them go about their eating, sleeping and pooping?! hey, theres nothing wrong with watching dr who! it is after all THE greatest sci fi tv show of all time,official........ Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing Doctor Who, I have nothing against it, I've even been and met a couple of the Doctors when they've been at CM and done the photoshoot with Tom Baker, I'm familiar enough to have an interest to meet the guests, it's just that it's not the thing I watch regularly or have gotten into where as TNG, DS9 and VOY are :) I remember being asked at work by a woman... what's that thing in Doctor Who? that creature thing? You'll know you watch it... I replied, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about and no I don't watch it. I could only presume she wasn't referring to David Tennant, Kylie Minogue or Catherine Tate! Edited June 2, 2011 by SilvaNemesis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovbug Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) Interestingly enough, Channel five and the newspaper in question are owned by the same corporation, so they may have given their consent to be interviewed by one and be used for the other without their knowing or realising they actually gave their consent for it to be used! http://showmastersonline.com/forums/style_images/1/folder_rte_images/bold.gif I didn't know that , that is intresting. And yes, I know a friend of mine had an article in a magazine she agreed to, and the article also appeared in a main newspaper - that she knew nothing about. Good point. Edited June 2, 2011 by lovbug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manowar Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Just read this......WELL done Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicky Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 the damage we felt it would have done by people being ridiculed for something they don't understand would have been too great. I am well aware of how often the press pidgeon-hole fans as nerds, sad people or freaks. It's stupid and pointless to care so much about things as insignificant as fantasy fiction and then spend loads of money on it. It's childish to dress up and roleplay. I'm not even going to try and justify it by comparing it to something the naysayers do eg. sports. This is sadly the way of the world. Society is pretty backwards and narrow-minded. Anything outside of society's norm or is unconventional is immediately categorised as 'weird'. Cons are outside of some people's reality. The thing is cons are still a new thing, they havent been around that long so people havent accepted them yet. People used to think internet dating was 'sad' but its slowly becoming more accepted now by society. LARP, WoW, D&D, conventions will always be geeky cos its fiction based and not real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) they'll no doubt be referring to the whole show as a gathering "of the nation’s biggest oddballs" and everybody there as an "outlandish crowd". So even if you don't audition, you stand the chance as being referred to en masse as "crazy comic geeks" just for being at the event. This is not how the show has ever been done before, infact they have never shown the areas, in which interviews took place. So i highly doubt this would happen. It's not like x-factor. The show has been revived, for a new client. There is therefore no guarantee that it will be like it was before. Plus the show has changed every series, and given that both X-Factor and Britain's Got Talent have achioeved success whilst showing some of the backstory of the contestants and how they got on the show, there's certainly no guarantee that BB wouldn't pick up on such a winning formula. Even if not on the actual show itself, on one of the numerous satellite programs. And even if not with great swathes of footage, surely even one reference to "Contestants X and Z were selected from a bunch of aspiring contestants at auditions at a huge geek convention" in something like their press pack released once the contestants are revealed would be a slur that could have been avoided. a tacky freak show, the modern equivalent of going down to Bethlehem Hospital to watch the lunatics. Anybody prepared to give up their job and two months of their life to participate in such a grotesque circus, with their every waking (and sleeping) move potentially broadcast to all, just in exhange for the chance to become a Z-list celeb must be either stupid, desperate or an unhealthily narcissitic exhibitionist with low self-worth. What you have just done there, is disrespect people, the same way the newspaper did. You should know that judging people - calling potential contestants 'desperate', without knowing them is pretty much the same, as calling all Dr Who fans 'geeks'. What you have done there is list a quote completely out of context and attribute the sentiments to me, when I quite clearly said "At least, I know a number of people whose views could be summarised thus." I would appreciate an apology for you calling me judgmental with no basis. I would also point out that those people whose opinions I was summarising were not specifically calling anyone "desperate"; they were merely saying that "desperate" was one of the possible reasons they could conceive of for somebody acting like that - in the absence of any additional information they were quite clearly avoiding unequivocally labelling somebody as "desperate". 4. I know of one ex-BB contestant who enjoyed these kinds of events, and he came out of it just fine. I assume he was pleased to be given the experience. I know of somebody who did a short stretch in prison who found it to be illuminating, educational and redemptive. What has that got to do with anything. A simple illustration that just because one person finds an experience useful and enjoyable, not everybody else will. My point being, if a person wants to audition for the show, its there right, and maybe you should give them enough credit to think they have thought the whole thing through properly. You don't have to protect people from making this discuission, just because it's not somthing you would do. I'm not trying to prevent anybody from doing anything. All I'm saying is that I agree with SM that they don't have to facilitate the process, when it could do them more harm than good. I don't give a tinker's cuss about whether people want to audition for BB or not. (Although having seen some of the people on there, I'd rather they weren't attracted to an event I'd want to go to (for other reasons) by a BB audition ) And I assume that's "decision" rather than "discussion"? In which case, I would also reflect that society is full of examples of people being prevented from doing things, or at least hampered from doing them. I cannot buy more than something like 24 or 32 ibuprofen tablets from a chemist, presumably in case I try to fatally overdose. I can of course travel around numerous pharmacies and buy as many as I need, if I can be bothered with the inconvenience. Society doesn't give me the credit for either having thought through why I might want to commit suicide, or indeed if there's any other reason why I might want to buy 48 ibuprofen tablets (like maybe I don't want to have to go to a chemists for the next 18 months, or maybe I'm going to be somewhere where supply is erratic for that period of time). There's any number of things that I can't buy or own or do, because it might hurt me or possibly other people, because society won't give individuals the credit for thinking things through and acting responsibly. Just this last week they've been talking about banning cash incentives to get people to transfer out of their company pension scheme, because the incentive of cash now might make people act irrationally and give up more in future benefits than the cash on offer now is worth. I won't be allowed to think that offer through and make a rational decision that suits my circumstances. So, even if I were trying to stop people applying for BB (which I'm not) it wouldn't be the only bit of "nanny stateism" in the world... Edited June 2, 2011 by TommyT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary nichol Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Pointless topic to bring up, if big brother isn't going to be at an event why do we need to know about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophelia Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Well done Showmasters for making a good call. I applaud you for putting the attendees of your events first. Certain factions of the media and entertainment industry always have an angle or agenda and usually it's based on perpetuating stereotypes in a negative or derogatory light to incite ridicule for cheap laughs or sensationalism. Thank you for being savvy enough to read between the lines and protect the integrity of your events and our interests, it's appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyKirsty Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Interesting point to note is that the "other MB" was taken down and has now returned minus any threads mentioning the BB competition, or the Daily Star article. Just before it was removed, (I created a thread and asked about the experience from people mentioned) a couple of the cosplayers whose photos were used in the newspaper posted that they had not given permission to appear in the newspaper! I am seriously thinking I never want to go there again.I had almost missed the people I went to see on Saturday as the auto session stopped at 3pm, I queued for 2 hours! Showmasters are much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurab1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) Firstly, its Bedlam Hospital. Second, with a new producer/broadcaster, just because it was done method x b4, it could be edited in other ways. Plus beforehand it was open casting in some hotel or other, rather than they went to the mountain. They might edit it to show the venue/shows title, and mention the show, and then brief montage of stereotypical freaks and geeks, as they would wish to put it. Btw, just because you start to like the dunderheads after 2 days.. doesn't mean its universal. I mean, how successful is bottle smuggler Kinga these days! Must be one hell of a superinjunction on her career! What has this got to do with LFCC? Well they tried to get permission to go there, and some folks might have gone to the show they DID go to, rather than MK, so might have got caught up, or initially thought the meeja was doing something else there.. <Pedant> Bedlam, as applied to the asylum, is actually a corruption of Bethlehem, but, yes, Bedlam is the word we use, now. </pedant> Edited June 2, 2011 by laurab1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraHawk Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Bedlam, as applied to the asylum, is actually a corruption of Bethlehem, but, yes, Bedlam is the word we use, now. </pedant> And fan comes from the word Fanatic and Fanaticism. I'll never forget that, Michael Sheard told us that. He preferred having appreciators to fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurab1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Bedlam, as applied to the asylum, is actually a corruption of Bethlehem, but, yes, Bedlam is the word we use, now. </pedant> And fan comes from the word Fanatic and Fanaticism. I'll never forget that, Michael Sheard told us that. He preferred having appreciators to fans. *is still scared of Mr Bronson, many years later* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 If those that mocked the events or the stereo types actually attended they would realise that we are just fans having a good time, meeting stars and saying thanks to them for their work on stage and screen. A lot of people take the mickey about me going to events, posting on facebook etc. and some of those who do actually are a bit envious that I have met some of the stars i have. They just 'tow the line' and miss out. Good on Showmasters for refusing Channel 5's offer - it would have been an unwanted distraction anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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