Is there a Geek Hiearchy?

[Team Jetfire]

The other day I was watching an episode of MTV's True Life and they featured 3 self proclaimed Fanboys/ Fangirls.

One of them was in to horror movies and fancied himself an amateur film maker, One was BIG into WOW and was looking for a mate who she could share her love of all things geeky with and one was a Hard Core Power Rangers fan who in his 20s has had a difficult time with the ladies.

Now I am not one to judge the hobbies that people have, but after watching this show I couldn't help but feel like almost every Transformers Fan that I have met is cooler that the Power Rangers guy. I know that Power Rangers has a big history and a lot of fans, but does being of fan of something that is a little lame kinda sets you up to be equally as lame?

Does that make sense, or am I being overly judgmental about the lameness of Power Rangers.

[Pascal]

As far as Transformers are concerned, I think there are as many "normal" fans than "scary" ones.

[GMfan]

When you've done as many conventions as I have you know there's definitely different types and levels of nerds...

[Team Jetfire]

So maybe the ratio of 'cool' fans to 'crazy' fans is dependent on the general population's idea of what is acceptiable.

For example: Sports nuts. You can be a crazy Sports fan and still be 'cool' as society says it is ok.

[GMfan]

George: ...heh....cuz of society huh?

Jerry: Yes George....because of society.


...I think the rating all comes back to just how functional you are in society and with people which is connected to how much you let your interests consume your life....

[Nightscrabbler]

The subject matter of your fandom is not really the issue, it's the way you express it. Every subject has its good points that might draw you to it and its silliness that might make you look like a dweeb for ever talking about it, and every fan has the capacity to either make it look cool or absolutely embarrassing.

[Nocturn]

Nocturn: both the highest and lowest of nerds. It all depends on the situation.

I would say, out of all the guys I'd met from here, I'd never instantly go "That guy's a nerd" on sight. We seem to hide it pretty well.

However, the most over-the-top of the otaku, or japanese-loving nerds. Oh how they worship a culture that will forever consider them just a stupid gaijin.

[Leozak]

In terms of transformers geek level.. the ones that don't bathe during a con are the most hardcore of them all.


Just sayin'

[Protoman]

It's a mix of a few things.

First let's take how MAINSTREAM is the nerdy hobby. Star Trek 3-4 years prior was only for "DA NERDS" but the new movie with "hot young actors" brought even the most stuck up scene girl into the movie. Is she a fan? On a certain level with leads to my next part.

The level of fandom.

Like GMfan said before, doing conventions you meet all types and something like TFcon/Botcon helps you really see the "all types" of a specific fandom. The more hardcore fans tend to be a little...... dare I say the more "wierd and low on the social food chain" they are, so to speak, while the more casual fans tend to be of a social butterfly. But that's more about the hobby overtaking ones social life and all out logic of life.

In the end, are we talking about percentages then? Well Transformers, even before the 2 Bay movies was always considered retro cool and hip from rappers to street wear. Before we had Autobot logo t-shirts in Walmart like you have today, you could only find them in tready stores like Hot Topic and Toxic. While Star Trek and Star Wars (as much as I love it) on a whole has more people who are again "low on the social foodchain".

I can talk about this till I am blue in the face since this is not the first time this kind of topic has been taclked by me because being someone who is known for "Insane TF knowledge" and "Insane TF collection" should then by my own math of this be "a social reject"..... and yet..........

[Aernaroth]

Any hierarchy in geekdom that you see is in your head. No franchise is any better or worse than another, and no fan is either.

Would you ask if soccer fans rank higher than hockey fans? Who's farther up the ladder, a fansubber/translator or a kitbasher? Its all about how you see people, and its going to vary across every person.