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We are being laughed at. A ranty article purely for debating purposes.
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<blockquote data-quote="Super Pony" data-source="post: 6120806" data-attributes="member: 6669292"><p>To me, something worse than weak "geek chic" humor is people bemoaning the tragic personal injury that this has done them.</p><p></p><p>I spent my teen geeky years getting my guts kicked in by a-holes just about every week if I was caught away from my tougher skateboard toting, head-butting friends. I feel like I earned my d20, A2 poster map of Castle Wittgenstein, and my X-Men poster. But angst and fear often made it hard to enjoy the simpler things like debates about Spock, or which iteration of Dr Who was better. So when I see stuff like Big Bang Theory it harkens back to my youth and I find myself remembering the better moments crouched on a davenport flipping through issues of Wizard or Dragon Magazine having those kinds of debates with my friends. </p><p></p><p>Sure it's contrived. Sure it's parody. And yes, people are laughing AT the characters on BBT. But I've had to deal with a lot worse than chuckles and people shaking their heads going "wow people really care about this stuff?" And really, if shows like BBT can start a whole wave of "geek chic" and get new people to pay attention (with their wallets) to movies, games, books, etc that I've championed for years? Heck, bring it on. That just means there are going to be more dice-slingers that might make their way to En-World and toss Morrus a few bucks so that he can continue to make the decision each month to keep this boat afloat. My 65 year old mother in-law has recently (part of the BBT wave) asked me for recommendations for sci-fi and fantasy books, and she has even taken a liking to graphic novels and compilations (Sin City, Sandman, others). Do I kick her in the shins for laughing at Big Bang Theory when they mention something that she has recently read and can identify with? What about the (unknown quantity of people) that are in a similar situation? Kids discovering comics and games as a result? Is geek culture REALLY a sacred ivory tower? </p><p></p><p>And yes I realize there is the flip-side to that. For every one new nerd, a [bigger number] more people will simplify their definition of geek culture to what they've seen on TV and the <em>movin' pictures</em>. That certainly is annoying and can take the wind out of your sails. However, at least people have an image of what this stuff COULD be like (bent out of shape and wrong though it may be). In the past I just got called "Urkel" or had someone do the Revenge of the Nerds laugh at me. If someone decides to be rude to me because they don't understand or dislike geeks...they were probably going to be rude and ---ish about SOMETHING anyway. I'd just count myself lucky that they decided to stop at "oh man you're like those -----y nerds on BBT that paint toys and ----- right?" It's all part and parcel of having a light shined on ANYTHING in a pop-culture way. Think about the damage that Hannah Montana wrought on the world of teens that lived double lives as a normal kid and a pop star?</p><p></p><p><em>Everyone</em> is entitled to their opinion of course, and just because I don't agree with the OP I'm an equal footing with anyone that has <em>any</em> other opinion on it.</p><p></p><p>I guess this new wave of "stuff" doesn't bother me because I never felt like I needed to have my likes and hobbies protected from the outside world, or that there was anything inherently superior or righteous about them. And having someone compare me to Leonard from Big Bang Theory (lightly or as an insult) is better than a cowboy boot to the liver or having my teeth broken by a class of '93 ring any day of the week. That, and my whole family lives by the belief that the best comedy comes from our own insecurities...so maybe it's just some aberrant ingrained thing for me that keeps me from feeling debased or abused by rampant inaccurate pop culture simulacra.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Super Pony, post: 6120806, member: 6669292"] To me, something worse than weak "geek chic" humor is people bemoaning the tragic personal injury that this has done them. I spent my teen geeky years getting my guts kicked in by a-holes just about every week if I was caught away from my tougher skateboard toting, head-butting friends. I feel like I earned my d20, A2 poster map of Castle Wittgenstein, and my X-Men poster. But angst and fear often made it hard to enjoy the simpler things like debates about Spock, or which iteration of Dr Who was better. So when I see stuff like Big Bang Theory it harkens back to my youth and I find myself remembering the better moments crouched on a davenport flipping through issues of Wizard or Dragon Magazine having those kinds of debates with my friends. Sure it's contrived. Sure it's parody. And yes, people are laughing AT the characters on BBT. But I've had to deal with a lot worse than chuckles and people shaking their heads going "wow people really care about this stuff?" And really, if shows like BBT can start a whole wave of "geek chic" and get new people to pay attention (with their wallets) to movies, games, books, etc that I've championed for years? Heck, bring it on. That just means there are going to be more dice-slingers that might make their way to En-World and toss Morrus a few bucks so that he can continue to make the decision each month to keep this boat afloat. My 65 year old mother in-law has recently (part of the BBT wave) asked me for recommendations for sci-fi and fantasy books, and she has even taken a liking to graphic novels and compilations (Sin City, Sandman, others). Do I kick her in the shins for laughing at Big Bang Theory when they mention something that she has recently read and can identify with? What about the (unknown quantity of people) that are in a similar situation? Kids discovering comics and games as a result? Is geek culture REALLY a sacred ivory tower? And yes I realize there is the flip-side to that. For every one new nerd, a [bigger number] more people will simplify their definition of geek culture to what they've seen on TV and the [I]movin' pictures[/I]. That certainly is annoying and can take the wind out of your sails. However, at least people have an image of what this stuff COULD be like (bent out of shape and wrong though it may be). In the past I just got called "Urkel" or had someone do the Revenge of the Nerds laugh at me. If someone decides to be rude to me because they don't understand or dislike geeks...they were probably going to be rude and ---ish about SOMETHING anyway. I'd just count myself lucky that they decided to stop at "oh man you're like those -----y nerds on BBT that paint toys and ----- right?" It's all part and parcel of having a light shined on ANYTHING in a pop-culture way. Think about the damage that Hannah Montana wrought on the world of teens that lived double lives as a normal kid and a pop star? [I]Everyone[/I] is entitled to their opinion of course, and just because I don't agree with the OP I'm an equal footing with anyone that has [I]any[/I] other opinion on it. I guess this new wave of "stuff" doesn't bother me because I never felt like I needed to have my likes and hobbies protected from the outside world, or that there was anything inherently superior or righteous about them. And having someone compare me to Leonard from Big Bang Theory (lightly or as an insult) is better than a cowboy boot to the liver or having my teeth broken by a class of '93 ring any day of the week. That, and my whole family lives by the belief that the best comedy comes from our own insecurities...so maybe it's just some aberrant ingrained thing for me that keeps me from feeling debased or abused by rampant inaccurate pop culture simulacra. [/QUOTE]
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We are being laughed at. A ranty article purely for debating purposes.
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