The Rise of the Geek in the 21st Century by Joseph Forrest

Joseph Forrest addresses the rise of the geek in today’s world through his own personal perspective

I started a love affair with comics when I was 5-years-old. Instead of getting the Golden Book stories read to me at bedtime, my mom would instead read Spider-Man and Captain America. This began my long life of geekery. From comics, I went to sci-fi flicks. Then I read the first Dark Tower book from Stephen King and fantasy became a thing for me. I drew my favorite superheroes/heroines. I wrote stories and fell in love with science fiction after I read Dune by Frank Herbert. I was a geek in my heart of hearts.

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This, of course, led to no small amount of derision from the “cool kids” towards the little den of geeks I hung with, but I still got invited to parties because (a) I knew where to get weed, and (b) I was cute and didn’t look like every other redneck. For the most part though, I talked about my geekdom only with those who would understand.

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Flash forward to today and you find that geeks are the cool kids now. Everything I loved as a kid was now trending among the entire population. I walked through the park the other day with my girlfriend so she could find a Pokemon that was in that vicinity. I found myself amazed by what I saw. People from literally every age group, walking in lines instinctively,heading towards the same spots, almost synchronized.It was amazing and spooky, almost as if George Romero and Walt Disney had a secret love child with god like powers that was manipulating our reality. (FYI: For me,there is no Pokemon game after Pokemon Red.)

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What does this clear and growing acceptance of geek culture tell us about society? I believe that it speaks to our evolution of acceptance of the outliers as a species. It’s nowhere near as important as acceptance of equality for everyone, but it is a small step forward. I can remember people making fun of me because of my love for Marvel and DC. Sometimes this even came from my own family. Now, it’s not only accepted but you seem a little weird if you haven’t seen the latest comic book movie. People kind of wonder why you don’t like things that are good.

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Is it a good thing to indulge in frivolous fandoms as a society? I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to the way the world is today, but I think we could stand to knock off some of the fighting, killing, and other assorted things happening on a minute-by-minute basis around the globe. I mean, wouldn’t the whole world be a little better off if all the world leaders around the globe just got together every now and then, passed around some sweet, sweet cheba, and played Call of Duty to work out their issues? The rise of the geek may lead to world peace one day. Think about that.

Besides all that, as a parent I have to say that I would rather my kids be out collecting Pokemon instead of STDs and pregnancies. You can’t put the latter two back in their Pokeball. It’s a healthy diversion from the madness that seems to consume the world on a daily basis. It’s a stress reliever that’s harmless. You slip into another world for a couple of hours and you indulge yourself with a temporary escape. You recharge a bit and then you can face the world once more.

There is, however, a dark side to the rise of the geek as well. Geekdom has typically been populated with white fanboys of varying age range. With the popularity of the scene now booming, we’ve seen an influx of new consumers for this type of entertainment from across the spectrum. For example, women now make up approximately half the number of buyers in the comic book sales realm. Regardless, they in particular are targeted by angry fanboys who feel they are invading their sacred boys club. Racial diversity is also an issue across the board still. We have white actors everywhere in fandom related movies, but the only minorities we see are generally serving as supporting characters. I could go on and on about this elitist caste, but it’s rather pointless as they are being weeded out until they become a minority themselves. This tells me we still have a long way to go, but we are getting there.

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I encourage everyone out there to embrace their inner geek, whatever he/she is into, and use it as a way to relax in this crazy world. What’s wrong with having a little fun after all? It’s not like we can get a 1-Up in this life. You might as well enjoy it.

You can find his blog at www.joeforrest.com. You can also follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

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