Being aware of Trek as a tv show or film franchise does not mean you’ve looked deeply into the fandom. (A few were fans before being cast in later Trek incarnations, but most are just hard working actors.) Even Star Wars is just a movie to some folks.
I’m sorry but I disagree. Unless you’ve lived all your life on deserted island with absolutely no contact with the outside world, you have to know that both Star Trek and Star Wars have a huge devoted and somewhat crazy fan bases. It is not like there never been a Star Trek convention before NextGen.
I’ve had to explain to many people who Spock is. It’s crazy how small everything is in context of the larger world.
YOU’VE HAD TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE WHO SPOCK IS‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽ Who the heck are these people and where have they been for the past 50 years‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽ My God.
Regular people.
no,no,no,no. Regular people know about Spock. He’s iconic. Regular people might know about Sybok or Sonak, but they do know about Spock. You’d have to live somewhere totally unconnected to civilization to not have heard about Spock.
Well I don’t think these people are totally unconnected to civilization. People grow up knowing different things. Not everybody knows what you and I know.