Part of this is in response to Moviebob's talk about nerds being victimized. First off, I don't think nerd culture is even the victim nowadays. At least from my viewpoint, bullying people who are into "nerd culture" simply because of the aforementioned nerd culture has gone down quite a bit, especially if you consider the fact that nerd culture is becoming mainstream. For example, everyone likes the Dark Knight, not just nerds. Everyone plays Modern Warfare, not just nerds. Everyone plays on the Wii, not just nerds. I just got into college, and throughout my education I have never seen any group of people that could be classified as nerds be bullied or marginalized for their nerdy interests. Hell, one of the English classes at my school read Watchmen. Combined with the fact that nerds of the past control the technology and entertainment history (*cough* Bill Gates *cough*) and that being brainy leads to better education, which leads to better jobs, which leads to more money, it's hard to make the case that nerds are still the victim of society.
In fact, what does being a nerd really mean anymore? That you like video games? My dad loves first person shooter games and introduced me to RTS games but he's not a "nerd" by any means. That you like sci fi? There's a ton of science fiction novels out there that are extraordinary pieces of literature, like Ender's Game, Frankenstein, Brave New World, etc. And there's a ton of extraordinary sci fi movies like District 9, Star Wars, the Marvel movies coming out, Inception, the Matrix, etc. That you like comics? See Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Dark Knight.
Really, the last area of nerd culture that hasn't become more or less mainstream is the Japanophile subculture that's into anime, manga, Japanese culture, and the like (of which I am a part of). And even parts of that have become mainstream in the form of Gundam, Pokemon, Dragonball Z, and the like (though the quality of work that *has* entered the American subconscious is rather low in comparison to other work in the same genre, with the exception of the work by Studio Ghibli). And my bet is that's going to go too once the major populace "discovers" the potential in this subgenre (I mean, my mom fell in love with Death Note and she's not nerdy at all).
So what's left? What does it even mean to be nerdy anymore? The things that used to define us are being accepted by mainstream culture one by one.
In fact, what does being a nerd really mean anymore? That you like video games? My dad loves first person shooter games and introduced me to RTS games but he's not a "nerd" by any means. That you like sci fi? There's a ton of science fiction novels out there that are extraordinary pieces of literature, like Ender's Game, Frankenstein, Brave New World, etc. And there's a ton of extraordinary sci fi movies like District 9, Star Wars, the Marvel movies coming out, Inception, the Matrix, etc. That you like comics? See Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Dark Knight.
Really, the last area of nerd culture that hasn't become more or less mainstream is the Japanophile subculture that's into anime, manga, Japanese culture, and the like (of which I am a part of). And even parts of that have become mainstream in the form of Gundam, Pokemon, Dragonball Z, and the like (though the quality of work that *has* entered the American subconscious is rather low in comparison to other work in the same genre, with the exception of the work by Studio Ghibli). And my bet is that's going to go too once the major populace "discovers" the potential in this subgenre (I mean, my mom fell in love with Death Note and she's not nerdy at all).
So what's left? What does it even mean to be nerdy anymore? The things that used to define us are being accepted by mainstream culture one by one.
