Nerd Identity
16Dec06
When I call someone a “nerd,” “geek,” or “dork,” it’s generally an expression of solidarity, since it’s highly probable I will return home that evening to watch the latest Battlestar Galactica. I’m all about nerd identity, and “nerds” are pretty much the only group of people I feel comfortable identifying with, aside from “Americans.”
But what about this trailer for an upcoming documentary on nerdcore:
In the trailer some bold (and possibly ridiculous) claims are made to the effect that nerds need empowerment, and that nerd empowerment is the new civil rights issue.
So some questions (k7-style):
- What’s a nerd?
- Are nerds a definable social group? There couldn’t possibly be any necessary and sufficient conditions for nerdom, but do you at least perceive a family resemblence among nerds (202 is not over…)?
- Will expressions of nerd culture like nerdcore or cosplay ever gain broader legitimacy without being steeped in irony? Is the absense of self-mockery important?
- Post-dotcom, why is anyone still talking about the revenge of the nerds? What’s the difference between Bill Gates and MC Plus+? How can we possibly lump them in the same category?
(More examples: Weird Al’s White & Nerdy, Beefy’s wonderful ode to Chun-Li)
Best line “…you might role a 3 and you can’t rap, (pause, purple helmet man shifts focus) or you might have an 18 and you’d be a great rapper.”
What interests me the most about any of these movements, be they legitimate or not, is how quickly they co-opt all the insults and monikers they have lived with, or associate their predecessors having had lived with in an attempt to reverse them into empowering and self-organizing categories.
I’ve heard some people argue that the mentality is to actually make a previously negative word so common it looses its original meaning, but I think it also draws a sort of social line, where you’re either with the proactive in-crowd, or you’re just contributing to the problem.
Is this what you meant by “the absence of self-mockery?”
PS - Look for the guy rapping with, what looks like, the Nintendo Power Glove… CLASSIC
By “absense of self-mockery,” I meant that nerdcore started out and remains immediately appealing because it intentionally invites mockery by juxtaposing the quintessentially cool (hip hop) with the unquestionable uncool (nerds). Think Red Vines, White & Nerdy, etc. But the problem with irony is that eventually someone takes it seriously. Some of the nerdcore stuff in that trailer is more serious about nerd identity, and seems to express a desire for credibility. Just wondering if that is legit, feasible, or desirable.
The reappropriation of pejorative terms is definitely a common but fascinating technique employed by the downtrodden. I think I actually wrote a (bad) paper about it once upon a time.
I would say getting “g33k lif3″ tattooed on your fingers is pretty serious, but then again, the same chick had a triforce tattooed on her hand (yey Zelda!).
I feel like nerdcore is not something new, it’s just a new offshoot or growth coming from the same branch of young, counter-culture movement that has been going on forever. I mean, once upon a time, punk music played the role that nerdcore seems to be filling in for this group of people. I would argue that nerdcore may specifically fill the individual “nerd” niche, which is new, but the abstract concept or the methodology of reinforcing that concept is nothing terribly new.
I don’t see why anything, given enough of an interest couldn’t be considered legit. I mean, if it’s a mentality or way of life that lets these people feel comfortable in their own skin, then let them have at it.
In so far as irony, I feel that often serious issues are often best related in an ironic way, simply because people would not otherwise pay attention. Whether or not a listener takes a nerdcore song seriously is almost not important, but that they listened at all.
This whole story got me thinking about the Del album “Deltron 3030″ where he often raps about computer viruses and technology. I doubt that this would be considered nerdcore, but it does seem more nerdy and focused to a particular audience. Incidentally, Deltron 3030 is probably one of my favorite Del albums, it is absolutely brilliant.
The other thing that is really encouraging, and pretty amazing, are the home studio shots and the power of the web for bringing this sort of movements to light (if not to life). Ten, or twenty years ago (maybe even less) this type of musical freedom would be unheard of. We live in an era where people can produce highly professional, creative works easily and then share them with others around the world, and that is inspiring (at least to me).
i have a style? i’m interrogative? what? says who?? haha
whoa, the first frame of the trailer was filmed in front of a building i spent way too much time in as an undergrad.
i can’t help but thinking about the collective childhood of this nerd pride generation. (does that sound borg-like?)
the traditional thinking is that being bullied or being labeled a social outcast results in lower self-esteem among schoolchildren. however, more and more research calls such conventional wisdom into question.
fast forward to 2006, and pan out to see the plethora of young adults who identify with the term “dork.” these are people who, in grade school, felt that their weird interests, awkward physical traits, or social ineptitude put them in a less desirable position than the “in” crowd and the bullies. yet many members of this legion have gone on to be successful in just about every facet of society.
i have no data to back up my implications, but i’d like to think that my generation of dorks exemplify the buoyancy of the human self. we didn’t need to be top of the heap during those hellish hormonal years. we had each other, and we had damn entertaining things that we shared. we grew up and branched out, and we found more peers that felt just like us, about the nerdy things we loved.
are we a new movement in civil rights? are we just self-deprecating and ironic? hell no. we wield power. we have pride. hollywood regularly crafts plots in which the dorks win (find me a movie where the cocky quarterback and the bimbo cheerleader stlll end up happy). national leaders are ridiculed because they do not speak fluent geek (”internets,” “the google,” and “series of tubes”). what’s left to be ashamed of? i mean, where are those bullies who mocked our computer skills and our tolkien books? they’re shining sergey brin’s shoes and paying to see peter jackson’s epic trilogy.