This is one of approximately 15 articles I've pitched that I also posted on my Patreon where I detail how I went about the pitching process. Check out more of these.
This pitch calls for a first-person essay, so I wanted to start it off like that.
I'll never forget the Sunday night in 8th grade when, in my media-regulated household, I snuck into my housekeeper's room I'm often hesitant about this part because it does acknowledge that I'm rich and I had a house keeper to sneak in some TV and fell upon this show I frame it as this show because I'm writing in the past tense and I barely knew of it when I watched it called Deep Space Nine. I had been only marginally familiar but somehow I was hooked because I'm writing for Star Trek magazine, I have to be positive about the show . I remember the specific episode ("Facets") and would keep going back week after week.
Though I was a couch potato who loved nothing more than relaxing in front of the screen as a kid, this was my first TV obsession. I had never experienced serialized storytelling, religious subthemes, science fiction, and such deep concepts What I meant to write was world-building. Since then, I've studied film history in college, enjoyed stints as a TV critics, started a YouTube channel and have been blogging on film and television since I graduated college over 15 years ago. Wanted to keep this part brief. No more than one sentence
But this was 1997 and I was in the boiler room Using fancy vocabulary and vivid imagery helps of middle school before wide-scale anti-bullying initiatives had taken over secondary education. After a couple years of being bullied, I was starting to tweak my image and marginally enjoy the social experience of school. I had a great fear that expressing an interest in Star Trek with the kids who signaled their fandom with t-shirts would be a massive step back
Therefore, my my first foray into TV obsession was one that I did in silence. My very first use of the internet was the message boards for Star Trek. The first password I ever logged was on IMDB so I could discuss Star Trek with others. When I vacationed with my grandparents for a month with no internet, I remember dying to come back to check what responses my board posts had got. I also peaked through books at the library on Star Trek (like the DS9: Technical Manual) though I often wanted to make sure no one was looking. I even had such a phobia of being a nerd that I didn't even want my parents thinking I was a Star Trek watcher and would change the channel if they passed by. I personally thought these touches were humorous (or at least cute) in very specific ways
As I gradually felt secure enough to discuss liking Star Trek, it made the connection more real. Though I can't claim as much bravery as the people who were out-and-proud about their fandom in the 1990s, I'm thankful for the way that nerd culture has been popularized through shows like the Big Bang Theory.
My first-person essay would discuss a little more on a personal level, what drove me to Star Trek, the way that Star Trek fandom might have been seen as negative in my youth, and how Star Trek transformed me from a passive couch potato into someone who critically watches TV..
I already sketched this out (maybe at 50%), so this is simply saying where you'd add more info
I might also draw from research over nerd culture: Certain pop culture like Saturday Night Live sketches, comedy routines, or sitcom episodes (3rd Rock from the Sun's convention episode with George Takei, for example) that initially stigmatized nerds. Showing I'd done my homework, although the nice part of this was that I thought it up in 10 seconds. You don't want to spend the whole day on a pitch you don't know will result in greenlighting Additionally, I'd like oops, I spelled this wrong, I did proofread but sometimes you can't catch anything at the antithesis of that movement: conventions that might have integrated more and more hobbies/interests so that everyone became a nerd of one thing or another; The Big Bang Theory; whatever else I might find, Admitting that I don't know everything, but hopefully showing enough that I do know....two advantages of this is, you want to fire off pitches quickly before you burn out, and you want to be flexible about what they'd want to see more of anyway etc.
Sincerely,
Orrin Konheim
This might be my best combination of first-person and film review:
https://sophomorecritic.blogspot.com/2023/01/other-peoples-money-1991-capitalism-at.html
Pop Culture Clips:
https://thefederalist.com/2019/07/02/evolution-star-trek-franchise-says-shifting-tv-landscape/
https://www.tvfanatic.com/2020/07/what-if-parks-and-recreation-had-stayed-closer-to-its-original-t/
https://fanfare.pub/snls-most-talented-cast-the-ups-and-downsides-of-the-1991-season-15c66d6d4dcd
First person essays:
No comments:
Post a Comment