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IT’S CHIC TO BE A GEEK

Surely, as long as the world has revolved there have been certain groups who have been derided, sniggered at, cast aside from cliques and generally occupied the lower end of the league table of cool. By most, such social inadequates are collectively labelled ‘geeks’.

Yet now it seems that the bookworm has turned. 2008 may well go down in pop culture history as the year of the geek, perhaps somewhat fittingly at the very time when as a city, we’re all just that little bit switched on to the finer things in life, something slightly more highbrow than we’re used to.

In a range of influential circles, what was deemed achingly hip a matter of months back, is now just so passé, darling – geek chic is where it’s at. Look at the happenings on catwalks and the high street alike with guys being kitted out in tight fitting cardigans, checked shirts and skinny ties while schoolgirl style blazers and floral patterns-a-plenty abound for the ladies. For the few rock ‘n’ roll hell raisers that persist in the music industry, there are most likely hundreds of musicians who are more refined – and as a result, knock together much better songs whilst sipping a cup of Earl Grey (well maybe not, but the scenario is rather endearing if not just amusing). And even Hollywood is getting in on the act. While we’ve always had a soft spot for the eccentric, the left of centre and the hopelessly bumbling underdog here in the U.K, the US has unrelentingly celebrated the all American man, the undeniably macho beefcake whose muscles often speak louder and more comprehensible than the subject themselves. If you’ve ever seen just a snippet of almost any Arnie movie you’ll know what I mean. Yet now more noticeably than ever the invasion of the geek has taken hold with the traditional leading man being passed over in favour of the intellectually superior and lovable losers done good – observe the heroes of the influx of new U.S shows such as Chuck, Reaper and The Big Bang Theory as well as modern nerd classics Napoleon Dynamite and Superbad.

While it’s all well and good for fickle fashionistas and fictional characters, will it ever truly be the case that it’s good to be a geek in a self-conscious society where each of us is seemingly scrutinised for every step we take, what we’re seen to be into or otherwise not? What about us teenage (or twenty-something) dirtbags in the real world who try to come off as effortlessly cool when really we’d much rather be wallowing in weird and wonderful indulgences that we feel the need to hide from the world for fear of slipping down on the social scale?

Firstly, it’s time to dispel the stereotypes. Sure enough, mention the terms ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’ to almost anyone and you’ll find yourself transported to a world inhabited by volumes of never-ending and sometimes complicated literature, masses of intricate hi-tech gadgets and connoisseurs of fields such as Science, Maths and I.T (I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, guys). Oh, and not to mention they’ll all be wearing glasses. Yes, we might as well call it cliché central. Being well-versed isn’t a sign of stuffiness – sifting through stacks of books is time well spent, although having trawled through the equivalent of an African rainforest in the past eight months or so you’d be forgiven for wanting to take a short break. Computers are hardly the domain of just the ‘traditional’ geek anymore. OK, so most of us wouldn’t have a clue about operating systems or reprogramming but there’s plenty who have a bordering-on-unhealthy fixation with computer games – queuing at midnight to get your hands on Grand Theft Auto 4, anyone? - injured themselves while too enthusiastically playing Wii tennis, boxing or football or get click-happy changing their Facebook status every five minutes and joining pointless groups to declare love for all kinds of randomness (something I hold my hands up to…80-odd groups and counting, 95% of which do little more than qualify to marginally define my existence). And regarding the whole image matter, I can say that the old adage ‘guys don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses’ is quite frankly, a load of rubbish. Both girls and boys who sport spectacles appear smart and sexy – the whole peering-over-the-top-of-your-specs-seductively thing does work.

More to the point, deep down surely there’s an element of geekiness in us all. Whether it can be thought of as conventionally mainstream or altogether more quirky, if you’ve got an all-encompassing obsession about something close to your heart then congratulations!…you can officially call yourself a geek. It doesn’t matter if you’re a comic book lover or have a passion for re-enacting historical battles, whether you’re a football fanatic or if you can recite every line and dance step from Dirty Dancing – we’re all one and the same. Just one word of warning however – while it’s a great thing to be enthusiastic about something, make sure you know when to bring it to a halt. As I’m sure other English students will agree, we can have a tendency to be perhaps just a tad critical when it comes to language usage. To defend our corner, we do have good intentions – we’re just so passionate about the English language, damn it, that we want to share the delights of prepositional clauses and the like with everyone around us.

However when that pedantic instinct starts kicking in and you find yourself correcting your housemates on their multiple negatives, you’ll find yourself out on the streets quicker than you can say ‘i before e, except after c’. In short, nobody likes a smart arse. Also some things are really best reserved for the pub trivia knowledge bank – no matter how much you find a capacity to soak up information about the mating rituals of various species of animal deeply impressive, it’s unlikely to have the desired effect upon any object of love or lust. The only guaranteed fact is that your own mating ritual will be rendered immediately ineffectual. But don’t despair – I have it on good authority (well, my own personal opinion) that there’s something hugely attractive about a guy in touch with his inner geek. For starters, it’s always helpful to be able to hold an intelligent conversation minus the aid of intoxicants but also there’s something utterly adorable about the humble, vulnerable and slightly awkward as opposed to puffing out the chest and acting hard as nails. Just think of a modern prince amongst geeks if you will, surely the blueprint for all big and small screen nerds alike – Mr. Seth Cohen.

In the glory days of the Orange County, I know I’d much rather have Seth cracking some witty remark in the face of adversity than have Ryan go all fists of fury. And another thing – some of the most remarkable chat up lines you will ever hear originate from the world of the geek. Just try not to be swept off your feet by a line like ‘I wish I was your derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves’…tons better than the usual ‘Alright love, do you come here often?’ Either that or being treated to the recital of some poetry – don’t even pretend that it wouldn’t get your pulse racing. And boys, if you’re lucky, then you might get an answer of ‘Is that a Casio fx-9750G in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?’ So why not geek out every now and again? And remember – we were uncool before being uncool was cool. Oh yeah.

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