THE DEATH OF "NERD" - You're Not A Nerd Because You Like Game of Thrones.

BEFORE WE BEGIN:

Let me preface this by saying that I know this isn’t going to be a popular opinion. People love to identify as “nerds.” By suggesting that there is no such thing anymore, some may interpret that as questioning their integrity or legitimacy as nerds. Given how intrinsically these passions are connected to our identities, it might even seem like I’m attacking these “nerds” as people.

My argument is, though, that the term “nerd” has no real meaning anymore. It isn’t really an identifier at this point. Everyone is a nerd about something. It’s become synonymous with “person.” The argument here is not that this is a bad thing. This is actually a great thing, really. However, people use the word today in a way that - having grown up a nerd - seems pretty strange, and runs counter to what I and many others knew of it back in our youth.

Today everyone is quick to call themselves a nerd. It’s almost like they’re worried about being left out if they aren’t perceived to be one. They want to be nerds. They want to be seen as one. They want “nerd cred.” Nerd is cool. Nerd is trendy. Nerd is mainstream.

Basically, “nerd” isn’t “nerdy” anymore.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF NERDS:

It’s worth remembering that this wasn’t always the case. In fact, the opposite is true. “Nerd” was an insult. You didn’t want to be seen as a nerd. The reality of being a nerd was that you did not choose to be one, and you did not talk yourself up like the nerdiest nerd to ever nerd the Earth. Often, being a nerd meant trying to hide in a closet. You did not highlight your passions or interests in public for fear of ridicule. You often got picked on for liking what you liked.

Because what you liked was not popular. No one understood how you could like a tabletop game, or comic books, or fantasy novels, or science fiction movies. Were you the kid who was really good at math? You were the class nerd. Were you the kid who knew everything about the Hulk? You were the nerd.  Were you really good at computers? Nerd alert. People would often tease you or push you to the corners of society. There was nothing “cool” about being a nerd in the larger society.

In a way, this gave “nerd culture” it’s coolness though. Nerds liked what they liked, often in the face of adversity. For me, being mocked for my Godzilla obsession did not detract me from that interest. If anything, constantly being told how stupid it was drew me in more. It might sound strange, but it went from something I thought was really cool to something that only I seemed to understand that it was cool. And while I’m always happy to share that interest wiht anyone willing to try it, I know this is still very much the case. To this day, I still feel like I’m one of the few in this country that really understands its awesomeness.

It’s mine. And on those few cases where I met someone equally interested, the instant connection went deeper. We’d make references only we understood, discuss things only we could discuss, nod at each other, and leave riding a strange high, knowing we’re not Legion. We’re the few, the proud, the Nerds.

The sense of “nerd pride” rose out of the ashes of being essentially shamed for our interests. To be clear, it really is a great thing that we’re moving more and more away from this today. No one should be made fun of for liking what they like. But the idea that a lot of these things are now “cool” kind of takes away from what really made some of these things so cool.

See, it wasn’t so much the “what” that made an interest or hobby nerdy. In a way, it was “the who.” We didn’t choose to be in the Nerd Clubhouse; we were essentially pushed there by the mainstream social groups and norms. Being surrounded by others who liked what we liked though made those interests and hobbies more awesome. It felt exclusive. It felt like we were in on this big secret. Strange to say, but being teased made these things feel more special; more unique. More still, it felt subversive. We went against the grain. We were, in a really strange way, pioneers.

The thing about “nerd culture” is that it always sat on the outskirts of society. The world needed the math nerds, the art nerds, and the computer nerds, but it wasn’t “cool.” We were outcasts. We were unsung heroes. Just look at practically every major superhero comic book character. There’s a reason the alter-ego to most of the major, most powerful heroes were the “little guys.” Hulk, Mr. Fantastic, Thor, the Flash, and Spider-man were all science nerds. Superman was a dorky writer. Captain America was the skinny, unathletic kid.  These weren’t just meant as power fantasies for the sake of letting young kids imagine life as a superhero and feeling empowered. It also promoted the idea that “nerdy” was “cool” long before Hollywood started making this a reality. Maybe you can’t physically fight your bullies, but Tony Stark wasn’t much of a fighter either. He used his brains to overcome. Batman is the world’s greatest detective. Superman’s mind is often an underrated aspect of his heroic powers. But there’s a reason why most of these characters are also presented as the most intelligent people in these universes.

We as nerds could also relate to the dual identity. In public, we’d try to surpress these hobbies or interests for the sake of “fitting in.” Just the same as Clark Kent donned a suit and glasses and wanted to be accepted as human when he was strutting around openly in Metropolis. But we all knew we had a secret: one that might be dangerous if it got out. We were the nerds. And no one knew it then, but we were the coolest there.

We were cool because we weren’t popular.

A HOUSEHOLD NAME:

Worth repeating though, it’s great that this is less and less the case. Again, no one should be made to feel bad about what they enjoy, and frankly, everything is pretty cool anyway. I’m not at all advocating a return to the old order. Believe me, I love that I don’t have to lie about my interests when I meet new people. While most people I know aren’t exactly as into the same things I am, no one even bats an eye when I tell them I’m into comics and video games.  And for the record, I don’t really care how you want to identify yourself. If you need to call yourself a nerd, then fine (although that itself should tell you where we are now wherein people are calling themselves nerds instead of being called nerd by other people).

But I’m sorry: you’re not a nerd because you watch Game of Thrones. Everybody watches Game of Thrones. You’re not a nerd because you love Harry Potter. Everybody loves Harry Potter. You’re not a nerd because you love Marvel movies. Everybody loves Marvel movies. You’re not a nerd because you play video games. Everyone plays video games. And you’re definitely not a nerd because you love Star Wars. I mean, really, who doesn’t love Star Wars?

Being a nerd isn’t even really about the specifics of what you like. Being a nerd isn’t supposed to be easy. “Nerd culture” was never mainstream culture. “Nerd” was specifically an outlier, labeled as such because it wasn’t popular. It wasn’t “safe.” But being a nerd meant being true to yourself despite the fact that what you like isn’t what everyone likes. Being a nerd was in a way empowering itself, because you stuck to your own code despite everyone telling you that you're wrong to like what you like. It wasn't a choice either. You liked what you liked. You never thought you were nerdy; everyone else did.

This is the element that everyone seems to forget when they rush to out-nerd the other nerds. So when I hear people jumping at the chance to be considered a power nerd, I can’t help but roll my eyes. It’s strange to hear this term being so widespread in its usage, and that it went from meaning “select few” to “everybody and their mothers.”

Quite literally, it doesn’t mean what it used to mean. It can be used to describe anyone. And it misses the point of what made nerds so special for so long. This isn’t to say that anything outside the mainstream is inherently “nerdy,” but there is something to be said about the way it has been appropriated by the mainstream culture.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

There are probably many, many reasons we wound up at this point. We might trace the beginning to Star Wars, a science fiction adventure film so popular when it exploded onto the scene that it changed the face of Hollywood. Perhaps this is because it came at the right time. In the ‘60s and ‘70s, there was more cutlural lashing out against the “institutions,” and a desire to change societal norms. This was essentially the start of “Generation Me” - of which we are currently at the pinnacle of.

It did seem like generations before might have grown up with the things they loved, but eventually determined that they were “too old” for them, and however reluctantly gave them up because that was what was expected. Things were pretty clearly divided in terms of when it’s acceptable to like things. When Star Wars came out, it was such a hit and wormed its way into the mainstream cultural consciousness that adults who maybe had turned their sci-fi interests into secret hobbies because of the perceived kickback realized that’s nonsense. It became cool to openly like science fiction. And Hollywood would keep at it for a long, long time.

By the late ‘80s, several things started to come to fruition. Kids who had comics in the ‘60s and ‘70s - the start of a slightly more self-involved culture - became adults. Cinema got a bit darker and grittier. And comics! Oh, the comics. WIth the advent of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman, people finally saw what the medium had to offer for adults. They wrote stories that are much mroe mature in tone and themes. These writers didn’t write comics for children. The medium, to long time readers, “grew up with them.” Even Frank Miller contributed to this change in cultural attitudes (even if his “maturity” rarely went outside that of a 17-year old boy really into heavy metal).

It sounds counter-intuitive given that it almost brought down the entire comic book industry, but the speculative boom of the ‘90s also probably helped in this way. Though the comics at the time were trying to capture the grittiness of Moore and maturity of Gaiman without actually adding any of the depth of either, stories were often reported of old comics being sold for thousands of dollars. Suddenly, people who didn’t even care about comics were buying them. They became less a “thing of children” than ever before. Comic books themselves entered the mainstream consciousness in a whole new way. This can also tie back Tim Burton’s Batman movies, which could be argued were the true start of the modern superhero blockbuster.

Even though this nearly brought down the industry, it in a weird way saved it as well. To get out of the collapse, publishers had to restructure their business models. More was made of multimedia deals. Shows, movies, and more merchandise became every bit as important as - if not more than - the comics. This opened the way for more animated series, so that more children would get hooked on these characters, who would then grow up to become full blown adult-children. (I’m not complaining at all, but let’s face it. We’re a generation that almost refuses to “grow up,” which I think has many positive and negatives. But that’s another post for another day.)

And then X-Men happened in 2000, and the summer superhero blockbuster movie became a staple of Hollywood, before eventually becoming basically what Hollywood is now. (And this is to say nothing of the Harry Potter books and films.) The movies made characters more accessible than the comics ever could have. You didn’t need to know 30+ years of history and convoluted continuity to “get” Iron Man when you watched that movie. But at the same time, there were enough nods to the source material that the comic nerds felt somewhat rewarded for their loyalty. It was the best of both worlds.

Of course, the role of technology in our society cannot be understated either. Computer literacy is a huge thing now. It’s telling that our children understand an iPad more than our grandparents. We grew up in the age of computers and, more importantly, the internet. Being good with computers or technological devices is no longer a niche thing. Where you might have been considered a nerd for owning an Apple II, the complete opposite is true today. You’re not cool at all unless you own the latest iPhone or iPad. Apple computers have largely been designed so people who knew nothing of computers could easily understand the interface, and Microsoft eventually started doing the same thing, allowing greater accessibility and paving the way to greater computer literacy.

This increased focus on the latest tech gadgets also help make science more appealing. We want really cool toys. Smartphones, laptops, gaming consoles, smart watches, et cetera. We’re obsessed with technology, and nothing advances that more than our scientific understanding. You might not understand it, but you won’t make fun of anyone who knows how to advance transistors or something else that will give you the next great piece of tech, ya know?

And math? Weirdly, sports made that cool. Sports fans are all about fantasy sports, which are built around mathematical algorithms. Even without fantasy sports, fandom has always been fixated on statistics. (This is my argument that baseball might just be the nerdiest sport ever. People literally spend money on programs so they can “score the game” on their own.)

The point here is one that can be easily summed up by The LEGO Movie: everything is awesome. We’ve all become unabashedly proud of our interests. We’re not in the slightest ashamed of loving the things we do. We’re all “nerds,” but we’re also not at all “nerds.”

CONCLUSION:

Nerd is mainstream. Nerd is popular. Really, nerd is culture at this point. I’m not even sure why we still use the term anymore though. It means nothing as a result. The world is a completely different place, and everyone is a nerd, which means that no one is a nerd too.

This is actually a great thing, despite what my tonal implications might have been in this post. It’s great that I can bond with a stranger coming out of the latest Marvel movie in the same way that I can bond with a total stranger at a bar watching the hockey game. We can look at each other and immediately see common ground.

It’s a much more welcoming place. It’s a safer place. It’s a better place.

But our focus on the term can have the opposite impact too. While I argued here that most people today don’t really understand what it was to be a “nerd,” there are those who want to really protect the term. They will judge your “nerdiness” and determine whether or not you “deserve the title.” If they perceive any gaps in knowledge, they will interpret it as fakeness and insincerity and judge you harshly. They’ll accuse you of being a fraud and kick you out.

I get that to an extent. This whole post was designed to bring some insight in what the term used to mean. And it used to be that we embraced our “nerdiness” by sticking together. It didn’t hurt to call us nerds because we owned it. It was ours. You made fun of us because you just didn’t get it. You were inferior because you couldn’t see the awesomeness in these things.

So if someone comes in, having never experienced any negative connotations to their interests, it can be threatening. It used to be a bit of a secret, exclusive club, and now everyone owns it. It feels a bit less special to be into Iron Man when everyone is into Iron Man now. The desire to protect what feels like yours makes sense.

But it sometimes goes to far. It’s almost swung in the opposite way, wherein classic nerds want to make you feel bad for liking what you like. (Seriously, Twilight fans, I’m sorry. I don’t like it and I think it’s silly, but as I said, I’m obsessed with Godzilla. Who am I to judge you for what you like?) You shouldn’t ever be made to feel bad about yourself because you like something others don’t.

I do wonder if we need to just remove the term altogether though. In one direction, you’ve got the uber-nerds fighting to protect this term that means something to them. It’s their exclusive club, that which makes them feel special, and they think it is being watered down by quasi-fans who might lack the same conviction. They’re trying to keep out people who don’t like it enough. In the other direction, there’s the new mainstream nerdcore, which can often alienate the minority that isn’t into it. They’re trying to keep out people who don’t like it at all.

TL;DR

At this point in time, the term “nerd” has practically no meaning, and if it has any, it is the opposite of what it used to be. It’s great that nerd culture is cool and all, but maybe it’s time we stop categorizing everything we love as “nerdy.”