Star Trek Fans and Costume Art (Folk Art and Artists Series)

Rating:
Summary: Got a Life, Thanks
Review: "Get a Life" is the derogatory dismissal often aimed at the
Star Trek fandom. As Heather Joseph-Witham discloses in her
fan-friendly little book, Trekkies usually do "have a life"
outside of fandom, and most take "fan-dumb" not too
seriously. That costumed Klingon or Starfleet Officer is quite likely
an environmental engineer, a college professor, a parent and
homemaker, a Kung Fu Master, a computer wizard, a police officer, a
priest, pastor, or rabbi, or even a technician at NASA! For these
people, the creation of costume art is a diversion or a hobby, and the
"professionalism" of the costume is much less important than
the wearability and pure fun of it. The "hall-costumes"
featured in Ms. Joseph-Witham's book are that kind of art, their
wearers those kinds of fans. These costumes are often whipped
together out of fabric remnants, leather strips, thrift-store fur
coats, inexpensive polyester or vinyl, crepe hairpieces. The fan
interviews conducted by the author reveal that many Trek enthusiasts
are attracted to the archetypes embodied by the series' various
characters and alien species. Thus, a fan chooses to role-play a
Klingon warrior, a Vulcan science-officer, or a Bajoran priestess
based on his/her affinity with that archetype. And although all the
convention-goers in this book are members of a tightly-bonded
community, the relative annonymity of costuming allows them the
opportunity to portray themselves in a manner which they otherwise
might not attempt in public.
@

Rating:
Summary: Got a Life, Thanks
Review: "Get a Life" is the derogatory dismissal often aimed at the
Star Trek fandom. As Heather Joseph-Witham discloses in her
fan-friendly little book, Trekkies usually do "have a life"
outside of fandom, and most take "fan-dumb" not too
seriously. That costumed Klingon or Starfleet Officer is quite likely
an environmental engineer, a college professor, a parent and
homemaker, a Kung Fu Master, a computer wizard, a police officer, a
priest, pastor, or rabbi, or even a technician at NASA! For these
people, the creation of costume art is a diversion or a hobby, and the
"professionalism" of the costume is much less important than
the wearability and pure fun of it. The "hall-costumes"
featured in Ms. Joseph-Witham's book are that kind of art, their
wearers those kinds of fans. These costumes are often whipped
together out of fabric remnants, leather strips, thrift-store fur
coats, inexpensive polyester or vinyl, crepe hairpieces. The fan
interviews conducted by the author reveal that many Trek enthusiasts
are attracted to the archetypes embodied by the series' various
characters and alien species. Thus, a fan chooses to role-play a
Klingon warrior, a Vulcan science-officer, or a Bajoran priestess
based on his/her affinity with that archetype. And although all the
convention-goers in this book are members of a tightly-bonded
community, the relative annonymity of costuming allows them the
opportunity to portray themselves in a manner which they otherwise
might not attempt in public.
@


Rating:
Summary: I don't feel this is a good representation of trek costumers
Review: As a trekkie who has been costuming for years, I did not feel that this book accurately represented costumers. I am always improving my craft. Each costume gets better and better and yet the ones in this book seem very amatuer. There was not much attention given to details. I am ecstatic that a book was done on trekkies in costume. I just think better costumers could have been found and perhaps a little less detail given to the woman's bosom.