Nerd Culture 101

Nerd Culture 101

By Brenna Roberts, Grade 11

        Welcome, all of you, to Nerd Culture 101. This will be a weekly article, and if planned correctly, will be published on the same day every week.

      To start off, let me tell you what you can expect from my articles. Each week, I will be covering a different fandom, with info on: what you can expect from fans, how to become a fan, my own opinions/reviews, and fun facts. If I’m not a part of the fandom, I am very sorry, but I don’t feel I could write an article on it and do it justice (I wouldn’t want to offend any of you!). Maybe I will have guest writers for those ones...

      Things you can expect me to get into include movies, TV shows, video games, comics, books, scientific stuff, etc, etc. You get the picture. Also, at the end of each article, there will a number of countdowns for release dates of awesome things. Like the Hobbit. And maybe nerd music (timelord rock :P). And maybe a quote, because why not?

So now that you know what to expect, I would like to share with all of you what a nerd really is. Here is the definition from the urban dictionary:

      “Someone who enjoys learning and obtaining new information in general for its own sake, often without discrimination to different areas of knowledge. The key to recognizing a nerd is if they are completely indifferent to the application of what they learn; they are not inherently inclined to use or not to use the information. Someone who is a nerd could also be a geek, who is passionate about highly specific interests, or a dork, who is a social outcast, but they do not have to be.”

      So, contrary to popular belief, ‘nerd’ isn’t a derogatory term. We acknowledge that we’re fanatical, insane, and smart. But we’re a family. Nerds can bond and become solid friends in under a minute over one thing in common; a fandom. What other clique can boast that?

John Green (author of the Fault in Our Stars) has a famous quote, that I think sums up nerds perfectly:

            “Nerds, like us, are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff. Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like, jump-up-and-down-in-your-chair-can’t-control-yourself-LOVE IT. When people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is “you like stuff.” Which is not a good insult at all. Like you’re too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness.”

So don’t knock being a nerd. We’re smart, and we’re not afraid to show it. We are passionate, and enthusiastic, and we look after our own- we’re a family. And if you make fun of us for having a hard time believing that our fandoms are fictional, we may be forced to resort to violence. Just kidding! Probably...

UPDATES!

· 8 days until Mists of Pandaria

· 10 days until The Casual Vacancy, by J.K. Rowling,

· 20 days until Pokémon Black/White 2,

· 88 days until The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,

· 417 days until Thor: The Dark World,

· 452 day until the Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,

· 564 days until Captain America: The Winter Soldier (The Starks would love this guy...),

· 669 days until The Hobbit: There and Back Again,

· 956 days until the Avengers 2,

· And at least 12 years until the next season of Sherlock. Because Moffat likes to put us through pain and agony on a daily basis. But we love him anyway.

Quote of the day! “This drink, I like it! ANOTHER!!”

~Thor

Nerd Music! This week’s suggestion is Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls. If you have to ask what fandom that is you shouldn’t be listening to it.