How much is too much?

Thanks to Ernie and Carolyn for inspiring this blog!!

At one point does one question ones geekdom?  At what point does it become an obsession?

I was up at Carolyn and Ernie's house to drop of my guard helmet for a repaint and we sat down and watched  "My Crazy Obsession" which got us thinking on how far do we take our fandoms?

Do we devote whole rooms to our Geekdoms?  Do we dress up in costume?  Alter our cars, our looks our appearances to represent the characters that we costume?  Eat, breathe, sleep our fandoms till we drop?  Some people do but the question is where do we draw the line?

I know that for me I'm obsessed with Star Wars.  I'm not going to lie, I've been that way since I've been a little girl.  I've got two costumes and about to get a third.  I have a decent sized collection only with 50 some odd Vader's/Anakin's plus a few of the other characters.  My whole apartment though isn't covered though with my collection because right now I don't have room or shelves to properly display it.  So it's boxed up in my second closet in my bedroom.  Someday I will display it again but right now I don't have the room.

Yet, there are some geeks that society says that take their fandoms too far.  Some dress up as Barbie all day and all night, have a collection of thousands of dolls, or some Star Wars fan has their entire house and then some devoted to their collection.  Not that there is anything wrong with that but does it become an obsession?  Driving us further and further into our geekdom, further in Debt?  Further into isolation?

I don't think I can answer these questions because I'm not a psychologist but I do believe that there are some that take their fandoms too far.  I mean would I seriously alter my looks to fit the stigma that a face character should be skinny and to more accurately portray Padme and soon my ROTJ Luke?  Would I put Vader/Anakin tattoos all over my body to satisfy my obsession with all things Vader or Anakin?  Probably not.  For one, I know that even if I got the lapband tightened even more or went with Gastric Bypass after lapband my body would never be the same.  I'd have tons of left over skin and even after Skin Reduction my body would be full of scars.  I'm also not a big fan of tattoos granted I tolerate them on others but not on my own body no.  Plus, being a teacher I don't think I could get away with wearing a tattoo at work or having one so that's off the table.

I think there's a healthy line that divides obsession and fandom.  It's a thin line and really I don't think it can be defined by society but rather than the person who is obsessed with the fandom.  Sure, go to Conventions, Comic Book stores, watch BBC America for Sherlock, Doctor Who, and Sy-Fy for Defiance and other shows.  You have that right.

However, I feel that if you do have an obsession make sure that it's a healthy one and have fun with it.  I can't tell you to stop it because it's not my place and two it's your obsession and you're the one that has to live with it.


Till next time
-Jane