Big Surprise...I'm a geek.

In case you haven't been able to tell, I'm a geek (and when I talk about geeks in this post, I'm also including nerds).  I like Star Trek and Star Wars, playing video games, board games and miniatures games, superheroes and comic books...hell, I even work as Tech Support.  My favorite shows and movies are almost always sci-fi and fantasy.  I wear thick framed glasses and I wear t-shirt that bear symbols and icons only other geeks will know.  For this, I, and people like me, have been misrepresented by the media for cheap laughs and (at least when I was younger) ostracized from social groups.  When I was in my early teens, liking Star Trek was akin to being a homosexual in terms of how others would treat you.  I remember keeping my love of the show a tightly kept secret, until I found other, like-minded people and became much more comfortable with myself as a person...but I digress.  This post is not about thatt.  This post is to try to make people realize how terribly wrong the image of the geek is in popular culture.  I've been watching tv shows and movies carefully over the last month to see exactly how we're portrayed and I've broken it down into its base components:
Highly intelligent but socially awkward/introverted
Physically Weak
inability to communicate with the opposite sex
lack of sexual experience
lives in parents basement
allows video games to dominate life
plays fantasy role playing (may or may not dress up for it)
read comic books
goes to conventions (may dress up for that as well)
dresses awkwardly
oddball or offbeat behaviour
Frequently in smart jobs like scientists or computer tech
Very thin or egregiously overweight
Needy

Take a few of these and make it a character and you can probably find them as a lead cast member on Big Bang Theory.  This is not how we are.  Sure, there are people who do fit into these stereotypes, but that's not what defines them, or geeks in general.  Lets look at that list and see how much of it applies to me and how it affects my life.
Highly Intelligent but socially awkward/introverted - well I'm pretty smart, but I'm not a rocket scientist.  I'm definitely not socially awkward or introverted.  This doesn't affect me at all.
Physically Weak - Again not me, nor does this affect me.
Inability to communicate with the opposite sex - I think my lovely girlfriend would disagree.
Lack of sexual experience - Nope, not me at all.
Lives in parents basement - My parents don't even have a basement.
Allows video games to dominate life - Definitely not.  Game compusion is a serious problem that I do not suffer from, but I really feel for people who do.  For those of you who think you might be addicted to your game...watch this.
Plays fantasy role playing games - Absolutely.  How has this affected my life?  I see my friends on a regular basis and we all do something we enjoy.
Read comic books - This is definitely me.  I spend a few dollars a week and enjoy the stories and the art.  If I were to just read novels, or comment on movies or artwork, I would be considered cultured and refined.  Why should comics be any different?
Goes to Conventions - Of course!  More on this later.
Dresses awkwardly - I may wear things that would be considered an in-joke among geeks, but that's no less strange than paying hundreds of dollars for clothes with a name brand on them.  In fact, financially, it makes a hell of a lot more sense.
Oddball or offbeat behaviour - Perhaps some could consider my behaviour offbeat or oddball, but that's only because you don't get it.  Imagine someone walking into the middle of a showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show.  To the outsider, it's a collection of mentally insane people doing oddball things; but to the insider, it's just all part of the fun.
Frequently in smart jobs like scientists or computer tech - Well I'll plead guilty to that one.  I do tech support.  How does this affect my life?  I'm in a job I enjoy making enough money to live comfortably.  Damn us geeks and our skills!!
Very thin or egregiously overweight - Yeah, I'm overweight.  Did it come from being a geek?  Of course not.  That would be like saying, "Well she's fat because she watched too much Young and the Restless".  Sounds ridiculous like that doesn't it?
Needy - I don't think of myself as needy, but if I was, it wouldn't be because I like Star Wars or watch Doctor Who.
All the geeks I've met come from all walks of life, are of all shapes and sizes, but they all usually do share one defining trait; acceptance.  Never have I ever heard of a geek excluding someone because of their social standing, age, race, religion, gender, sexuality, physical attributes, profession, or any other ridiculous reason why people segregate themselves.  Now what do we see in the media as a representation of geeks?  We see kids using their smarts to make a woman to have sex with (Weird Science, 1985), uber-stereotypical nerds triumphing over even more stereotypical bully jocks (Revenge of the Nerds, 1984), or more recently a socially awkward and stapler obsessed office worker (Office Space, 1999), a 40 year old virgin (presumably because of his geeky lifestye,  The 40 Year Old Virgin, 2005), a higly stereotyped Trekkie type character (Galaxy Quest, 1999).  Those are as accurate a portrayal of geeks as The Good Wife is of practicing law.  If you want to see an accurate description of 2 geeks having a conversation about a geeky subject...look right here.

This is a conversation between 2 people about Star Wars and it's further implications.  Unlike Big Bang Theory, the topic of conversation isn't the main joke here, and neither is the inherent geekiness of the participants.  All they have is an interesting exchange that ends up being a little poignant.  Now compare that with this.

Do you see the difference?  There's nothing inherently funny about what Sheldon is saying.  So what's the joke here?  The joke is "look at how goofy and silly the geek can be".  Leonard is supposed to be the "grounded" character that we're all supposed to relate to, but when you look at it, he's really just being a dismissive ass to his friend who's trying to have a discussion about something that's on his mind.  I'm not saying that we can't poke fun at ourselves, or we shoudn't make fun of geeky stuff.  But a scene like this exemplifies how it's not a show for geeks, but about geeks; and again, a poor portrayal at best.
Truth be told, the geeks are all around you.  You may even be a closet geek and not even know it.  Do you realize how many movies these days are based on comic books?  I'm sure you're aware of the big names, Superman, Batman, Captain America, Thor, etc.  Maybe you even know The Watchmen (and kudos if you liked the movie).  I bet you didn't know 300 was a comic book.  How about A History Of Violence, Road to Perdition, Men In Black, RED, Wanted, The Surrogates, or V for Vendetta?  These movies all did fairly well at the box office and were all based on comic books, and like movies that are based on novels, the (comic) books are usually better than the movie.
Geeks are all over your movies too...lurking in plain sight.  Take a look at this guy.

 You probably recognize Vin Diesel.  He has played Dungeons and Dragons for the last 20 years.  He even wrote the forward for the 30th anniversary edition.  Even I gotta admit that's pretty geeky.  But wait a minute, he isn't socially awkward.  He's not weak or hyperintelligent.  He doesn't dress strangely and I seriously doubt he has any problems with women.  Do a search on youtube for him talking to Jimmy Kimmel about D&D.  Note how he gets when he's talking about playing.  He's a role model for all kinds of geeks who perhaps lack the confidence to come out and just say what they like, regardless of what others think.  But wait, he's only the first geek on the list.

Chritian Slater...He's a huge Trekkie.  So much so that he had to have a cameo in Star Trek VI.

  

Scott Bakula was such a huge fan of the original Star Trek series, that when a new show came along, he HAD to play the lead role.

 

Some of you may not recognize Dennis Kucinich.  He's a congressman from Ohio's 10th District and former Presidential candidate.  He plays D&D too, and judging by the picture of him and his wife, he's got no problem with the ladies. (and yes, that picture is him and his wife)

 This woman, Asia Carerra, is a porn star and a geek.  She's a member of Mensa with an IQ of 156 and plays Unreal Tournament like it was going out of style.  I doubt she lives in her parents basement.

Most of you probably remember Dolph Lundgren from his role as Ivan Drago from Rocky.  What you probably don't know is how much of a nerd he is.  He has an IQ of 160, a Masters in Chemical Engineering, awarded the Fullbright Scholarship to MIT, speaks 5 languages, 3rd degree black belt, former Ranger, and Olympic Pentathlon team leader.  Know many scientists that competed in the Olympic Pentathalon and still found time to star in Universal Soldier.

I'm not going to continue berating you with pictures....but here's a few more people and their geekiness.

Jerry Seinfeld: Huge Superman fan.  Had a Superman somewhere in EVERY episode of Seinfeld.

Nicholas Cage: Not to be outdone, Mr. Cage named his sone Kal-El (Superman's birth name)

Kristen Bell: Goes to comic book conventions and is a huge fan of comic book creator Ed Brubaker.

Roasario Dawson:Huge Comic book fan

Christina Applegate: Video gamer.  Owns PS3, Xbox, and Wii.  Loves Guitar Hero.

Robin Williams: Goes to E3 every year.  Such a huge video game fan that he named his daughter Zelda.

As you can see, geeks can really be anyone.  Who would have thought that the thing that links Nicholas Cage and Jerry Seinfeld is Superman?  Or that Dolph Lundgren speaks a language for every finger on one hand?

Now there is one more thing I want to go over and that is the topic of conventions.  I don't know why this is so hard for people to grasp, but geeks like going to conventions.  Think of it like multi-day music festivals, but instead of music, it's geek stuff.  It's a chance to submerse oneself into the things that they love, and maybe meet some of the people responsible for its production.  I went to the Emeral City Comicon last year and I had the time of my life.  I got to meet tons of people who have laboured and created works that I have so deeply enjoyed.  It was such a great experience that I'm definitely doing it again this year. You're welcome to join me if you can let loose your inner geek.