I'm curious about the nerd. Have been for a while now. I'm interested in the nerd as symbol for all kinds of outsiders. So is Benjamin Nugent. The man responsible for this book:
American Nerd: A History of My People
Aside from some interesting observations about D&D and Creative Anachronists and Polygamists (the examination of nerdishness is refreshingly broad and open to application) Nugent gets down to the details of how the term 'nerd' is being deployed in culture today. And the answer is: every one is doin' it. (Well, with the exception of anyone still young enough to be sensitive to the title). Here's one little sample of what I'm talking about. Check this excerpt from Ben's book. Read it and enjoy the photos of Williamsburg hipsters who have invested in the worlds most heinous eyewear in order to connote how truly 'un-hip' they are. I seriously love this whole "ugly is the new pretty" look - if by love you understand that I mean I both love it and find it slightly sick-making (like donuts or fairy floss or red fizzy drinks). [And on that whole 'ugly is pretty' schtick, I suppose we could look to Ugly Betty, too as an example of the new fashionability of the nerd. Certainly the glasses and the cardigans fit the nerdy bill.]
And another thing: fascinating that hyperwhite is the new black. Like it's all white irony, or something. "White" in inverted commas. It's all starting to go a bit David Foster Wallace at this point - though the notion that irony, nerdism, and whiteness all sit together somehow seems... right somehow. At least in this post-hipster era. And hey, if Weird Al is on the bandwagon appropriating Chamillionaire the white/nerdy/ironic thesis would seem to write itself...
[And hey what of the Revenge of the Nerds premise that the Nerds must join forces with the other outcasts, black/gay men in order to successfully be recognised by the jock-ruling forces of campus life?]
Somethings don't need analysis, however, and this is pure pleasure of ubernerd proportions. Check out Bill Murray and Gilda Radner on SNL as Todd and Lisa.
