‘Nerd’ culture has become part of the mainstream
Judd Apatow, director of blockbuster comedies such as Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Knocked Up, and Step Brothers, once said: “Eventually, the nerds and the geeks will have their day.”
It might be argued that day is today.
For those who grew up in in the ’80s, being a nerd was, well, nerdy. The term itself was derogatory – a putdown. It was one of the last things you’d want to be called.
Today, the term is worn like a badge of honor. The “nerds” are winning. The three richest Americans have all had the nerd honorific applied to them: Mark Zuckerberg famously started Facebook on his dorm room computer. He now has a net worth of $185.4 billion. Jeff Bezos graduated summa cum laude from Princeton with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He’s worth$196.7 billion. The world’s richest person, Elon Musk, was accepted into a PhD program in materials science at Stanford. He left early to participate in the digital revolution and, eventually, spaceships and electric cars. He now has a net worth of $248.6 billion.
It doesn’t stop there. Hollywood found the nerds and now the highest grossing movies are all decidedly nerdy. The top seven highest-grossing movies of all time are Avatar, Avengers: Endgame,
Avatar: The Way of Water, Titanic, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. With the exception of Titanic, they all target the self-proclaimed geeks and nerds.
The nerds, so to speak, are now out in the open and proud of their nerd culture. Stirling Knight, known around Augusta as DJ Knightmare, takes no shame in declaring his nerd bona fides.
“I’m into nerd stuff… comic books, video games, anime, y’know, classic nerd stuff,” he said.
He said it all started when his high school friends put him on Dragonball Z, which he called “the gateway drug.”
“I couldn’t wait to get home at 5 to watch.”
He’s not alone. Nerd-focused events are common not only in our area, but nationwide. Comic-Con, a convention celebrating comics and associated cultural touchstones, has become a wildly popular event, and is regularly attended by Hollywood heavy hitters promoting science fiction, fantasy, and comic book movies and television series. Comic-Con International in San Diego has an annual attendance of 125,000 and tickets sell out within a day of going on sale.
There are also anime conventions, sci-fi conventions, horror conventions – the list goes on and on. Dragon-Con, established in 1987, draws more than 80,000 fans annually to Atlanta.
Augusta has also embraced nerd culture. The annual Harry Potter Pub Crawl, anime clubs, game nights, and local conventions have become part of the cultural landscape. Robert Temenak is excited to have witnessed the rise of nerd culture throughout the years.
Robert opened Cardboard Castle Games with his friend Nate Sanders 10 years ago, and it has become a sort of nerd haven. Robert says the inclusion of nerd culture in pop culture has resulted in a little more curiosity in his shop, particularly after Stranger Things featured Dungeons and Dragons.
There are also some celebrities that have popularized D&D: Vin Diesel, Joeseph Gordon-Levett, The Rock, Aubrey Plaza, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck are just a few of many celebrities who have rolled the dice and let their nerd flag fly.
Augusta University held its own Jag-Con event this year. It drew around 500 students who could join D&D games and get their own 3D printed Jaguar mascot playing piece.
Temenak attributes the inclusivity, community, and accessibility of Dungeons & Dragons to its rising popularity.
“All you need is one set of dice and an imagination to get started,” he said.
Nerd culture is all around us. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, The Walking Dead… all these things were born in nerd culture and not only made it into the mainstream but dominated their respective mediums. Those kids that might have made fun of a young man’s affection for dragons are now eagerly anticipating the next season of House of the Dragon.
And the geek shall inherit the Earth.