Backslash #6
November 1996
Anoraksia Nervosa
Most net users don't wear anoraks, well not when they are on-line anyway. However
most Web sites and newsgroups are irresistibly attractive to the more obsessive
type.
Everybody remembers their first time, on the first occasion that I was presented
with web access I immediately went to an Internet music archive to search out
information on of all things 70's Glam Rock group SLADE. I chose Noddy and his
pals deliberately for a couple of reasons, this was in the early 90's when the
bulk of the data out there was American and I wanted to see if the 'Net was comprehensive
enough to cover a phenomenon from outside the USA. Although, I must admit that
I simply had a thirst for information on a band who I have been obsessive about
since 1972. It was a pretty successful search, it threw up a more or less complete
discography of Slade's American releases, score 5 out of 10, but I was still
impressed at the speed of this new tool and at the quality of the information
I found, and believe me it must have been good as I'm a complete Slade anorak.
Recently I met a lad called Jim who was a Radar anorak, this guy was really
interested in Radar, and I mean really interested. Not only could he tell the
difference
between a Type 82 and a Type 82A radar installation but he could also quote
the names of just about everyone who was involved in the development of one
of the
main weapons which helped the allies win World War 2. Jim's knowledge however
wasn't quite as narrow band as you might expect, as his core interest was expanded
from the radar platform to include a full understanding of the defence policies
of NATO, the German Axis and the Warsaw Pact over the last 70 years or so.
But ask Jim what he was really interested in and he would reply "Radar".
Jim had no access to the 'Net, but I rather feel that if he did have, then
his horizons would be expanded even further into areas he could not predict,
let
me explain.
Brian Eno was asked to describe culture to a team of academics at a European
Union symposium on "The future of Culture", Eno said culture is: that
which we don't have to do. Most of use don't have to use the 'Net yet we choose
to, so this could give you an idea of what your culture is, simply by listing
your bookmarks. I listed mine and in general terms it seems that my culture is
anything to do with Space, Slade, Damon Hill, Wales, Star Trek and Computer technology,
exactly what you would expect from a technology broadcasting, Welsh ex-roadie,
space-nut, born in 1961. But the links offered as a matter of course by most
web sites stand to broaden our culture significantly. You see while I was visiting
one Star Trek site it provided me a link to another site "GayTrek" which
I guess I would never have visited directly, "GayTrek" is exactly what
you think; a gay and lesbian Star Trek Web site. Included was a section called
'Gay and lesbian scenes we would like to see in Star Trek' My imagination ran
riot: "Kirk's hand reached out to touch Spock and pull him closer, their
lips meeting as the two men kissed each other sweetly as only men in uniform
could".
I couldn't have been more wrong, it was far from the pornography I had just imagined,
in fact the material I found wasn't actually about sex at all, but instead dealt
with the representation of gay and lesbian people in everyday life, albeit in
the 23rd Century. Among the suggested scenes I found there was a conversation
between the Captain and the First Officer where they were discussing the billeting
together of two crewmen who had formed a relationship, the Captain was happy
to allow the two crew to co-habit providing they weren't going to allow their
relationship to interfere with their Starfleet duties, it made no difference
that they were of the same sex or indeed that they were from different planets,
and quite right too.
Elsewhere on this site there were copies of letters exchanged between the
gay community and Paramount Pictures Corporation concerning the lack of
gay and lesbian
characters found in Star Trek, one letter was an assurance from a few years
ago by the creator of Star Trek the late Gene Roddenberry, that he would
do more
to represent all groups and cultures in future episodes. This hasn't really
happened. In order to help this really happen the site also included a
standard letter
in the form of an E-Mail requesting Paramount to include gay and lesbian
people in future episodes of Star Trek. All I had to do was to add my name
to the bottom
of this letter, hit send and bingo in Paramount's e-mail in tray there would
appear another vote for the movement so to speak. This action required so
little effort that I simply could not resist joining in and adding my voice
to the cause.
If it hadn't required so little energy I wouldn't have bothered.
At the stroke of a key, the Internet had changed my culture, I entered the
'Net as an anorak, I left as a political activist.
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