Are You a Rejuvenile?
While this isn't exactly Star Wars related, it is toy related. Yesterday I was driving to lunch and listening to my local NPR (National Public Radio) station and on a show called AirTalk, there was a great interview with Christopher Noxon who wrote a book called Rejuvenile. It's basically about adults who are into toys, videogames, and other things and activities that are typically aimed at younger age groups. Through his research, Noxon has found that there is a growing number of rejuveniles, so much so that more and more companies are actively trying to cater to them. He also found that not all rejuveniles are like the 40 year old virgin but are more likely to be successful businessmen and women. Are you a rejuvenile? Being almost 30, I'm pretty sure I fit in the rejuvenile demographic.
If you'd like to listen to the interview, you can check out the podcast streaming audio file by clicking on this link.
Sorry for the lack of a new review last week, my time was consumed by a new videogame called Dead Rising. Expect a new review on Thursday or Friday of this week though!
Comments
Thanks for the mention Gyoshi. Definitely feel like a lot of the S.W. faithful qualify as rejuveniles. When I was writing the book I met a lot of adults who grew up loving Star Wars and who only got more fanatical with age... Myself, I'm a 37-year-old snob for eps 4-6 who acknowledges that the more recent merch (especially Star Wars Legos!) is far superior to the crude crap we had as kids.
Anyhow, hope you enjoy the book. And thanks for the shout out!
Posted by: christopher | August 24, 2006 10:29 PM
First off, thanks for the comment! I never expected the author to respond to this post! Ah, the wonders of the internet.
Anyhoo, I really enjoyed the interview and was glad I chanced upon it since I missed the Marketplace show that I think also talked about rejuveniles. However, now that I think about it, I'm wondering about the reasons why I enjoyed hearing about rejuvenile culture. I think a part of me just wants to feel validated that I'm not some kind of freak soon-to-be-29-year-old that collects Star Wars figures; it's nice to know that there are plenty of other like-minded adults out there with their own childish trappings.
Anyway, I plan on picking up the book this weekend; I'm sure I will enjoy it!
Posted by: Garett | August 25, 2006 02:38 AM
This is hardly new. Baby boomers fueled the collectors market in the late 80's and 90's, especially grown-up guys who had 12" GI JOE as kids. So some guy writes some book, coins a phrase (or popularizes one) to expose the masses to some subculture thing that's old news. Big whoop. Not all geek stereotypes? Of course not. Do all sports fans paint themselves blue and wear rainbow wings at games. Of course not. I suspect the rejuvenile term will have an even shorter life than metrosexual.
Posted by: Sean_C | August 26, 2006 11:41 AM
Is it old news? For us toy collectors it may seem old because we've been doing it for decades, but Noxon goes way beyond toys which is new--to me at least. This isn't just a toy thing, it's adults playing kickball, playing with water guns, and other activities that even us toy collectors probably wouldn't think of doing.
I suggest you give the guy/book a chance and not make a hasty judgment.
Posted by: Garett | August 26, 2006 08:15 PM
I'd rather be called a rejuvenille than a geek, which I always thought I was!
Awesome that the author commented on your blog. As a blog writer I'd be really flattered if I got that kind of attention!
Posted by: Paul | November 6, 2006 06:56 PM