Geek

The purpose of the study, A Psychological Exploration of Engagement in Geek Culture, was to identify and understand why people participate in geek culture. Geek culture is defined as a subculture of enthusiasts that are interested in “obscure” media such as anime, sci-fi, and videogames. However, there are many faucets of the culture and it has become increasingly appealing to mainstream audiences, causing a greater shift in active engagement. Despite geek interests once being marginalized, events such as Comic Con and movies such as The Avengers have achieved monumental success in the past decade. The researchers theorized that were a specific set of reasons why people choose to engage in geek culture, and to understand why geek culture is…

When we think of the words nerd and geek, we think of a smart person with freckles and thick-framed glasses. They are usually bullied by the athletic people of a school and are at the lowest rung of the social ladder. But why do we also think about that same person being harmed and ridiculed? Why can’t we praise their intelligence and use it to improve our society? These questions are argued in Leonid Fridman’s “America Needs Its Nerds.” In order to do this, Fridman uses rhetorical strategies…

Introduction Geek culture is an arguably deviant subculture that originated from the term "geek," which was originally a pejorative term for a highly intellectual outcast. Nowadays geek culture refers to the subculture that surrounds activities such as collecting and reading comic books, participating in role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons, dressing up as an animal or superhero, boys enjoying the children’s television show “My Little Pony," and even just being…

The critically acclaimed show Freaks and Geeks is a shining example of a TV show that ended far too early. Freaks and Geeks was a show that captured the awkwardness of adolescence, as opposed to the romanticized and nostalgic view typically portrayed on TV. Shortly after Freaks and Geeks ended, a spiritual successor arose in the form of the show Undeclared, created by Judd Apatow, a producer of Freaks and Geeks. Where Freaks and Geeks was more drama than comedy, Undeclared was a lighthearted…

We have all heard a million times about nerds and geeks but do we actually know the meaning of those words? Leonid Fridman evokes his thoughts about America’s wrong ideology when referring to people who are fervent in achieving academic success. The author utilizes definition, comparison and contrast, and synecdoche in America Needs Its Nerds as rhetorical devices to rectify society’s view of nerds and geeks. Fridman includes the real definition of the word geek to make understandable how…

In a 1990 article published by the New York Times, “America Needs Its Nerds” by Leonid Fridman, Fridman argues that people that are intellectually curious are degraded and disrespected in America. If we do not begin to prioritize intellectualism, America as a country will not be able to keep up with the rest of the world. In the first section of the article, Fridman establishes that the terminology people in America use to refer to the intellectually curious is derogatory. Fridman references…

In his critical essay, “America Needs Its Nerds”, Leonid Fridman attacks the rampant anti-intellectualism in American pop culture through juxtaposition and rhetorical questions in order to reform the misdirected society into one that upholds “nerds” so that the country can be successful in its competition with foreign countries that already have that mindset. Furthermore, Fridman elaborates on the problem by demonstrating the derogative origin of “geek” and its unjust application to the…

When I was in middle school, there was a boy named Richard who would always pick on me and come up with names that were hurtful to me. One thing he would say was, “You’re such a nerd!” This offended me and made me feel self conscience because when I think of the word nerd, I think of someone who is socially awkward. The word nerd has two different meanings, one being, “a person considered to be socially awkward, boring, unstylish, etc.,” and the other being, “an intelligent but single-minded…

I am a huge, huge nerd. I’ve never cared about sports, or what’s hip now, or that cool new musician. I’m all about video games, particularly indie dungeon crawlers and first person shooters. I listen to old 80s rock and EDM music. My family and friends shaped me into this person, and they’re the reason there’s an essay here at all. Nerdiness runs in my blood. My Great-Grandfather played Legend of Zelda and Sims. My parents are therefore, of course, nerds. Different, and more old school, but…

Award-winning author and feminist Ursula K. Le Guin delivered a rhetorically complex speech to the Mills College graduating class of 1983, comprised almost entirely of women. Her speech came at a challenging time for women, as second-wave feminism began to dissolve into a myriad of disagreeing factions. The title of the speech, the “Left-Handed Commencement Address,” is a reference to her book The Left Hand of Darkness, which follows an androgynous race of space aliens. This foreshadows the…