We are being laughed at. A ranty article purely for debating purposes.

[Morrus]

I consider myself a geek. I don't think I'm super-charismatic or anything (average at best), but I don't think I repulse people, either. I'm fairly average, intelligence-wise, I think. But I'm well into "geek stuff" and identify as a geek.

I think the meaning has changed over the years; or perhaps that it's drifited away from "nerd" to become more distinct. "Geek chic" definitely exists, and has done for a few years now.

 

[Lwaxy]

I remember watching old episodes of Married: With Children. Geeks were something they loved to pick on. That show always depicted them as wearing 1950's style plaid polyester shirts with huge coke-bottle glasses patched with masking tape on the bridge of the nose, wearing pocket protectors stuffed with pens and using way-too-big words in every sentence, and they'd always be mocked, belittled, and usually physically attacked by the protagonists. I remember one episode that involved the Bundy family outright attacking a High IQ society party with the battle cry: "If you're stupid and you know it, punch a nerd!"

But it clearly said if you bully people, you are stupid.

Not that I liked that show too much, anyway - more repulsive than funny - but it had its moments.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I remember watching old episodes of Married: With Children. Geeks were something they loved to pick on. That show always depicted them as wearing 1950's style plaid polyester shirts with huge coke-bottle glasses patched with masking tape on the bridge of the nose, wearing pocket protectors stuffed with pens and using way-too-big words in every sentence, and they'd always be mocked, belittled, and usually physically attacked by the protagonists. I remember one episode that involved the Bundy family outright attacking a High IQ society party with the battle cry: "If you're stupid and you know it, punch a nerd!"

e.

Worth keeping in mind the star of the show was an ex-highschool football athlete who ended up in a dead-end low paying job and is stuck in the past (reminding everyone with ears he scored four touchdowns in one game). The wife ate bonbons and tormented her husband by never cooking and always demanding sex. The son was a desperate loser always trying to score and the daughter was a bimbo with a new boyrfriend every episode. Pretty much everyone was an extreme exageration of type.

 

[sabrinathecat]

How many Geeks are writing these sitcoms? Round about... none?
What would happen if Geeks did write a sitcom? Probably something like Dr. Geek. (Quick google search should bring you to the blog site)
Geeks went from being targets of abuse (Revenge of the Nerds) to being socially acceptable (BBT), but are still mocked.
But, there is still a lot of progress to be made.
Probably the best proponent of bringing geekiness to acceptability would be (of all people) "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Mind you, there are very, very few US Sitcoms worth watching. Period. Now that I think about it, there is very little on TV worth watching at all. Even the shows that start off as good seem to wear out, get tired & lazy, and get run into the ground. What has been done to "Bones" is a pretty good example of that. At least it lasted longer than Buffy.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

How many Geeks are writing these sitcoms? Round about... none?

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic. More like, round about...most? At least many.

 

[Bedrockgames]

How many Geeks are writing these sitcoms? Round about... none?
What would happen if Geeks did write a sitcom? Probably something like Dr. Geek. (Quick google search should bring you to the blog site)
Geeks went from being targets of abuse (Revenge of the Nerds) to being socially acceptable (BBT), but are still mocked.
But, there is still a lot of progress to be made.
Probably the best proponent of bringing geekiness to acceptability would be (of all people) "Weird Al" Yankovic.

Mind you, there are very, very few US Sitcoms worth watching. Period. Now that I think about it, there is very little on TV worth watching at all. Even the shows that start off as good seem to wear out, get tired & lazy, and get run into the ground. What has been done to "Bones" is a pretty good example of that. At least it lasted longer than Buffy.

A lot of writers, particularly comedy writers, are geeks. It wouldn't surprise me if many of the writers on these shows are.

 

[billd91]

A lot of writers, particularly comedy writers, are geeks. It wouldn't surprise me if many of the writers on these shows are.

And if the writers of Big Bang Theory aren't geeks, they have very good informants.

 

[Umbran]

I don't happen to watch BBT. I don't find it particularly funny. But then, I don't find most sitcoms particularly funny, so I think it is more an issue I have with the genre, not the one show.

But, if the worst thing that happens to me on a given day is that someone has a laugh at my expense... then it is a pretty good day, all things considered. And if something worse happens to me, well, then I have bigger worries, now don't I?

 

[sabrinathecat]

Also, there is a difference between Geeks and Engin-nerds. This seems to be lost in Hollywood.
But then, they like to focus on the extremes, rather than substance, accuracy, or merit.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Sorry Leviatham, I disagree with you as well. I don't think TBBT is disrespecting geeks. I also find it hard to believe that the average person believes that Sheldon Cooper is anything more than an extreme caricature and not anything close to what your average science geek is like.

If someone does, I think that says a lot about their inability to separate what they see on TV with reality. Do they also think that all Jewish comedians with poor dress sense get lots of women (Seinfeld), all male soap stars are as dumb as a plank of wood (Joey from Friends) and all bank executives are womanisers after nothing more than one night stands (Barney from HIMYM)? Then again, they're probably too afraid to leave their homes due to all the serial killers and disfunctional hospitals there are out in the big wide world.

As for the lady your friend met at the party that asked if he was a virgin because he painted minis. If she was serious about her question then to me that's just an example of her ignorance and/or naivete for believing that characters in comedy movies are close representations of real people or entire groups of people. If she was attempting good-natured humour then she obviously didn't deliver it well, given the response. If she was attempting to have a laugh at your friend's expense, then I think that says a lot about her character as well. Some people just aren't very nice people.

Olaf the Stout