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ladymidathAs I promised I have started the Geeky Girl posts again. I have really missed posting my GG thoughts and I wanted to get started once more. Because RL was kicking my butt, I had stop but now I am back. So sit back, read and enjoy.
Okay I am going to put the rest under a cut because there could be spoilers. If you don't mind I had just watched the Big Bang Theory The Bakersfield Expedition and I really enjoyed it. I thought the scenes in the comic shop where Penny, Bernadette and Amy decide to find out about comics was pretty funny.
The only problem I had with this episode was that it was rather a downer. They guys were dressed in their Star Trek TNG costumes all set to have fun when their car is stolen and they have to walk to a gas station to call for help. When they got there they were treated with disdain by the people there. That was when I thought it became rather depressing. The only one that remained upbeat was Raj, all the others were miserable and just wanted to go home. Even Sheldon was unhappy and embarrassed.
In the meantime, the girls are reading Thor despite Stuart's recommendation of Fables and they begin to argue over how Thor's hammer works. This again was to me at least really funny.
All up I enjoyed this episode despite the rather downer storyline with the guys.
Then I decided to read the reviews. This episode got a lot of negative reviews and tweets. It seemed that many people did not like it and thought it was quite insulting to nerd/geek culture. An editor for one of the major comic publishers, either DC or Marvel, it did not say, waded in. All up the general consensus seems to be that this episode was insulting to all those who love comics, cos play and all other aspects of geek culture.
Now I have been a geek for a long time and I am proud of it. I grew up reading comics and I majored in art and history. I attended SupaNova and Smash and every other convention that I can get to. The guys in the comic store I go to know me by name and I play D&D, although not lately as well as other games both board and console.
Are shows like The Big Bang Theory insulting towards us nerds and geeks? Are the writers pandering to every cliche that there is? Are they doing it for cheap laughs?
I love TBBT and I try to watch every episode. When I first heard about it, I kinda avoided it because I thought it was going to be some jocks on nerd crapfest, but when I actually sat down and watched it, I found myself laughing so hard I nearly got a stitch. I loved the characters and the humour, but I am wondering if maybe the writers are starting to go down a path that they shouldn't. Namely the whole 'nerd and geeks are outsiders and should be laughed at at all time' bullshit.
It is starting to make me think. I never liked Revenge Of The Nerds because of the way the nerds were potrayed even though I did love the speech at the end. I though TBBT was more evolved, showing nerds and geeks as sweet although somewhat quirky people. But maybe that is the problem. Should nerds and geeks be portrayed like that? Is it insulting? Many people are seriously beginning to think that it is.
I think the biggest problem though is the way they show the guys in the comic book shop as being hopelessly inept around women. The reaction when the three girls walked in was hilarious, especially Stuart's reaction to the guys gaping at the girls. They acted like they had never seen a woman before, let alone three. But I go to plenty of comic book shops and there are just as many women in there as well. Not just customers but working behind the counter. In fact, working in a comic book store would be my dream job. :-)
I think that the writers should tone that down a little, but then again, if they did, half the jokes would be gone. So what it the answer? Stop with the cliches about geek life and maybe have a less funny show, or keep going and alienate a good deal of their audience? Hmmm.
Still, I like TBBT and I am going to keep watching it, but yeah, in some ways I am beginning to find it a little condescending. But then that is the trouble when you have people writing about geek culture if they really don't know much about it.
I recall a couple of SupaNova's ago, we had a guest presenter for the cos play. Now here in Australia, we take our cos play seriously. The presenter, a nice guy was doing his best, but he really had no idea about what it was about. He kept telling the audience not to give the cosplayers a hard time or make fun of them. This at a convention for cos playing. Everyone that was there were all of a like mind and no one was going to give anyone a hard time. And if any moron tried, he would be out the door so fast his head would have spun. But the guy doing the presenting had no idea of this. He had no clue that we were all geeks together having a great time.
So maybe if the writer for TBBT looked into geek and nerd culture a little more, they might find that there are a lot of people who read comics, go to trek convention, dress up as Star Wars characters and they aren't strange or weird or lonely outsiders. There are just so many of us now.
Food for thought though....:-)
What do you all think?
Also posted on my lj
Okay I am going to put the rest under a cut because there could be spoilers. If you don't mind I had just watched the Big Bang Theory The Bakersfield Expedition and I really enjoyed it. I thought the scenes in the comic shop where Penny, Bernadette and Amy decide to find out about comics was pretty funny.
The only problem I had with this episode was that it was rather a downer. They guys were dressed in their Star Trek TNG costumes all set to have fun when their car is stolen and they have to walk to a gas station to call for help. When they got there they were treated with disdain by the people there. That was when I thought it became rather depressing. The only one that remained upbeat was Raj, all the others were miserable and just wanted to go home. Even Sheldon was unhappy and embarrassed.
In the meantime, the girls are reading Thor despite Stuart's recommendation of Fables and they begin to argue over how Thor's hammer works. This again was to me at least really funny.
All up I enjoyed this episode despite the rather downer storyline with the guys.
Then I decided to read the reviews. This episode got a lot of negative reviews and tweets. It seemed that many people did not like it and thought it was quite insulting to nerd/geek culture. An editor for one of the major comic publishers, either DC or Marvel, it did not say, waded in. All up the general consensus seems to be that this episode was insulting to all those who love comics, cos play and all other aspects of geek culture.
Now I have been a geek for a long time and I am proud of it. I grew up reading comics and I majored in art and history. I attended SupaNova and Smash and every other convention that I can get to. The guys in the comic store I go to know me by name and I play D&D, although not lately as well as other games both board and console.
Are shows like The Big Bang Theory insulting towards us nerds and geeks? Are the writers pandering to every cliche that there is? Are they doing it for cheap laughs?
I love TBBT and I try to watch every episode. When I first heard about it, I kinda avoided it because I thought it was going to be some jocks on nerd crapfest, but when I actually sat down and watched it, I found myself laughing so hard I nearly got a stitch. I loved the characters and the humour, but I am wondering if maybe the writers are starting to go down a path that they shouldn't. Namely the whole 'nerd and geeks are outsiders and should be laughed at at all time' bullshit.
It is starting to make me think. I never liked Revenge Of The Nerds because of the way the nerds were potrayed even though I did love the speech at the end. I though TBBT was more evolved, showing nerds and geeks as sweet although somewhat quirky people. But maybe that is the problem. Should nerds and geeks be portrayed like that? Is it insulting? Many people are seriously beginning to think that it is.
I think the biggest problem though is the way they show the guys in the comic book shop as being hopelessly inept around women. The reaction when the three girls walked in was hilarious, especially Stuart's reaction to the guys gaping at the girls. They acted like they had never seen a woman before, let alone three. But I go to plenty of comic book shops and there are just as many women in there as well. Not just customers but working behind the counter. In fact, working in a comic book store would be my dream job. :-)
I think that the writers should tone that down a little, but then again, if they did, half the jokes would be gone. So what it the answer? Stop with the cliches about geek life and maybe have a less funny show, or keep going and alienate a good deal of their audience? Hmmm.
Still, I like TBBT and I am going to keep watching it, but yeah, in some ways I am beginning to find it a little condescending. But then that is the trouble when you have people writing about geek culture if they really don't know much about it.
I recall a couple of SupaNova's ago, we had a guest presenter for the cos play. Now here in Australia, we take our cos play seriously. The presenter, a nice guy was doing his best, but he really had no idea about what it was about. He kept telling the audience not to give the cosplayers a hard time or make fun of them. This at a convention for cos playing. Everyone that was there were all of a like mind and no one was going to give anyone a hard time. And if any moron tried, he would be out the door so fast his head would have spun. But the guy doing the presenting had no idea of this. He had no clue that we were all geeks together having a great time.
So maybe if the writer for TBBT looked into geek and nerd culture a little more, they might find that there are a lot of people who read comics, go to trek convention, dress up as Star Wars characters and they aren't strange or weird or lonely outsiders. There are just so many of us now.
Food for thought though....:-)
What do you all think?
Also posted on my lj
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27/2/13 07:07 (UTC)Maybe it did hit a little too close to home. I don't know about the media in The States but I know here they can be really condescending if not outright rude. I remember when the new Star Trek TNG came out one report about it started with: 'And now here is one for all the geeks, nerds and other dateless wonders out there...' Then it ended with; 'at least when the movie comes out, the internet will be freed up for awhile.'
That floored me and that was from The Australian which is supposed to be a respectable newspaper. So perhaps it's things like this that make people thin skinned when it comes to geek culture.
But if you get a chance, watch it, I think you might like it. :-)
Oh on an unrelated note, just joined The Spanking Library, I am going to post some fics there. ;-)