LIFE

Examining the rise of nerd culture

Nerds have made their way into popular culture over recent years

JOSIE SCRATCHARD Life Editor

Not too long ago, a nerd was considered to be someone who read comic books, obsessed over “The Lord of the Rings” and spent afternoons at the arcade. Nerds were harassed constantly for their hobbies to the point that many kept them hidden. However, the last few decades have unraveled the seclusion of nerd culture, carrying these hobbies and subjects into mainstream territory for everyone to enjoy.

With the production of “Star Wars” (1977) and “Superman: The Movie” (1978), state-of-the-art computer-generated imagery (CGI) coupled with never-before-seen action sequences lured audiences of all different interests to the previously fabricated realm of nerdom.

As computers and other electronic devices entered into the equation, video games became a new force on the market. Consoles like the Nintendo NES and Atari took over household television auxiliary ports, blurring the lines of the common entertainment consumer and the traditional nerd. Nowadays, you can catch almost anyone planning to see the new Marvel movie on opening weekend, playing Xbox or geeking out over Star Wars Land — the stigma has diminished tremendously.

Mainstream media and popular culture both have played a large role in the popularization of traditionally nerdy activities. This makes them more palatable to the average person. After all, if Jason Mamoa is willing to put on tights to breathe life into the image of Aquaman, then there’s a supremely simple explanation as to why the masses are willing to herd in front of their screens.

As popular and beloved actors and actresses line up to portray characters from comic books and "nerdy" literature, nerd culture becomes permissible in society. There’s no denying the nerdy paradigm was one of a skinny boy with a collared shirt and glasses, so once that notion goes by the wayside, people are able to run rampant with their new, socially acceptable interests.

Although nerd culture has spread to the masses and become far less stigmatized, there are still elements that are vilified. Games like “Dungeons and Dragons” and “World of Warcraft” remain tethered to the image of the outcasted nerd, and the normal person can never dare to cross that threshold without fear of social defamation. Why is this the case?

Popular culture hasn’t even dared to touch the deeper dimensions of nerd culture. If the subject can’t be turned into a movie or show, it probably won’t ever be considered worthy outside the world of nerds.

Despite this, nerds don’t really seem to care. Many people who have found their place in nerd culture have become gatekeepers of their beloved hobbies.

For instance, many fans of Robert Jordan’s “The Wheel of Time” series hold it so close to their hearts that the thought of a production company attempting to create a television show fills them with disdain. Fans of the series believe the story shouldn’t be introduced to those who haven’t read it because they hold a strong sense of entitlement for their dedication to the series.

In fact, some nerds are so protective over their favorite stories and hobbies that they gatekeep them even when conversing with fellow nerds. They’ll ask them painfully specific questions regarding their knowledge of the nerdy topic in order to confirm their depth of interest in the subject.

What many nerds fail to realize is that if their activities were represented in popular culture and enjoyed by more people they would also become less stigmatized. More people would be accepting of — and even take part in — events like Comic-Con and the reading of comic books.

But maybe some elements of nerd culture are meant to be secluded from the majority of society. Maybe nerds like living in their sheltered world of hobbies because it is simpler than attempting to relate to those who simply “like” something instead of completely immersing themselves in it. Maybe nerd culture is destined to remain as such, instead of melding with popular culture.

Contact Josie Scratchard at scraja20@wfu.edu

Finding meaning in the unthinkable

ALLYSA SOLTREN

Staff Writer "But she’s so smart and hardworking." "But she has rosy cheeks and a soft, bright smile." "But we shared notes with each other in Anatomy class."

These were just a few waves of the tsunami of thoughts rushing through my head. They came after my sister checked her phone one summer afternoon and suddenly couldn’t stop saying, “holy s***.” Then she read the message to me. And just like that, my old classmate and friend was gone.

The next few hours of that day just went on. I messaged my other friends. My sister told our dad, who then came to me to ask if I knew anything. I had to tell my mom. Throughout all of this, a horrifying thought attempted to break loose.

When I received another message from my friend who had found out more, this thought was set free to rampage throughout my mind and memories. She made an attempt on her own life, and she couldn’t escape it this time. Reading the details made me think more of her mother. I wasn’t there, but I could clearly hear the screaming and sobbing.

The very next day, I heard a song in the mall that was painfully ironic in both its message and its reminder of her. The day after that, I realized that I had never considered that my first high school reunion would be at a funeral. The sight of her released a whirlwind of emotions, most notably anger, but I still don’t know to this day whom I was angry at.

We offered our condolences and any other words we could muster to her family, and then we had to leave. I had to get myself ready to move back onto campus for my second year of college.

I took a picture of her with me. My Notes app was filled with as many details I could remember about her over the course of 12 years. I became more motivated to pay extra attention in Abnormal Psychology class, and not just because I had declared Psychology as my major.

I researched bipolar disorder. Constant doubts nagged me about whether I deserved to call her my friend. I wrote a letter to her mother. I haven’t yet experienced a day where she didn’t cross my mind. There are pieces of her everywhere, like in the studious enthusiasm of a classmate, the sweet intonation of a passing girl’s voice or in the blonde fade of another girl’s hair.

But none of these things could reverse what had already happened.

Mental Health Week took place this past week. It certainly felt a bit different for me this year than it did last year. This time, the little colored flags so carefully arranged in Tribble Courtyard meant something else. My friend’s death became one of those orange flags, but according to the sign, she was only one of a thousand college students within that flag.

And there were hundreds of orange flags. I wondered how many of them were planted thanks to social and academic pressures on top of pre-existing mental illnesses.

When I visited her social media account, I wasn’t there to unfollow. I just wanted to look around and know more about what she enjoyed. That’s how I found the location tag of one of her posts, titled “Somewhere in Time.”

I realized that she was right. Somewhere in time, we’re acting out a made-up story on the playground. Somewhere in a classroom, we’re racing each other to finish a math problem first. Somewhere else, we’re posing together in our graduation gowns for our mothers who take an exorbitant amount of pictures.

With every accomplishment and kind remark, she made sure that she was a crucial part of the timelines of so many family members, friends and teachers.

Society needs to pay more attention. The suicide rate of adolescents and young adults has been on the rise, resulting in the alarming amount of orange flags and perpetually swollen red eyes of parents.

All of these people should have had more time to journey through life. There were more goals to achieve and new ideas to consider and cultivate. There were other people for them to discover and share a world with. So many things were lost along with my friend’s passing, but her true legacy should not be how she left the world.

She was a wonderful person who loved good things and was desperate to escape the immense pressure and pain. Her joy, virtues and desires are what we should bring to other people who need it.

Even though she’s no longer here, she can still help others stay around if only we learn how to help. We need more conversations and understanding, more research and solutions, more remembrances and preventions. So I’ll continue to remember things like her warm brown eyes, her love for Disney songs and her dream to become a teacher.

I don’t want the lights within to be extinguished too soon for anyone else.

National Suicide Prevention Hotline:

1-800-273-8255

Crisis Text Line:

741741

University Counseling Center Crisis Assistance:

336-758-5273

THE HOT LIST

"TOP 10 INTROSPECTIVE NOVELS" BY MARYAM KHANUM

1 . 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

"Nausea" by Jean Paul Sarte

"Ward No. 6 (and other stories)" by Anton Chekhov

"Killing Commendatore" by Haruki Murakami

"Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka

"No Exit" by Jean Paul Sarte

"The Mandarins" by Simone de Beauvoir

"The Trial" by Fyodor Dostoevsky

"The Third Policeman" by Flan O' Brien

"Travels with My Aunt" by Graham Greene

Dealing with existentialism in college

SELINNA TRAN

Sometimes, I look out at the night sky and try to count each individual freckle of the night sky — the stars. Like freckles on a face, some are smaller than others, and some are more concentrated in one spot.

The current topic for my Earth science course is exploring the formation of the Earth and the vast unknown that is our universe. Humanity is currently learning just how insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. We are merely a speck, or even smaller when put into perspective of the entire world of space.

It’s hard not to get existential when exploring such concepts that question the significance of one’s being. I do not believe that questions of how, why and what will ever be answered in regards to our place in the universe. And honestly, I don’t really want to know.

Even when I look out into the sky and see the nothingness beyond the stars that go far beyond what my eyes could ever see, I do not feel any smaller in my position outside of Magnolia Residence Hall.

In fact, I feel more alive.

The cold and vast expanse that is our universe should pare down the magnitude of my place on Earth, but yet, I feel only empowered knowing that we exist. We exist out of rare chance, or because of some intelligent creator, or whatever one may believe, but we are here.

That is why our Earth, the space, our universe, is just so beautiful — to a point that is indescribable, and it is hard to depict this emotion without becoming pretentious (which I fear this rambling of an article is already heading toward).

I suppose that the purpose of this article is to mainly share that life may not be as hard as we make it out to be, because we are miracles that exist in space. Or maybe, life is just as hard — maybe even harder — than we consider it to be, because even as a speck, we feel every emotion of pain, pleasure, anger, regret and more with an even higher magnitude.

It is hard to be a college student — living and interacting in so many circles while simultaneously figuring out exactly what we want to do as our looming graduation date comes around. Sometimes these thoughts get so overwhelming that I just shut them out and take things one step at a time.

When I look out at the night sky — at all the stars and galaxies beyond ours — I am able to ground myself in these swirling thoughts and find a sense of peace. I look at the moon, a symbol in so many fables, stories and cultures to represent or signify many things, but most often a feminine presence of life, death and the cycle that connects them.

Maybe there is something there — in the vast night sky — that could resonate with the weary mind of a college student.

Contact Selinna Tran at

Wes Anderson Was Snubbed

ADAM COIL Life Editor

Across:

1. Put this on some pizza and you have a 2022 Best Picture Nominee 5. Like the one about Gilgamesh 6. The author behind “Drive My Car” who loves cats and Shinjuku Station 10. Before; to Shakespeare 12. Frolics energetically 13. Corn goes on this 14. They can be birds or fruits 15. Miley Cyrus had a party in here 27. He covered GQ this month

Down:

1. What you hit a baseball with, in an off-putting green color 2. I See You 3. Jason Bateman stars in this drug-feueled Netflix drama 4. “The Power of the Dog” director 5. Pretty colors? 7. Orange-colored Amur carp 8. America’s Most Wanted; abbr. 9. It’s out of this world! abbr. 11. Brave bus boycott catalyst