Star Wars Fandom Is Religious
Beyond the five dimensions, sociologist Michael Elliott argues we should stop arguing about whether fandom is a religion and start looking at where the “sacred” shows up. He gives us …
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Your Fandom Is More Like a Religion Than You Think
Scholars have been studying religion for centuries. Fandom? That’s relatively new. So to understand what’s happening in communities like mine, researchers use a framework called the “five dimensions of religiosity.” …
Expertise: Skills the Trap of False Authority
In 2009 a colleague handed me a magazine article about the 501st Legion—a global Star Wars costuming group. I’d never made a costume in my life, but I was running …
Everyone Thinks They’re an Expert (Including Me)
Friends and family think I’m a Star Wars genius. Need to know something about it? Ask me. The truth is, my expertise stops at a very specific line—costume design and …
What Drives Us to Spend Thousands on Plastic Armour
Why would a sane adult spend $5,000 and countless hours making a costume that looks like it came straight off a movie screen? The answer isn’t “because it’s fun.” It’s …
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When the Internet Forgets
We worry about losing data. Obsolete file formats, dead hard drives, websites that vanish—it’s a real problem. But what if the bigger danger isn’t that we’ll lose information, but that …
From Empty Toy Boxes to Jediism
I’m what Pat Flynn calls a “superfan.” That means my devotion to Star Wars isn’t just emotional—it’s strategic, financial, and deeply woven into my identity. But even I have to …
From Geek Shame to Superfan
There was a time when liking comics, sci-fi, or computers got you labelled a geek or a nerd. By the early 2000s, that changed. The Matrix, Iron Man, The IT …
How the 20th Century Shaped the Way We Fan Today
I’m a Gen-Xer. I remember life before the web, when social interactions had weight and physicality. I also remember watching the Berlin Wall fall on TV, hearing about the end …
Ethos and Responsibility
The 501st Legion’s reputation is built on the collective conduct of its members. As our presence has shifted into the digital age, the line between personal expression and club representation …