Beauty and the D&D Geek!

[Oryan77]

Why.....why does the general public take every opportunity to make gamers look stupid?

My fiance, roommate, and myself were watching TV yesterday and that show Beauty & the Geek comes on. We've never really watched it before. Whenever the show shows a guy or girl on there talking to the camera, they show their name and professional at the bottom of the screen.

So the whole time it's showing these girls and their professions are always "waitress, model, beer model, bartender, ect ect". But then it shows this "geek" talking and his profession was, "Dungeon Master".

So of course my fiance & rommate turn to me and start laughing. They say, "Is being a Dungeon Master a profession?" I told them that I've heard of a couple people that get hired to DM for their work employees or for parties or something...but nothing that you can quit your job and make it a full time profession.

But of course, they have to make the geek look as stupid as possible by mentioning he's a DM as his profession instead of what he actually does for a living. The guy didn't look like a basement mommas boy either. He looked like a smart, mature, and successful guy.

That kind of stuff bugs me a lot. It's embarassing & disrespectful. If they're going to do that to the "geeks" on the show, shouldn't those bimbos professions read: "Bar Fly", "Tramp", "Drug Addict", or "Gold Digger"?

 

[DM_Jeff]

Why.....why does the general public take every opportunity to make gamers look stupid?

I thought I'd have no answer to this, but after just a slight investigation, I beleive I do.

1) This show is on the "CW", the most laughable network on earth. First, switch the channel.

2) It appears from the site it's core audience is adolescent young girls interested in populartiy contests and empty skulls, and look to make the audience feel better by picking on successful folks who happen to play a fantasy roleplaying game with their buds.

3) Ashton Kutcher: 'Executive Producer' Well, gee.

4) It's a worthless exploitation piece. All the girls are bikini-clad perfect and the guys are all way over-the-top stereotypical in 'geek' appearance. A show featuring good-looking guy models with fulgy girls would not draw in even the vague adolecent male audience the show hopes to grab.

So, my answer to the main question is "to bolster their own worthless lives", and consider the source and ignore with extreme prejudice.

-DM Jeff

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

First off, everyone on the show are volunteers. Ashton Kutcher did not beat anyone up, take their milk money and then drag them by their wedgied underwear onto the show.

Secondly, it's a comedy show. The Beauties are made to look as stupid as possible. The Geeks, in comparison, actually know something about anything other than haircare and fashion. If anything, they come off as the sharp folks on the show.

Thirdly, it's a show about a journey. Who both the Beauties and Geeks are at the beginning isn't who they are at the end. Realistically, they edit it to make it more extra-silly at first and then tone it down to show a more realistic picture of the guys and the girls (both of whom have picked up stuff from their partners at this point) at the end.

 

[Ender_rpm]

My wife made me watch the last season, and I actually got drawn in. Yeah, its a cheeseball reality show. But the guys are pretty funny, and the girls, when not being vapid and vain developed persoanlities as time went on. And I got a pass on ogling cute girls in swimsuits on the couch one night a week

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

With a little help from Google I found the cast lists for the show. It does indeed list Karl Hench from season 2 as "Dungeon Master." I was able to find that he is a biology research assistant at Loyola University.

For the Geeks it seems to find their geekiest thing to use as their nickname: "Has only kissed one girl," "MIT Graduate," "Speed Chess Champion," and "owns 25,000 comics" are some others listed.

For the women, you get things like "Tanning Salon Administrator," "Beer Spokesmodel," and "Cocktail Waitress/Shot Girl."

It does seem to be more harsh on the geeks, but I suppose that is to be expected. Beautiful women who aren't the brightest bulbs aren't usually ripped on by our society; people tend to make more gentle fun of them. Geeks on the other hand are generally seen as great fodder for mocking.

 

[EricNoah]

TV distorts reality by focusing on extremes. People then judge everyone in a group based on those extremes. It's a sad reality.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It does seem to be more harsh on the geeks

Yeah, because calling a college student a "shot girl" doesn't at all undercut the rest of her accomplishments.

Sheesh, guys, it's comedy. If you don't want RPGs to be invisible to society, you have to be OK with being included in comedy. I'm not sure you're going to see Jack Bauer take time out from stopping nerve gas from being released at the Boy Scout Jamboree to play a quick game of D&D or people in the ER talking about 4th edition while they perform open heart surgery.

 

[Waylander the Slayer]

Errr...cute girls? meh. The only thing cute about these girls seemed to be the extra peroxide...they all looked like 25 going on 60.

 

[Zaukrie]

This reminds me of when the Post Office complained about the movie where the postal worker had sex in the post office truck. They said it implied that postal workers were bad. Or when others complain about how their profession looks on a tv show or movie. Someone has to be the "good guy" and someone has to be the "bad guy", even on comedy shows. No where did they say that all geeks were DMs, or that all DMs were geeks. It is this kind of reaction that leads to people feeling bad about things that aren't even slights, and then leads to accusations of dissing people, and the cycle just devolves. I say just laugh and don't take it personally.

 

[Black_Swan]

It's a t.v. show...everyone is being exploited.

Oh..here's one for you. My first job out of college was as an Administrative Assistant. That's right I was an overpaid secretary.

At the time they were running a commercial that stated "I'm not a Secretary I'm an Administrative Assistant". Imagine that popping up on the big screen before the previews and all your friends turning and laughing at you in a crowded theatre.

Good times...=P