Mainstream Success Sucks For Geek Culture

I’m a nerd. I’m a geek. I’ll say it proudly. Though, there was a time when I wouldn’t be able to say that statement out loud. There was a time when I couldn’t say it at all. If I did let out some aspect of my inner geek, I would be picked on relentlessly. And that was the way it was for many young kids. And in some ways, even some adults. But, in recent years, that seems to have changed. Movies based on comic books are the largest block busters of the year. Video games have become one of the largest entertainment industries in the world. There are now hundreds of cartoons specifically aimed at adults. Being a geek is cool. And I think it’s a little bit insulting.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t just me being possessive of the things I love. There's never a problem with more people loving the same things. More people to talk about it with. More people to line the pockets of the creators, which then means they create more awesome shit. It’s a win for me.

What upsets me is that all of this happened with zero regard for those that had to suffer beforehand. Whenever I see some frat kid wearing a Batman shirt, I get an uneasy feeling. That type of person was the sort to give me trouble as a kid. Now, they’re walking around, claiming fanship for something that caused me torment at their hands? I’m not even exaggerating. I’ve occasionally run in to some of my childhood tormentors. This is a thing that’s actually happened.

On top of it all, this mass appeal of geek culture has hurt some properties. Take for example, Suicide Squad from last year. The movie got heaps of marketing, and was one of the marquee titles for the summer of 2016. That is par for the course. Comic book movies make huge money. But my issue, is the quality of these movies. And the way certain characters from it were treated.

The best, and easily most egregious example, is Harley Quinn. If you payed attention during Halloween last year, she was everywhere. One of the most popular costumes, and most of them were based off the Suicide Squad version of the character. My issue is, even in a genre where characters have dozens of alternate versions, the character from Suicide Squad was awful. And as far as I’m concerned, every single character in that movie was bad. None of them were good representations of who they are in the comics, and that’s a shame. They became marketing tools, and it worked. People who aren't as savvy on the subject ate it up, and Harley specifically is now nearly as well known as Batman himself. Not because of a good movie, but because she was a carefully planned marketing tool.

Star Wars, my personal favourite franchise, is another strong example of the main stream's hand essentially fucking up something awesome. I’m not going to say that the new movies are awful. They’re being guided by the experienced hands of Disney, and that means they have all the money in the world to make the movies looks great. Unfortunately, even with such a hefty financial backing there is a clear lack of care going in to the films.

You don’t even need to try hard to support that argument. There has been a Star Wars movie every year for the last three years, and we can expect two more years of this trend. The movies keep coming out, because they make money. The obvious abuse of a beloved franchise is something that doesn’t sit well with me.

In geek culture, we love shit. We value well crafted characters, stories, and worlds. That’s what makes us tick. It’s what spawns the rabid fanaticism in us. That wouldn’t exist if the content was churned out by faceless corporations. If you want us to be passionate, throw the same passion in to the work. Otherwise, we were abused through our younger years so some big wigs can get some money, and all of our favourite things can be turned in to merch pushing machines. And honestly, if you’re okay with that, I’m coming for your geek card. It’s probably a fake anyway.

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Shane Gordon is a father, geek, and rage-aholic. He likes video games, comic books, and tends to hate long walks on the beach. Considering himself a swiss-army knife of writing, he plans on freelancing as a career, just so he can call himself a word mercenary.

Powerbombs and Moonsaults: Why Professional Wrestling is Awesome

“You know it’s fake right?” This is often the first line you get when you let slip to someone that you enjoy professional wrestling. And the answer is that of course I know it’s fake. But here’s my question in return. Why should that matter? People like The Game of Thrones, they enjoy the Simpsons.

Professional wrestling is a dirty secret for me. I’ve enjoyed it since I was a child, and I’ve only ever stopped enjoying it for small periods throughout my life. Even being a life-long fan I still feel the need to hide it. It’s fake; it’s over the top, it’s a bunch of large dudes, often in little tights, beating each other up while crowds of people watch. It’s an easy target to scrutinize.

On the surface, I will admit that wrestling could be off-putting. But there are hundreds, thousands, if not millions of pro-wrestling fans all around the world. WrestleMania, the biggest show, put on by the biggest name in wrestling, regularly breaks attendance records at the venues it visits. If it can pull so many people to watch it must be doing something right. And to quote current Ring of Honour champion Cody Rhodes, “wrestling has never been cooler.”

Wrestling last saw a surge in popularity in the mid-1990s, which was the era that gave us Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, two of the most widely popular stars the industry has ever produced. Since those days though, the popularity dropped. People became more interested in real sports, specifically the UFC, which many people felt more palatable than the ‘fake’ pro-wrestling.

I never thought this comparison was fair. The products aren’t the same, pure and simple. UFC is a promotion that puts all MMA (mixed martial arts) fights. This, of course, is real, requiring years of training, and unscripted victors. Wrestling, on the other hand, is more athletic performance. The actions itself is very real, but the victories, storylines and personalities are widely scripted. This is where most people take issue, but it's exactly why fans enjoy it.

Wrestling matches, and the feuds that form their framework are carefully crafted stories. They tell tales on underdogs, returning heroes, dastardly villains. They use the lives of professional athletes as inspiration, and use them to form dramatic tales of conquest, defeat, love, and betrayal. Overall, it’s eclectic, and the stories that have been told seem endless. Sometimes they can be campy, but it’s not the story that truly matters, it’s how the performers tell it.

The hardest thing for people to grasp is that these stories are mostly communicated within the ring. The shifting momentum of matches is carefully timed. They use their bodies to put on dramatic displays that are often framed in the good vs. evil. If you pay attention and peel back the obvious layers of performance there is plenty to really sink your teeth in to.

For me though, the thrill has always been the athletic display. If you venture into the fringe of pro-wrestling, and watch more than the globally recognized WWE, you’ll find hundreds of independent promotions. It is in these companies that you’ll find the heart and soul of the industry. Men and women who have dedicated their lives to wrestling, and who constantly struggle to stay relevant.

This struggle pushes the performers on the independent scene to, try harder. The moves are more dynamic, the crowds more ravenous. It’s in this element where my fanaticism for wrestling really lives. It’s because of these companies, and the work currently being done in them that wrestling is in its current form. If naysayers just gave them a chance, then I think everyone could find something to love.

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Shane Gordon is a father, geek, and rage-aholic. He likes video games, comic books, and tends to hate long walks on the beach. Considering himself a swiss army knife of writing, he plans on freelancing as a career, just so he can call himself a word mercenary.

Get Out of Bed, You're Making Us All Look Bad

The idea that people born within the same decade can be defined and categorized based simply off when they were born has always been strange to me. Sure, they may share similar pop culture tastes and remember the same events, but does that really mean that their personalities line up? I am aware of the fact that personalities develop in part due to environment, but we talk about generations in the same way we talk about horoscopes (I could write a whole article based on how lame those are, but now is not the time).

The concept has been a major thorn for millennials so far. As the ones currently taking the reigns on the world, all eyes are on us. So far the scrutiny has been harsh and constant. We’re called lazy and entitled. For the most part, preceding generations don’t have much faith that we will be able to steer society in the right direction. Unfortunately, I can’t blame them for making those assumptions. We’ve basically hand-crafted the opinion for them. And as it always tends to be with millennials, the blame falls on the internet.

Through our love of social media, we have crafted and strengthened our generational stereotypes. We’ve made that picture all on our own. Whether it be riddled with jokes or not, this picture is what the other generations see. The internet is everywhere, and is used by most people every day. If you have elder relatives on your friends lists, they see every picture you like and see everything you share. Often that is the only medium they have to form their opinions on us. Personally, I see ‘memes’ every day of people exclaiming how they don’t want to ‘adult’ or that they just want to be at home in their pyjamas.

We all know that most of the things that get posted or shared on social media are riddled with hyperbole. But do our contemporaries understand this in the same way? When they post things, it is direct and to the point. Sure, they share memes to, but often it’s more sentimental. Posts about relatives, posts about religion and the occasional funny cat video. The older generations don’t have to worry about the internet shaping their image, they spent enough time without it that their generational identity was already set in stone.

Now, I’m not repeating the assumption that all millennials are lazy, entitled and self-centred. Quite the opposite, there have been articles written about how our generation is driving companies to think and work differently and have had an impact in plenty of fields. They also talk about how most millennials have very entrepreneurial attitudes in their work environments. But that’s not the public face we put forward. If we want to be taken more seriously now when we are entering the ‘real world’, then we need to put a little more thought in to how we present ourselves. We have the work ethic and the proper etiquette. There is evidence, a little bit of digging will bring it out, but why would anyone bother doing the research if they have a picture already in front of them?

For every silly little meme you post to social media, there’s got to be a story you can tell about things you’ve actually accomplished instead. Everyone has a life offline even though our peers say they really don't care to hear it. We should be using social media to talk about those lives. If you’re not using it to push yourself forward in the best way possible, then you’re only adding to the pile of negative criticism.

So instead of posting a meme, maybe post about what you are really doing. Talk about what you are doing at school, or the challenges you face at work. Post about your stance on politics or social matters that are close to you; do so in a way that conductive of a proper conversation. Screaming in people's faces for change often turns sour. Show people that we aren’t what they say we are. Show them that our generation should be taken seriously. Because our outward face makes it look like we’ve never outgrown our teen years. We are more than our pajamas and beds. And it’s about time we started to show the world that.

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Shane Gordon is a father, geek, and rage-aholic. He likes video games, comic books, and tends to hate long walks on the beach. Considering himself a swiss army knife of writing, he plans on freelancing as a career, just so he can call himself a word mercenary.