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Assumption of geekhood
Jul. 24th, 2010 03:06 pmNo, no, not like an assumption of godhood.
I'm talking about the assumptions people make about geekhood. Like if you're one kind of geek, you are "obviously" other types of geek.
Story time: I live a couple blocks from a CVS. I stop by there regularly because, well, they sell all kinds of things that I regularly need. So one night, a few weeks ago, I go in because I need soda. (Dr Pepper to be specific.) I'm wearing a STAR WARS t-shirt that my mother gave me for Christmas. This is one of those t-shirts where the logo (or emblem, whatever) is cracked and faded, to give the impression that the owner has had the shirt for years. Of course, the fact that the fabric of the shirt is bright green and shows no signs of wear or fading should clue people in, but I digress.
The guy behind the counter assumes that I am a Star Wars geek. Okay, admittedly, I have seen the original three movies a few dozen times each. No, not in theaters. Mostly on video-disc (one of the pseudo-precursors to DVDs) or VHS. But the guy asks me which of the two, Ewoks or Jar-Jar, that I thought were the worse of the two. Okay, I picked Jar-Jar. I had to.
We discuss Star Wars for a few minutes, and I leave.
Time passes.
A couple days ago, I again go down to the CVS to buy soda. This time the guy wants to know if Marvel or DC is my favorite comic book company. We discuss comics for a few minutes, and I leave again.
Now, here's the thing. I don't recall, in the first meeting, mentioning comics at all. I am probably a bigger comics geek then I am a Star Wars geek. I have, quite literally, boxes of comics less then five feet away. I have had hour long discussions over plotlines in comics, or what I would do if I were writing a specific comic. On the other hand, I have never had hour-long Star Wars discussions. (Okay, several minutes long hate-spewing rants about Star Wars, but that's not the same thing.)
But there's that assumption. That since I am a Star Wars geek (evident by my wearing of a Star Wars t-shirt), that I am also a comics geek. Admittedly, it was a correct assumption, but it could have easily been erroneous.
And I think that's one of the mistakes even we geeks make. Just because I liked Firefly does not mean I liked Dollhouse. Just because I liked Babylon 5 does not mean I'm going to like what JMS does to Wonder Woman.
I'm talking about the assumptions people make about geekhood. Like if you're one kind of geek, you are "obviously" other types of geek.
Story time: I live a couple blocks from a CVS. I stop by there regularly because, well, they sell all kinds of things that I regularly need. So one night, a few weeks ago, I go in because I need soda. (Dr Pepper to be specific.) I'm wearing a STAR WARS t-shirt that my mother gave me for Christmas. This is one of those t-shirts where the logo (or emblem, whatever) is cracked and faded, to give the impression that the owner has had the shirt for years. Of course, the fact that the fabric of the shirt is bright green and shows no signs of wear or fading should clue people in, but I digress.
The guy behind the counter assumes that I am a Star Wars geek. Okay, admittedly, I have seen the original three movies a few dozen times each. No, not in theaters. Mostly on video-disc (one of the pseudo-precursors to DVDs) or VHS. But the guy asks me which of the two, Ewoks or Jar-Jar, that I thought were the worse of the two. Okay, I picked Jar-Jar. I had to.
We discuss Star Wars for a few minutes, and I leave.
Time passes.
A couple days ago, I again go down to the CVS to buy soda. This time the guy wants to know if Marvel or DC is my favorite comic book company. We discuss comics for a few minutes, and I leave again.
Now, here's the thing. I don't recall, in the first meeting, mentioning comics at all. I am probably a bigger comics geek then I am a Star Wars geek. I have, quite literally, boxes of comics less then five feet away. I have had hour long discussions over plotlines in comics, or what I would do if I were writing a specific comic. On the other hand, I have never had hour-long Star Wars discussions. (Okay, several minutes long hate-spewing rants about Star Wars, but that's not the same thing.)
But there's that assumption. That since I am a Star Wars geek (evident by my wearing of a Star Wars t-shirt), that I am also a comics geek. Admittedly, it was a correct assumption, but it could have easily been erroneous.
And I think that's one of the mistakes even we geeks make. Just because I liked Firefly does not mean I liked Dollhouse. Just because I liked Babylon 5 does not mean I'm going to like what JMS does to Wonder Woman.