Leslie Armstrong
Arts editor
If you place the standard “geek” from the 1950s next to the modern day one, you’ll notice that they look much the same. What really distinguishes the geek of today from his or her predecessor, however, is a whole different attitude.
Thick-rimmed glasses, flood pants, and a crisp, tucked-in dress shirt was the fashion of the day, or rather, the anti-fashion. The original geek didn’t painstakingly pick out a wardrobe—it was all about functionality. But the geek of today is hyper-conscious of style, wearing those flood pants as a fashion statement.
In other words, people who fall under the category of “geek” tend to own up to their stereotype, and with relish. It corresponds to a
vibrant culture that invests in state-of-the-art electronic devices, tunes into the world of technological advancements, and understands the value and integrity of the Internet. Being a geek warrants a badge of honour.
They’ve come a long way.
The first reported definition of a geek finds its origins in the term “gecken”, a despised fool who would bite the heads off chickens as part of their circus act. The geek then climbed to the next level: equally deplorable in terms of social skills and sense of style, only with freakish, intimidating intelligence.
Whereas this brand of people used to be shunned to the margins of society, socially awkward and generally undesirable, it has now become trendy and admirable to adopt this lifestyle. It came from a one-dimensional background and broke off into several sub-categories. Now, people can find their callings in the film, sci-fi, comic book, Dungeons and Dragons, or Star Wars domain. The list goes on.
Geeks will show their camaraderie and appreciation in interesting ways. For instance, there are online shops such as snorgtees.com dedicated to t-shirts and merchandise fueled by math or science and technology quips and jokes (ie. Wanted, Dead & Alive: Schroedinger’s Cat). Wearing these t-shirts expresses solidarity to other members of the culture, and resembles a “safety in numbers” bid.
Now that this culture has exploded, people are starting to criticize it. Anyone who meanders into geek territory, sporting black-rimmed glasses and a Star Wars t-shirt will just as easily be labeled a hipster. Looking at it from that perspective is pointless—hipsters call each other hipsters on a daily basis. Meanwhile, it’s valuable to reap some truth and wisdom from this type of creature rather than criticizing it. Every culture starts with a motive. The ‘70s hippie era wanted peace. The ‘90s grunge era wanted honesty.
The modern geek era wants individualism. Geeks turn to the internet for boundless information, and not having that stream of information is a discomfort. Collecting the latest gadgets and playing the newest video games shows intellectual gratitude for the research that went into that technology, as if it were an art. The very want for information is a sign of intelligence. Intelligence is a form of rebellion, and rebelling defines one’s own individual identity.
Whether or not people from this expanding culture possess that intelligence is not completely relevant. As much as we don’t like to admit it, not every person from the movement is bound to be a genius. But all that matters is their appreciation for intelligence and their way of living to achieve it. It sends a message to the world that they are conscious consumers, and that they refuse to be called apathetic.
We will truly understand what this culture is about once we’ve distanced ourselves from it—20 years from now, we will look back and realize that it was very down-to-earth. It will be the element of people from the 2000s that fascinates and surprises.
That geek from the 1950s stood alone, but today, geeks stand united.
