There was a time when Marvel and
Tolkien weren’t cool. When asking who’s going to watch Star Trek
at the cinema would get you beaten up. When I took my laptop to
school people laughed and my brothers first MP3 player was scoffed
at. The world has changed. Since the 90s the internet has boomed and
helped to bring in a new era.
Geeks are very employable in this
technologically driven age, and so have the disposable income. The
entertainment industry has discovered them as a prime demographic and
even better for them it loves to collect things. It seems every other
film is based on a graphic novel or fantasy series and even Star Trek
is now seen as cool. What was alternative culture has moved
mainstream. Its not just film and TV, the video game industry has
become a juggernaut, the latest innovations make it even more
universal with technology such as apps and the Nintendo Wii. Even
fashion (not something early geeks were known for) has taken a geeky
turn. Clones inspired by Dr Who are common place, everyones wearing
t-shirts with 70s and 80s scifi films on them.
Its not just culture that has gone to
the geek. Geeks have become the captains of industry, driving
innovation with companies such as Apple and Samsung. Apple has become
one of the worlds richest companies and its designs so successful
they are replicated. Google is the search engine of choice for almost
all, in fact most people say “Google it” rather then search. They
say information is power and if that is true Google must be the most
powerful company in the world. The geeky domain is the accepted form
of communication, Facebook and Twitter are almost imperative to a
social life.
Who is a geek? The term was once used
to describe someone who was seen to be interested in the “smarter”
interests or that some one had a near encyclopedic knowledge of a
subject. With the rise of common geek domains to mainstream (such as
the Internet, and video games) the word is used to describe a broader
group of society. The rise of the supergeek is also common with geeks
appearing on lists of the most influential people (this year the
creators of Minecraft are on the list).
People who wouldn’t have wanted to be
associated with the word now call themselves geek, perhaps even dress
geek. Only last year the net was full of people hitting back at
supposed "fake geek girls", those who dress up and go along
to comic con events and pretend to know about Star Trek or Batman.
Why they do this isn't completely known, are they attention seeking?
Or is it that they just want to be accepted by what is becoming
mainstream?
With superhero movies
breaking box office records, the rise in graphic novel sales and
the latest line of geekchic clothes hitting high streets, the new
geek seems unstoppable. Personally I think its a great thing for
pop culture, a golden age of what I like.
What is it to be a geek
today?
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