The Mainstream Nerd And Post-Counterculture Dilemmas

After introducing a good friend to Nerdist this week, I've been going back, and more thoroughly, through all things Chris Hardwick: the Nerdist podcast, All Star Celebrity Bowling, and @midnight; and something interesting popped out at me. Nerd culture is going thru some growing pains and Chris Hardwick in many ways is helping people get through it.

What Makes Chris Hardwick so great is how into things he gets, but also how willing he is to talk about real issues and emotions. Just take his recent podcast with Bob Sagat. Hardwick and Sagat go back and forth between dirty comedy and true feelings about death. And this isn't a one time thing. Hardwick can have a show that is almost pure comedy and another that is incredibly earnest, because that's how he is. This can feel rare in the era of irony. As Hardwick explains himself, a major problem with 'hipsters' is that they aren't willing to show how into things they really are. It feels safer to like things ironically than make a stand for something you love even if people don't agree.

(Try to ignore the shiny suit over there--a suit he sadly can't blame on irony. While nerds are not well known for fashion, Hardwick is usually well dressed, I swear.)

Since watching and listening to all things Nerdist this week, I came across an interesting quote from an NPR story on Hardwick where he talks about how nerd culture has a dark side, one where some nerds are harsh toward Hardwick because he doesn't fully fit the stereotype. As other media stories have noted, Hardwick is charming and not socially awkward, he's fit and good looking, he's a man unafraid to hug and show feelings, and he's dating a former model and fellow nerd who's almost half his age. My fellow thirty something friend was a smidge disappointed in his relationship's age difference--I believe icked out is the technical term-- and I said, 'Because you wouldn't date a smart, nerdy, 25 year old former model?' Her response, 'Good point.'  

But back to what the dark side of nerdism, my Nerdist week has made me think about how nerd culture, now firmly part of the mainstream, falls victim to the same problems as other social cultures when a counterculture moves from the shadows to the spotlught. Nerds who aren't getting attention get mad at sellouts and posers, and generally have problems that face any counterculture when it suddenly becomes accepted, even highlighted, by mainstream culture and media.

This may seem like a stretch, but this reminds me of 90s west coast grunge and punk. I'm reading a book on the Riot Grrrl movement and last week was the 20th anniversary (such a weird term in this context) of Kurt Cobain's death. Cobain was intertwined with the Riot Grrrl movement. He dated a member of Bikini Kill, Tobi Vail, and another member and friend to him, Kathleen Hanna, who drunkenly wrote on his wall one night 'Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit.' Well, when Kurt Cobain was signed to Sub Pop Record he was cast out of the DIY punk scene in Olympia, WA. His friends were openly disappointed with where Nirvana was headed and refused to let him come back and play a festival in Olympia even when he asked to. Considering how his life ended up, I wonder what would have been different if his fame had been more accepted and he'd remained friends with people that scene instead of say, marrying the volatile Courtney Love. Anyhow, I'm totally not saying Chris Hardwick is Kurt Cobain--for one he doesn't seem to be addicted to heroin--but I'm just noting that the idea that an underground culture distrusts those who make it big is not new. It's older than a folk singer suddenly amplifying his sound.

Another thing that the combo of watching Nerdist and reading about Riot Grrrl has made me consider, is how nerd culture has yet to really tackle sexism. They haven't because they were all downtrodden, but now some are more downtrodden than others. Now that there is spotlight on nerd culture, well, the times they are a changing. Take the PAX/Dickwolf rape controversy of 2010, 2011, and again in 2013. In short, the website Penny Arcade had a stupid dick, rape joke which became a merchandized as a t-shirt and which set off a long contoversy. Now 1) it's pretty hard to pull off a rape joke ever, but also 2) the interesting problem really occurred after some female nerds came forward to explain why this rape joke could and does upset some women. It was then when sexist hate came flooding toward these outspoken nerd women both from those with a keyboard and the internet and those in charge of Penny Arcade. People got angry, people got defensive, people got mean, and a bunch of women publicly declared they were boycotting PAX. It became clear to those paying attention to the controversy that it showed that nerd culture really hadn't given a lot of thought to issues of sexism beyond whether video games and comic books overly sexualized women--the answer is yes, they do, though I'm personally partial to Wolverine's bulging six pack.

Back to my the bigger point though, the best part of nerds is a how much they love, but it can also be the worst part. They can be rabid and they can be exclusive. It's not enough just to be a fangirl or fanboy, it's gotta be done 'right' otherwise you risk labeled the Worst. Nerd. Ever. And in that way, nerds are like any other counter culture that becomes mainstream, they are trying to navigate how to keep their street cred while their album goes platinum. And it's hard, because no matter how true, no one wants to hear someone say 'I was a nerd before it was cool!'

Chris Hardwick in many ways represents a big change in the comedy and nerd landscape. Many of the guests on his shows are hilarious and awesome women, not to mention ethnically diverse no matter the sex or gender. In sum, Chris Hardwick is what mainstream nerd culture needs, someone who is proud of their interests, who doesn't fit the media's nerd stereotypes, and someone who, without fanfare, normalizes the diversity of what it means to be a nerd. Kudos, Nerdist!

And now, because I believe this is exactly the right post to mention this: how lame it is that Wonder-Con seem to be making a permanent move south?! #WTF #FML #norcalnerd