May the Force be Single Storied

Star Wars Fans

The Star Wars fan

A 2009 film about four Star Wars geeks on a mission to break into Skywalker Ranch

Jon Lovitz in Benchwarmers (note the Stormtrooper in the background)

They "typical" Star Wars fan wedding you read about in local newspapers or see multiple memes about online.

A fan podcast.

Star Wars Celebration attendees.

The infamous Star Wars Kid video

Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert only further supporting the "single story"

In a broader sense, I think that most of the “single story” surrounding Star Wars fans can be passed onto fan boys in general.  However, for this example I will be focusing on Star Wars fans. While I believe many people consider themselves Star Wars fans, myself included, extreme examples are the ones who get stereotyped the most. The media paints these individuals as obsessive, socially awkward, either overweight or too skinny, and, for “clear reasons”, unattached.  They are overly eager to jump at the opportunity to assert their fandom. Their wardrobe only consists of Star Wars t-shirts and they generally don’t have a good sense of hygiene. They don’t contribute to society and stay at home reading Star Wars fan novels rather than go to work. This type of “fan” seems to be a prevailing archetype in television shows and movies.

I immediately thought of Jon Lovitz character in the film Benchwarmers. (This film is really not worth your time, but Jon Lovitz played the stereotypical Star Wars fan.) While in the film his character was rich, he still was social awkward and obsessive. The Youtube video Star Wars Kid has garnered nearly 27 million views partly because the young man in the video looks absolutely ridiculous as he tries to wield a fake light saber. However, when you search further for “Star Wars Nerds” on Youtube most videos that come up show regular people talking about or parodying Star Wars.  It seems that since Star Wars is such a major part of popular culture, the stereotypical Star Wars fan is also a part of popular culture. History has made them go hand in hand. 

As I researched more about this group, it became clear that the single story being told about them is being perpetuated from within as well. The hosts of the podcast The Force Cast constantly ask listeners (diehard fans) to not send in “hate mail” over something they say about a certain Star Wars character or film. I’m sure they do get “hate mail”, but from what I can tell it comes from a very small percent of their viewership. In addition, about ever other year or so the biggest Star Wars fan Expo, Star Wars Celebration, is held. While cosplay at this event is not uncommon, most news outlets focus on the extreme fans who don an incredibly detailed Stormtrooper suit or even a slave Leia costume. I personally have met many people who are knowledgeable about the Star Wars films, but I have never met someone who fits into the “single story” definition of a Star Wars fan.