What's YOUR snobbery?

For me it's the lack of understanding of the context of the show. Many participants, and sometimes people in charge, don't think about what all these people coming together in one place represents. For many, it's just a "Renaissance Faire", which means many different things to many different people, but mostly an opportunity to dress up in archaic clothes and pretend to be somebody else. Nothing more than a crafts fair with a vague historical-esque theme. They don't even really think of it as a performance. I feel that if this were remedied, all else would follow.

Costumes, definitely! The info is out there so I feel like people who insist on wearing oh say, foxtails for example, just could not possibly care about the production.

My snobbery is very generalized. The ideal Faire is one that makes people really feel that they are in a time and place that is 'other' than the everyday modern world - that makes the willing suspension of disbelief come easily and naturally. The old Ren Faires did that so well because there was enough attention to detail that it seemed like the actors really did believe they were in the English Rennaisance, and that allowed the audience to feel so as well.

To me, it's what breaks that illusion and yanks people back into their everyday world that turns Faires from being amazing, magical experiences to malls in drag. It can be Taco Bell jokes in the stage shows, boothies who don't make the slightest effort to speak in BFA, peasnts with fangs and S&M gear hanging from their belts, whatever. That's what makes me want to throw people down the washing well.

That doesn't mean that the historical accuracy that gets discussed in great detail here but isn't necessarily noticed by the audience isn't important. It's the immersion in the history that allows the actors to be in the right head space, to trick themselves into believing in their chartacters enough that it comes across to the audience that they really are surrounded by peasants, courtiers, etc, and not a bunch of computer geeks dressing up.

I wouldn't count as a snob, but I have a huge trigger on the GLARING shortfalls. Yeah, taco bell jokes told by peasants wearing lavendar taffeta.

i miss the good old days. i miss when after hours parties were talent shows and improv games.

Anatomically incorrect genitalia on marble statues. Uhmm....yeah thats it.

For me, it isn't one thing, although costuming is my snob focus. But faire has gone downhill in so many different areas, from pop-up vendor tents, carport actor encampments, to bare-belly bunnies, to overdressed courtiers holding a knighting ceremony in the full sun for over an hour (but that was some years ago, and thankfully no one went down due to lots of people being proactive about it).

Faire is meant to be fun, but it can also be more historically oriented, and still be fun.

Not really a snob yet. Just here to see if its worth converting.

One thing for me (and it's not the biggest thing, I haven't figured that out yet) is something we cannot do anything about as we move from Faire to Faire, from site to site: major anachronisms in the physical environment. Paved (not cobbled) walking surfaces. Frequent audible sounds of car and/or air traffic. Eucalyptus groves!?!?!?!

I know there's nothing to be done for it without a permanent site, and maybe not even then. But those things break the illusion of 16th-century England without even trying.

As someone who portrayed a "Gentleman Adventurer" long before that Jack fellow made them popular my snobbery is how men of the sea are presented.

Even before the Jack Sparrow era anachronisms would set me gritting my teeth. Just a few examples:

The Jolly Roger - not used till the Golden Age of Piracy

Cutlasses - an 18th century weapon

Flint Lock and Percussion Lock weapons - did you capture a time machine?

And before the current trend toward the Tri-Corn wide floppy hats seemed to be the signature for some to say "you can see by my outfit that I am a Pirate".

There are more but you get the point.

My pet snobbery is centered on "those who have" who have become "those who will not."

The majority of us gathered here have been associated with faires for decades. Now, unfortunatly, years catch up with us and we find that full scale participation is not possible. Some just suffer faire burn-out. That is ok!

However, when I see some of these people who were so dedicated to making the Elizabethan imagery come alive during "their" time now as patrons, they tend display an atitude that everything we are doing now is wrong and "we " did it better.

I say, well you are here now for the day so help us make it better! There is only one way to portray history. "Correctly" And if you know it keep it alive!

The smaller things don't bother me -- like the "Queen's purple" faireism, or the favor-giving, or a bunch of other theatrical choices that don't majorly threaten the illusion -- but, like others, I hate when participants just don't give a damn . . . or even go all-out to present an illusion in total opposition to what the rest of the faire is trying to do. (I'm going to remember Valhalla '08 for the rest of my life, I imagine.) In either case, these folks generally don't bother to do one bit of research, which annoys the hell out of me. I can't stand when people don't know what they're talking about, or what they're supposed to be doing.

I actually enjoy snickering at some of the patrons' costume choices -- when they can't see me do it, of course. I don't particularly mind that they don't seem to realize when and where we're supposed to be, because they're not part of the illusion; they're visiting it. Plus, being able to say "You're doin' it wrong" about them to fellow participants gives me a great laugh.

OK, I guess I started this, so I will elaborate on my original statement.
As I said before, language is my peeve; things like "wherefore" used as "where" rather than "why." (How to remember this: it's the question form of "therefore".) That said, I often make errors in speech myself, using "thou" to my betters or "Mistress" to a noblewoman. So part of my interest in this tribe (and the new Faire-spoken tribe) is to reinforce correct usage (and its variations) for myself so that it automatically comes correctly. But language is the aspect of faire that I take perhaps more seriously than I should and get snarky about.

I also get snarky about major anachronistic decisions that are intentionally made by people who not only should, but DO know better, (like the Victorian "tea party with the queen" at RPFS). I try to understand that there are financial issues, but it does make me rant into my tankard a bit.

Areas like costuming and historical events are areas of great interest to me; I am trying to learn and model as much as I can, and while I admire those who have high historical standards in these areas, I don't get too upset at other people's choices. I don't know everything (yet!) Strangely, even though I know intellectually that patrons have a perfect right to wear whatever they want, it upsets me that other patrons seem more impressed (and thus have a stronger impression) by the night-elves and Jack Sparrows and barbarians - our (the participants') statement is more complex and subtle and gets lost in the glare. Compared to a 6' tall man walking around in a chain-maille thong and platform shoes, a girl with a foxtail is small potatoes indeed, and a merchant with a hand-sewn linen shirt, hand-inkled trim on his wool doublet and a well-researched ring on his finger will register only in most patrons' subconscious.

And perhaps that's all right - perhaps those who "blend in" to the faire, so long as there are enough of them, will serve to counteract the others - the ones who "stand out" will be seen as alien and theatrical and different, and the customers will be more intelligent than I give them credit for. One can hope.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I am snobby about everything, critical about some things, and whether I actually get peeved or not depends a lot on what I perceive as the context, motivation and avoidability of the offending action. And I forgive others their trespasses in the hope that they will forgive me mine.

My snobbery is costuming. Specifically pink chiffon, turquoise tafetta, neon green polyester, calico prints with cute little bunnies and other obviously non period fabrics.
I also can't stand when women use the faire to display (my fiance is going to kill me) inappropriate amount of boobs. Don't get me wrong I show plenty of cleavage and understand that it was ok to show some during this time period, but it's the under cut bodices and see through chemises that get me.
That's my biggest pet peeve.

I snob out over clothes, music, and English usage.
All at the same time, in most cases.

I am peeved by actors who are snubby of boothies. In my travels, most of the actors I've seen are as glaringly inaccurate in my 3 main snob areas as any boothie.
It's an individual choice to aspire to historical accuracy, since I've not seen faire owners interested in making that choice on a faire wide basis yet.
Each actor, fiddler, juggler, pickle-monger, rose seller, dancer, push monkey, ale server, clothes seller, jouster, etc. decices for his/her own reasons how historical to be at work/in shows. I've met both actors and boothies who were told by their employers to be less historical in order to fit in with the group/booth/faire. I've chosen to wear stuff that doesn't pass my own standards in order to do/keep my jobs.
It's an individual thing, would people please stop hating on the boothies as if we all belonged to some bad guild instead of being workers who each have a different employer with different standards.

breathe, breathe