Is this a sarcastic remark or a social commentary on the state of gaming-indoctrinatedness our culture has become?
Will Wheaton and George Takei (and to some extent, William Shatner) have brought out a fairly popular and almost ubiquitous familiarity with that which is nerdy. (Check your Facebook and Twitter feeds- they are likely full of reposts/retweets of these guys' materials.)
Is this a good thing? Am I over estimating the impact of 'geek chic'?
Didn't Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World rock the theaters last year?
I'm having a hard time dismissing the fact that being a dork is not as bad as it used to be.
Ancillary to this thought is the "+1". While we do have Google+ and Facebook that have helped these ideas along, the premise of adding a level is pretty intrinsic to games and gamers. But I hear and see "+1" all over the place- even on 'normal' websites- career advice blogs, cooking blogs, and dating sites.
Geeks have even come into sitcoms. I mean, damn near everyone knows who Sheldon Cooper is, and Stan Lee is some sort of pop culture hero...
I don't know what happened, but somewhere along the line I stopped being so "out there" and became mainstream... or
I roll to disbelieve
One of the factors of the nerdissance of lat is that us old school geeks have grown up, and now there are a lot of us sitting around, calling the shots. Gamers in their thirties, fourties and fifties occupy positions in all areas of the professional world, and though our manipulation is subtle, it is slowly reshaping the world.
ReplyDeleteThe old truth of today's losers being tomorrow's winners rings true.
I've gotta agree with Harald.
ReplyDeleteMedia has had a lot to do with it. A LOT of people grew up with comics / cartoons in some form and weren't considered geeks, then they started seeing movies made of them. They've certainly helped people realize that a certain level of "geek" is normal. Then you had series like Star Trek, where uber-nerds aside, it was enjoyed by a lot of "normal" people.
It still really surprised me when Big Bang Theory did so well... I was upset at it at first, because I didn't like how people were making fun on Sheldon and the others... but I think that was the hook - "Lets make fun of these nerds." turned into "These geeks are actually real people with foils like the rest of us." It's like... cyber-Friends.
Maybe it has something to do with the rise of computers. Everyone has a "computer friend" now to save their lives every other week. They've learned that "geeky" ain't so bad.
It's probably all of this combined into the last 10-15 years punching them in the face to wake up and accept us.
"nerdissance" lol! GREAT word that I'll be sure to use int eh future!!!
ReplyDeleteMy girls have been helping to spread such gamer terms as "failed that diplomacy roll, didn't you?" I love my girls.
ReplyDeleteScott Pilgrim bombed pretty hard, actually.
ReplyDeleteI saw it in the theaters with J, and we loved it.
We loved Sucker Punch, too.
For the record, the city I live in is filled with a wild variety of folks, from thugs, hipsters and geeks to models, actors and actresses and billionaire moguls.
What's the biggie?
Awesome post - I roll to acquiesce.
ReplyDeleteAnd look at me: able to post comments again!
That's absolutely fabulous, Admiral! Thanks so much for wandering my way!
Delete