Originally posted by: Go-Mer-Tonic
It isn't one way or another. There has always been a group of people who looked down on people who loved Star Wars, who would call us geeks and fanboys.
I just have to call you on this, Go-Mer. I was there too when the films originally came out. Nobody ever called Star Wars fans "fanboys" back then. In fact, the term "fanboy" wasn't even in use until much later. The earliest documented usage was in 1982, according to Wikipedia, and referred to comic book collectors--and it was obscure at that point. The term didn't even achieve common usage until much later... I'm going to say the mid to late 90s. I never heard it commonly used until then, in reference to anime and comic book geeks, and only recently has it been applied particularly to Star Wars fans.It isn't one way or another. There has always been a group of people who looked down on people who loved Star Wars, who would call us geeks and fanboys.
As far as the term "Star Wars geek" is concerned, I don't buy that being used back then either. That's something I never heard people say. There were "Trekkies" back then, but there was no term for people who just liked Star Wars, because that was nearly everybody. Sure, you had generic "nerds", and "geeks" a bit later on, but whether or not they liked Star Wars was irrelevant. It wasn't until the 90s Star Wars revival that tons of people started commonly collecting anything with the Star Wars name on it, dressing in Star Wars costumes, and waiting in big lines for the movies that there started to emerge a common perception of the "Star Wars geek".
I am willing to admit that it's possible things were a little different in your particular region, but I really think you're totally retconning here (to use a fanboy/geek term) and trying to change history, kind of like Uncle George likes to do.
--SKot