William Morales
The Story of Geek
Digital Media and Society
Mondays and Thursdays 9:50–11:10
Evolution is a tremendous theory to understand. The idea that a living being could form adaptations over time to ensure the survival of its species. Every single living thing has gone through evolution since as far as we can go back. Evolution usually relates to living organisms that can evolve itself. But technology and terminology also have the ability to grow and conquer, but only with the assistance of humans and ideas.
So many words and terms we still use in our everyday conversations have been composed from similar words hundreds of years ago. The word and definition will be tinkered with, but the original meaning usually stays part of the current meaning.
The word “Gecken”, which was used way back in the 1500s, was used to describe a person who was a circus freak. They are comparable to court jesters, except that they would bite off the heads of chickens. This ridiculous insult has been transformed into the very common word “Geek”. We know geeks as nerdy, tech-savvy people who are usually invested heavily into a certain field. This field can be comic books, glee club, music, video games, and more. “Now, at worst, it’s used to describe someone who’s maybe a little too into comic books or tech.” This word has had an unbelievable life span and has miraculously evolved for the better.
Between the 1500s and the current day the word geek has been through a plethora of definition switches. It started as the priorly discussed definition of a circus freak. In the 1950s, however, it finally made its first transformation. The Oxford English Dictionary defined it as “An overly diligent, unsociable student; any unsociable person obsessively devoted to a particular pursuit.” This definition was surrounded by a negative connotation, and calling somebody a geek would be taken as a harsh insult. Most of the definitions between the 1950s and the late 90s described a geek as someone outside of “normalcy”; basically saying they are either strange or too devoted to their work and studies.
In the 90s, the expression “geeking out” was born. If somebody said you “geek out” they meant you were studying a ridiculous amount and that you were trying hard. In the 1930s, the phrase “geeking out” was used, which meant you were losing your nerve. It was usually associated with weakness and failure.
The current definition of Geek is “a person who is very interested in computers or science” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. We use it in a much kinder way now, and usually use it to describe someone who is into computers or highly interested in one specific field. It is used more in a joking-friendly context.
Current celebrities are highly involved with the word geek. The way that millions of people “fangirl” or “fanboy” over celebrities could be considered geeking. These people are obsessed and are overly passionate about a single thing and think about it everyday. They also search the web constantly about them and love to talk about them. This is partially involved with being a geek. Harry Styles is a great current example of a geek and an example of someone who is fangirled over heavily. The strange style he dresses in and his passion for music could classify him as a hardcore musical geek. And all of the people who fantasize over him and are obsessed with every breath he takes are geeks for him.
Another very unknown Geek is the well-known, fantastic Leonardo Dicaprio. Dicaprio is secretly a HUGE Star Wars fan and an action figure collector; two PRIME hobbies that classify him as a current day geek. His collection includes tons of Star Wars figurines, some Planet of the Apes Figurines, and many more. “DiCaprio collects other action figures as well, including characters from E.T., 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes and The A-Team, not to mention a rare 1982 He-Man figurine.” Comic Book and Action Figure collecting are huge parts to being a geek. Leonardo Dicaprio being a geek proves that some of the most respected and famous people love to be geeks and everyone should understand the idea.
Geek-life is a huge part of your social and online identity. Being a geek is less of an adjective and opinion, and much more of a lifestyle or a passion. Most people that are geeks would most likely accept that they are geeks, rather than be offended by the term. In high schools, kids in the band are identified as band geeks because they love what they do and consistently work on it each day. This real-life, social identity is also easily transferable to your online identity. On instagram, if you post about your geek hobbies than your online identity is changed forever. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is classified under the fitness geek category for how much he posts about working out.
“You’re every bit as much a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop. To start thinking like your own favorite brand manager, ask yourself the same question the brand managers at Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop ask themselves: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different?” Dwayne Johnson has created and self-built his brand which involves being the geek he is.
One of the other concepts we studied in class was social media and sitting behind our screens. The beautifully written article “My So-Called (Instagram) Life” gives life to the meaning of being a geek in the more negative meaning. The author feels almost trapped in her computer, stuck behind a social wall that isn’t the real her. “I thought every day about peeling back that mask, but I couldn’t; the girl it represented was everywhere, and I feared that her insides were completely mechanized.” The Tech-savviness to the story shows how social media can make us into unsociable beings that nobody is interested in. Some geeks feel that being cooler online will raise their standards in real life, but this New York Times article begs to differ.
Many social media jobs require us to be geeks and is something that should be considered acceptable. Social media is constantly getting bigger and greater as each passing day goes by. Geeking out on social media is a massive thing. The absurd amount of hours we will spend scrolling down twitter or watching Tiktoks would be considered geeking out and over-using technology. The term can be used in a variety of ways to describe different groups of nerdy, passionate, and technologically inclined people.
The final concept that I found very relatable to the word geek is the idea of monoculture. Monoculture is the idea of a type of surrounding that is all alike. The Oxford English Dictionary defines monoculture as “the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.” Geeks are very cultivated to one specific idea or passion. “The “digital monoculture” could refer to the array of popular, recognizable reference points that have arisen and are accessed through the on-demand internet, whether it’s Game of Thrones or “Baby Shark.””Many of them are associated with specifics in food, music, film, video games, and more. The way geeks feel that special togetherness when they are included in their favorite niche is considered a monoculture.
The monoculture of geeks is what actually brings the different niches together. Being able to join a blog, social media, or groupchat of people with the same interests is what they are there for. In current times, many different forums, such as Reddit, are built for reasons as such. Geeks are in so many groups that we don’t even realize. Many of us are geeks, but we don’t even know it.
Being a geek was once derived to be a cruel, harsh insult. The term came with rude meanings and negative intentions. Imagine calling somebody a geek knowing it meant they were unsociable, out of the norm, and oddballish? In recent times, like stated earlier, the word has evolved to become more of an everyday thing, rather than a diss thrown around. Being called a geek is more laughable and respected, rather than hurtful and pain inflicting. The word geek is synonymous with being very technological and smart. BestBuy is a great example of this after naming their tech support team the GeekSquad. Being able to accept the name is why this term has shifted from negative to positive.
The news very positively supports geeks. The blog Proquest discusses geeks: “It used to require a lot of effort and commitment to cultivate a depth of expertise in a particular subject, but technology has made a vast body of specialized information easy and readily available to most of us at any time. Basically, technology has democratized access to information, and, by extension, nerdiness.” The most recent big nerd stories revolve around one of the biggest movie scenes in America, Hollywood. The biggest hit movies are sci-fi’s and extraterrestrial life movies. These include the geekiest of movies such as the Marvel movies, Star Wars, and more. Hipsters are also following the “geek” stereotype by wearing geeky clothing and looking sleek and chic. Being a geek is “in” and popular culture and stereotypes prove it.
The evolution that the word geek has gone through is actually monumental. Starting off as nothing but a rude, derogatory slur it has actually transformed into a culture. It has turned into something that people WANT to be and resemble.
If I had to define the word in my own words, I would say “Geek — Being or resembling somebody that is tech-savvy, studying, and following a sole passion or niche.”
I feel that this definition is sufficient because it includes both the stereotype, but also includes the mention of having a passion. It’s important to highlight both because these are the two most outlying things to determine if someone is considered a geek. I think the current Oxford English Dictionary definition is acceptable, but I feel unlike my definition, it is missing a crucial message.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/12/17/21024439/monoculture-algorithm-netflix-spotify
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/05/style/modern-love-my-so-called-instagram-life.html
https://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you
https://www.businessinsider.com/origins-and-evolution-of-the-word-geek-2013-8
https://www.thethings.com/15-celebrities-you-had-no-idea-were-actually-the-biggest-nerds/
https://www.proquest.com/blog/eosblog/2019/Geek-Chic-in-the-21st-Century.html
