Next month, I will be attending CONvergence, an annual sci-fi/fantasy convention that is held every July in Bloomington, MN. This will be my fourth year there, and as always I’m excited. For me, it’s basically one big weekend-long party with a bunch of geeks who love sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, video games and lots of other things that I’ve loved since I was a kid.
Of course, like any good convention, CONvergence is host to lots of panels to discuss all things geeky. I took a look at some of the panels available. Just like every year, some of them really spoke to me while some probably won’t hold my interest. I haven’t made much of a game plan as far as hitting these panels is concerned (I never do; it’s more fun for me to make plans on the fly), but one panel that caught my attention that’s been on my mind is one discussing when geek shows and movies go mainstream.
To this longtime self-described geek, the idea of mainstream geek properties is intriguing to me. When I was growing up, being a geek was anything but mainstream. Most of the people I knew were at best dimly aware that things like comic books, anime, sci-fi/fantasy novels and roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons even existed, and many who did know of them thought they only appealed to socially awkward kids with no friends or weird middle-aged virgins who still lived with their parents. Being a geek was decidedly not cool, and all the things that us geeks liked were pushed to the fringes of society where they were all but invisible to mainstreamers.
Things started to change sometime in the early 2000s. Movies like Spider-man, X-Men and the Lord of the Rings trilogy became huge hits in theaters, TV shows like Lost, Heroes and Battlestar Galactica became ratings giants, and the mainstream press started to treat events like the San Diego Comic Con with respect as opposed to weird sideshows. Today, one of the most popular shows on TV is an adaptation of a series of medieval fantasy novels, the biggest movie of the summer so far is based on a 50 year-old comic book series, and video games are a bigger business than movies. On top of all of this, practically everyone uses a computer and an Internet connection to communicate with each other, something that only the hardcore computer nerds did when I was growing up. In other words, geekiness has gone mainstream.
How do I feel about some of my favorite past times and properties stepping out of the shadows to be embraced by all the “normal” people of the world? I love it. Whenever I hear about someone picking up a George R.R. Martin novel after watching Game of Thrones on HBO or buying a bunch of comic books after seeing The Avengers in theaters, I can’t help but smile. I’ve known for years that comic books, anime and fantasy novels can tell great stories, and now that the rest of the world is starting to catch on it kind of feels like my geek friends and I are being vindicated.
Unfortunately, not everyone feels the way that I do. There will always be folks out there who shun all things that are mainstream and embrace obscure alternatives in an attempt to look cool and contrary. I think these people are called “hipsters,” but I tend to be out of touch with most pop culture movements that don’t involve comic books or science fiction, so I could be mistaken (I’ll call them hipsters anyway because it makes things easier). These people often think of entertainment as “theirs,” and they don’t want to share it. When something that isn’t well-known or well-liked is suddenly embraced by the mainstream, one of two things happen: either the hipster elite shuns the now-popular thing and decry its creators as “sellouts,” or they decry the new fans as “posers.” After all, they liked the now-popular thing “before it was cool,” so they’re the only ones who have earned the right to like it. This attitude is mostly associated with the indie music scene, but I think it applies to geek culture as well.
Just like the hipsters in the indie music scene, geeks can be very protective of the things that are “theirs.” They’ve been on the fringes of popular culture for so long that it’s become a point of pride. It makes them unique, and they don’t like it when the “cool” people trespass on what has added to their uniqueness. I’ve seen geeks take people to task for things such as liking superheroes for the movies they appear in and not the comics, calling themselves gamers when they play “casual” games or for watching anime dubbed instead of subtitled. It’s as if people need to gain a certain amount of geek cred before they can truly be accepted by the “geek elite.” If you don’t have the cred (i.e., act and think as the elite geeks tell you to act and think), you have no business calling yourself a geek. It’s a sad, pathetic and hypocritical way to act, especially for a subculture that for years was so unfairly shunned. I know there are posers out there who call themselves geeks just because they happen to have watched Game of Thrones a few times or saw The Avengers once during its opening weekend, but the elitist bullshit has to stop. I know not all geeks are like this; I don’t even think most geeks are like this. Still, the fact that even some geeks are like this annoys me to no end, especially since I’ll be forced to interact with them sooner or later.
As I said before, I’m thrilled that being a geek (or at least liking geeky things) is cool now. I see it as people finding out what I’ve known for years, and I welcome the chance to talk to new converts to the geek culture. I’d like to think any rational human being who likes what I like would agree with me. If you find that your favorite geeky pastime or property is becoming popular with the mainstream, be happy. It means that more people are starting to agree with you about what’s cool.
As for the panel at CONvergence, I might check it out when I’m there. I think it would be interesting, even if to see if people see things the way I do or if I’m just crazy. In any case, I plan to spend that weekend hanging out with the geek "posers" and those where were geeks "before it was cool."
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