what is a nerd we are geeks were once
the butt of the joke on screen
today they're often the heroes who save
the day how did so
much change
welcome to watch mojo's series how geek
culture became pop culture
once niche and ridiculed geek culture
has exploded into the mainstream
how did so much change
join us as we look at how pulp fiction
comics
video games anime and nerd heroes became
pop culture staples
whether serving as the comedic relief or
background characters
geeks nerds and other misfits have been
the subject of ridicule in film and
television for years
ah your appearance is comical to me
i'm a nerd so am i
but over the past couple of decades
we've seen an interesting shift in their
portrayal on screen
instead of being mocked they're now
frequently presented as endearing
lovable and even heroic so how did
social outcasts come to run the show
well let's begin with the word geek in
the 1800s
a geek was a circus freak who would run
around biting the heads off chickens
so yeah not exactly an esteemed member
of society
geeks form their own union yeah that one
you made up well suppose all they paid
doing was chicken heads
the word kept its pejorative sense when
it became a high school insult against
social outcasts
today there's a lot of overlap between
geek and nerd
both are associated with eccentricity
and intelligence but arguably while nerd
usually connotes intellectualism
geek can refer to any enthusiast of some
niche field or hobby it's a conspiracy
i'm telling you
be cool we're gonna call the nerds we
can actually thank dr
seuss for the word nerd which first
appeared in his 1950 children's book if
i ran the zoo
character gerald mcgrew says that he'll
look for a knurkle
a nerd and a seersucker too whereas
seuss's version of a nerd looks like a
long-lost relative of the grinch
society came to view nerds as scrawny
intellectuals with nasal voices
thick glasses slicked back hair and
pocket protectors
some of this isn't your fault i mean a
man can only take
so many wedgies before he goes to pieces
good luck to you buddy
the term became mainstream in the 70s
thanks in part to happy days there
are two kinds of people cool and nerds
on the totem pole of social outcasts
nerds were at the top and geeks were as
low as one could go
then somewhere in the middle you had
dorks dweebs
eggheads squares and poindexters
basically everybody loved fonzie and
nobody wanted to be potsy
i've heard that that said fonzie was
essentially a sillier version of james
dean's character in rebel without a
cause
who arguably paved the way for geek and
nerd heroes
sure dean was handsome well-dressed and
anything but nerdy
but jim stark was one of the earliest
examples of a misfit hero
he didn't fit the crowd but that is the
very reason audiences were drawn to him
you're tearing me apart
what you you say one thing he says
another and everybody changes back again
the geek or nerd hero didn't really
start to emerge until the 1980s
this decade was all about the action
heroes sylvester stallone
arnold schwarzenegger bruce willis these
were the muscle-bound tough guys that
audiences fantasized about being go
ahead
make our day that's the best one works
doesn't you're telling me
in the midst of all the testosterone
however several
unlikely heroes put brains before brawn
one of the first examples was kevin
flynn in 1982's tron
flynn is a programmer and a skilled
gamer but he wasn't depicted as a
stereotypical nerd
he was a normal guy who just so happens
to be computer savvy leading to success
both in the virtual and real worlds
on the other side of the screen it all
looks so easy
this trend continued in other 80s films
from matthew broderick's heroic slacker
and war games
to the gutsy gamers in the wizard you
have 10 minutes
and the player with the most points wins
ghostbusters in particular was a major
breakthrough for nerd heroes
shining the spotlight on scientists back
off man
i'm a scientist each ghostbuster has a
distinctive personality
and even the most conventionally nerdy
one egon isn't a cookie cutter cliche
i'm always serious vegan i'm gonna take
back some of the things i said about you
he's the stone-faced no-nonsense one
which perfectly complements peter's
sarcasm
rey's constant rambling and winston's
everyman pragmatism
i just got over excited but but wasn't
it incredible pete
i mean we actually touched the etheric
plane something similar can be said
about 1985's the goonies
who are all distinctive misfits that
bring something unique to the table
is that a year or something you know
it's your top score on pulpit yes
it's easy here chuck look it's a map of
our coastline
what's all that spanish junk right there
uh who knows
the mouth you said you could translate
translate right here from the same year
the breakfast club is notable for
breaking down social divisions in high
school stereotypes
you see us as you want to see us in the
simplest terms
the most convenient definitions there's
an especially powerful scene where
anthony michael hall's brian reflects on
how he got detention
delving into the pressures of being a
brain what's the gun for brian
just forget it you brought it up man
i can't have an f hall went on to play
another nerd
in weird science getting everything he
ever wanted thanks to
improbable computer engineering
so what would you little maniacs like to
do first
of course john hughes movies weren't
always flattering in their depictions of
nerds
in 16 candles ted is a creepy loser
and long duck dong well the less said
the better
what's happening hot stuff despite some
nuanced portrayals
most movies at the time leaned into
caricatures revenge of the nerds for
example
is a mixed bag on the one hand it
empowers nerds
and encourages audiences to treat them
with respect any of you that have ever
felt
stepped on left out picked on
put down whether you think you're a nerd
or not why don't you just come down here
and join us okay
on the other hand most of the jokes come
at the expense of nerdy generalizations
the nerds are mostly interchangeable
dweebs and let's be honest they should
all be in jail for their revenge
you are each ordered to serve not less
than 44 years in maximum security prison
ow whether the film helped or hurt geek
culture
geeks wouldn't truly start getting
revenge until the 90s
in the new decade the world wide web
opened to the public
and the internet appeared in people's
homes what do president clinton
conservative radio personality rush
limbaugh and rock star billy idle have
in common
they've all got electronic mail
addresses on computer systems linked to
the internet
a global hookup that permits computers
to exchange information
linking computers around the globe the
net allowed passionate fans to connect
with each other through message boards
and chats
well it's very hip to be on the internet
right now soon enough
personal computers went from being
luxuries to facets of everyday life
throughout the 80s people had associated
money and power with oil barons like jr
ewing
and wall street moguls like gordon gekko
free
for lack of a better word is good
greed is right greed works
this all changed with the rise of tech
giants like bill gates and steve jobs
both of whom would accumulate net worths
of billions
these wealthy successful respected
individuals
changed how many people viewed nerds
pinky
the world's richest nerd bill grates
however
this wasn't immediately reflected in tv
and film when many people thought of
geeks or nerds
the first thing that came to mind was
comic book guy in the simpsons
a slovenly loser who dedicates his time
to obsessing and complaining over
trivial matters
but aquaman you cannot marry a woman
without
gills you're from two different worlds
oh i've wasted my life we're not saying
these types of people don't exist but
they don't exactly represent the
majority
on the other side of the coin there was
1999's the matrix which
centered on a stylish computer
programmer who becomes humanity's savior
[Music]
he is the one
halfway between comic book guy and neo
you had freaks and geeks
arguably the most honest depiction of
the social misfits of the 80s
so uh shall we say asteroids my place 3
30.
yeah if that's when you want to get your
butt kicked the titular geeks were
awkward but they dealt with relatable
problems that most high school students
still experience
executive producer judd apatow always
felt like a nerd growing up
which translated well into future
projects like the 40 year old virgin and
superbad
number two it doesn't even have a first
name it just says mclovin
what one name what name
who are you seal vogel zygie says you're
25 years old
why wouldn't you just put 21 man the
same can be said about other geeks and
nerds who grew up to be content creators
like peter jackson joss whedon and jj
abrams
not to mention steven spielberg and
george lucas one of the most
interesting turning points for nerd
heroes was napoleon dynamite
what are you gonna do today napoleon
whatever i feel like i want to do gosh
napoleon took geekiness to a new extreme
yet people could not get enough of the
sleeper hit
constantly quoting napoleon's one-liners
and wearing vote for pedro t-shirts
even the climactic dance number was like
a youtube video before youtube even
existed
[Music]
when youtube did launch the following
year audiences were introduced to a new
platform that allowed them to analyze
trailers
share theories and connect with other
members of the fan community like never
before
it's a really easy thing you can upload
up to 100 megs a video
and we're actually going to walk through
the process of doing that so you have a
sense of
how easy it actually is tv also saw a
rise of endearing nerdy heroes
like seth cohen on the oc the i.t crowd
and
of course the cast of the big bang
theory while
most self-proclaimed nerds will argue
that sheldon cooper is not an authentic
portrayal of geek culture
the big bang theory was for a time tv's
highest rated sitcom
dr rostinkowski it may interest you to
know that saying pew pew pew
isn't as effective as pressing your
blaster key there's a reason audiences
tuned in for 12 seasons
the show not only reveled in nerdy pop
culture references
it also got more people interested in
geek culture you'd think after
xbox there'd be xbox two but no
next came xbox 360. and now after 360
comes xbox one like it or not the comedy
marked a cultural shift in how
mainstream audiences view sci-fi
fantasy and superheroes as well as their
fans
on the big screen tough guys like john
rambo were being phased out
in favor of superheroes like tony stark
steven strange and peter parker
all of whom brought intellects to the
equation big man in a suit of armor
take that off what are you genius
billionaire playboy philanthropist
outside of comic book movies you had
brilliant bookworms like hermione
granger
and pop culture savvy fanboys like wade
watts a creator
who hates his own creation
the shining it's holiday's 11th favorite
horror film
and it's based on the best-selling book
by stephen king who hated the movie
the social network made for compelling
drama turning mark zuckerberg into a
practically shakespearean figure
you have part of my attention you have
the minimum amount
the rest of my attention is back at the
offices of facebook where my colleagues
and i are doing things that no one in
this room including and especially your
clients are intellectually or creatively
capable of doing
even disney princesses shifted from
being practically perfect to adorkable
ready for what geeky and nerdy heroes
dominate content
now more than ever perhaps because they
hit closer to home than traditional
action heroes
most of us wouldn't blend in with the
expendables but we'd certainly fit in
with the losers club
if clark kent can be superman perhaps
real life nerds can rise up as heroes as
well
if a superhero can't save his family
he's not much of a hero
teaching catchphrase
when will knurkles and seersuckers get
their day though make sure to tune in
for our next episode of how geek culture
became pop culture
where we'll be talking comic books and
the epic rivalry between dc
and marvel
you