I can’t speak for most of the others you’ve cited (though the fact that I am not aware they have fanatic fanbases suggests they’re several orders of magnitude below, say, Star Trek).
I’d suggest that Bond didn’t restrict his comments to a degree of magnitude of fan base (or for that matter Eliezer with his reference to Vance’s books).
But I’m quite willing to state that the fan base of F1, many who spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars of year to attend a single race, and which attracts a global viewing audience of some 50 million per race (1 billon over a season) surely is in the same magnitude of Star Trek.
Or take Playmobil, with something like 2.2 billion sets sold and an annual turnover of close to Euro 500M, and which has inspired many annual conventions all over the world.
I’d, respectfully, suggest that your unfamiliarity with my examples speaks more to your range of cultural, artistic, sporting, and commercial, interests than it does their global fan bases.
I’d, respectfully, suggest that your unfamiliarity with my examples speaks more to your range of cultural, artistic, sporting, and commercial, interests than it does their global fan bases.
You’re almost definitely right.
Though I’m curious, do these see the same level of Han-and-Leia-wedding-style fanaticism, or is it just that such levels of fanaticism for these things are normal enough that they don’t make the news?
I’d say that the level of fanaticism can be pretty high in many of the examples I used. F1 fans travel all over the world, dress up in funny costumes, and parade around carrying massive flags showing which team or driver they support. Google “Tifosi” for a flavour.
Each of the other have their own version of fanatic behaviour … my favourite for sheer lunatic fun remains the annual Bloomsday celebration of Joyce’s Ulysses.
I don’t think many people would be hard pressed to call Barbie flawed.
I can’t speak for most of the others you’ve cited (though the fact that I am not aware they have fanatic fanbases suggests they’re several orders of magnitude below, say, Star Trek).
I’d suggest that Bond didn’t restrict his comments to a degree of magnitude of fan base (or for that matter Eliezer with his reference to Vance’s books).
But I’m quite willing to state that the fan base of F1, many who spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars of year to attend a single race, and which attracts a global viewing audience of some 50 million per race (1 billon over a season) surely is in the same magnitude of Star Trek.
Or take Playmobil, with something like 2.2 billion sets sold and an annual turnover of close to Euro 500M, and which has inspired many annual conventions all over the world.
I’d, respectfully, suggest that your unfamiliarity with my examples speaks more to your range of cultural, artistic, sporting, and commercial, interests than it does their global fan bases.
You’re almost definitely right.
Though I’m curious, do these see the same level of Han-and-Leia-wedding-style fanaticism, or is it just that such levels of fanaticism for these things are normal enough that they don’t make the news?
I’d say that the level of fanaticism can be pretty high in many of the examples I used. F1 fans travel all over the world, dress up in funny costumes, and parade around carrying massive flags showing which team or driver they support. Google “Tifosi” for a flavour.
Lego fans do things like build this 46′ self-supporting bridge http://gizmodo.com/5272536/46+foot-long-self+supporting-lego-bridge-to-set-new-world-record.
Each of the other have their own version of fanatic behaviour … my favourite for sheer lunatic fun remains the annual Bloomsday celebration of Joyce’s Ulysses.