Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: comics, nerd, nerd culture, videogames, wombat, world of warcraft
Wombat here, welcome to my new weekly blog post, the Twenty Sided man. I figured you might get bored with the constant music talk so I decided to do my article in a different direction. Every Friday (or Battlestarday) I’m writing about something I actually know about, nerd crap. I’m still fleshing out what this is going to entail, but I’m planning on pieces about being a nerd in America, comic reviews, movie reviews, TV reviews, etc. If you have any suggestions help me out and comment your input.
We’ve all said it before, after a long day at that hellhole of a high school, “I should just take over this damn world”. Well guess what, we have and it’s not that different. Long gone are the days where the nerd hides in the smoky arcade away from view, the world has finally come around and seemingly turned our way. All around our banners are plastered high for all to see. Some of the highest grossing films last year, were movies based on comic books. Computers and the internet seep into everyone’s lives on a daily basis. Video games are one of the top entertainment industries, World of Warcraft; a fantasy MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) boasts 11.5 million subscribers, more than the population of Ohio. Face it what our parents and teachers told us was true, out of high school we do seem to run things. But what has this nerdification of the world done to the people that started it, what has become of the nerd? I’ll tell you, nothing. In fact I’m of the belief that the popularization of the nerd culture has damned it.
The psychology of an entry level nerd is simple “I’m too fat/too skinny/awkward/don’t fit in/have been ravaged by puberty/etc” and that logic leads to a simple conclusion, F*** “being cool” I’m gonna be unique, I’m gonna do what I find fun. Thus enters the seclusion and the wayward lifestyle that is defined by “being a nerd” and the flight to less “cool” activities that are in fact fun and enjoyable to the person. But gone are the bunkers and towers of the past, thrust into the mainstream. The old bastions of the nerd’s hidden pleasures are gone now. Everyone has an Xbox, everyone has the internet, and even the seemingly indestructible tower of role-playing has been broken into. In the days of Dungeons and Dragons and other archaic realms of role-playing the populations were limited and common ground for those who enjoyed them. Now 1,500,000 people go out and pretend they’re an elf. It is quickly becoming impossible to be unique, which is the major tenant of the nerd. Our culture, forged in the corner of the world that we ourselves carved out of nothing is plastered in the mainstream. The bully has stolen our favorite toy once again. The nerd culture thrived in its low population, meeting someone in 1987 that played videogames was a rarity and a cause for relation, you think to yourself, “Wow, someone that actually enjoys what I like, someone I can finally relate to and be myself around, a friend”. Gone are those days where similar interest meant a common ground. After he beats you up, the captain of the football team goes home and plays Xbox, just like you. And guess what, over Xbox Live, in your escape, he can still call you a ****** and make your life miserable.
So what is the future of our race? What is the next banner of the nerd? What is the next symbol one can have to let the few people like them know its okay? The next realm where we can get an iota of common ground and the liberty to act how we want to without fear of getting beat up or made fun of for being different? Can the nerd be allowed to be unique once again? Or will the trend continue and the rejects and awkward ones of the future never have their small flag to fly.
