A Geeky Theory

March 2nd, 2010 by 801red

I am afraid to use the word “geek” because it is almost trendy now. Growing up being called a geek or a nerd was an insult, now it is a badge of honor. In fact, I think you can buy badges to proclaim your geekiness and stick them on your clothes.

I think the new found geek acceptance is partially due to technology. As technology became more and more a part of our everyday life teasing people for liking science fiction, computers, or gadgets became stupid. There was a good chance if you had a friend good with technology you were going to need their advice.

Technology led to social networking. It has never been easier to connect with people who share interests and hobbies. I have friends all over the world who I talk to regularly. There is a good chance your parents and grand parents are on Facebook. Social networking has gone completely mainstream.

There are a lot of other factors. The wide spread acceptance of video games certainly helped. I mean seriously, I have given advice on how to beat levels of video games to athletes, actors, musicians, insurance agents. There are whole groups of people out there mixing now that wouldn’t have talked to each other when I was in high school.

Combine this with the fact some very talented self-professed geeks have brought their wit and wisdom to the masses and a geek explosion was inevitable. I think you can draw a straight line to the TV series X-Files and the main stream acceptance of what used to be considered for geeks only. The X-Files was huge. My wife, who probably flirted around the edges of all things genre related, became a full member with the X-Files.

She loved that show. We never missed it (until later, when it sucked). It was the first thing I can ever remember both of us kind of geeking out on. The show was smart, sexy, and intelligent. It took the ridiculous and made it interesting. Well acted and funnier than anyone ever gave it credit for, it opened the door to the show which would lead to widespread geek acceptance.

This is going to get me in a little trouble but remember it is only my theory. If you don’t like it go write your own. If X-Files opened the door for geeks around the world. Buffy The Vampire Slayer blew the doors off the hinges and rocked the house completely to its foundation.

This show had a huge rabid fan base. It seeped into every corner of mainstream America (and later the world). It got both critical acceptance and geek love. More importantly, I think it led to the birth of the geek girl. Don’t get me wrong, women have embraced all those things which geeks hold dear to their heart for years. Buffy just seemed to give them the outlet to express it loud and proud.

And here is where I am really going to get into trouble. I think that as the population of geek girls grew so did the acceptance of the geek culture. The stigma that had always kind of hung around it began to evaporate. I am not trying to imply or suggest this had anything to do with looks (a raging controversy which you can go read about here).

I think it has just become harder to single out one type of person. If everyone likes some part of what used to be the sole domain of a few, it becomes harder to tease. I am not naive though. I do think it has helped that some people who are very good looking both male and female embraced the growing geek crowd.

Ultimately, I think what we are witnessing is just the melting pot of media, technology, and pop culture. I would like to think that someday the rest of the world could embrace what has become apparent to me. This new geek movement doesn’t care about your race, nationality, or gender. What it cares about is what level did you play Left 4 Dead on. Maybe if the rest of the world joined in we wouldn’t have to fight and hate so much.

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