Age of the geek : depictions of nerds and geeks in popular media
This collection examines the nerd and/or geek stereotype in popular culture today. Utilizing the media--film, TV, YouTube, Twitter, fiction--that often defines daily lives, the contributors interrogate what it means to be labeled a "nerd" or "geek." While the nerd/geek that is so easily recognized now is assuredly a twenty-first century construct, an examination of the terms' history brings a greater understanding of their evolution. From sports to slasher films, Age of the Geek establishes a dialogue with texts as varied as the depictions of "nerd" or "geek" stereotypes
1 online resource (305 pages)
9783319657448, 3319657445
1009181167
Preface
Contents
Editor and Contributors
Chapter 1 How Was the Nerd or Geek Born?
Bibliography
Part I What Did You Call Me?: Defining Geekdom
Chapter 2 A Nerd, a Geek, and a Hipster Walk into a Bar
I Am a Nerd (Just Not That Kind?)
The D4
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
You Say That, Like It's a Bad Thing
6F6273657373696F6E0D0A (Obsession)
Studying Never Stops
Oversharing
Mimicry
The Spectrum
Geek vs Nerd (Round 1)
Geek vs Nerd (Round 2)
Social Lubrication and Niche Populations
Green 10 ForwardSocially Awkward, Party of One
Beards, Scarves, and Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR)
Identity on My Sleeves, or Why Hipsters Ruin Everything
Costume Pieces
Gift Wrap
Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Neighbors' Social Acceptance
A Little Too Ironic?
Bibliography
Chapter 3 Mediagasms, Ironic Nerds, and Mainstream Geeks: A Multimethodological Ideographic Cluster Analysis of and on Twitter
Ideographs
Versus : A Diachrony
Twitter and Method
Analyses
Chi-Square Results Ideographic Cluster Co-occurrence Analysis ResultsMedia-Related Slippage
Conclusion
Bibliography
Chapter 4 Changing Faces: Exploring Depictions of Geeks in Various Texts
Bibliography
Part II In or Out?: Defending Nerddom
Chapter 5 Geek Metafiction: Nerds, Footnotes, and Intertextuality
A Working Definition
Super Nerds and Secret Geeks
On Footnotes and Beyond
Intertextuality as Hypertext and Hypertext as Intertextuality
Post-Apocalyptic
Bibliography Chapter 6 Ich Bin Ein Nerd!: Geek Identity in Insider and Outsider Media Bibliography
Chapter 7 Geek Is the New Jock: The Relationship Between Geek Culture and Sports
Bibliography
Chapter 8 Geeking Out and Hulking Out: Toward an Understanding of Marvel Fan Communities
Bibliography
Part III I Saw It on TV: Depictions of Other Nerd/Geek Stereotypes on Television
Chapter 9 How Is It Okay to Be a Black Nerd?
Bibliography
Chapter 10 That Geek Look: Beauty and the Female Geek Body
The Binary Problem of the Big Bang Theory Spencer Reid V. Penelope Garcia: The Geek on the Team V. the Geek on the (Computer) ScreenDoctor Who and the Regeneration of Female Companions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Chapter 11 Modern Nerd: Alex Dunphy and Growing Up Geeky in Modern Family
Not a Family Affair
Girls Who Wear Glasses
Beyond the Screen
Bibliography
Part IV I Am A Nerd!: Depictions of the Nerd/Geek Stereotype on Film
Chapter 12 From Zero to Hero and Back Again: Nerd Nobodies, Magic Makeovers, and the Power of the American Dream in Four Teen Films