Information AboutGeek |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT GEEK | |
| 1985 singles | |
| my bloody valentine albums | |
|
A geek (pronunciation /gi:k/ ) is a person who is fascinated, perhaps obsessively, by obscure or very specific areas of Knowledge and Imagination . ''Geek'' may not always have the same meaning as the term ''nerd'' (see Nerd for a discussion of the disputed relation between the terms). VARIOUS DEFINITIONS The definition of ''geek'' has changed considerably over time, but the use is colloquial and there is no definite official meaning. The social and rather derogatory connotations of the word makes it particularly difficult to define. Below are some definitions of the word; all are still in use to varying degrees.
RECLAIMING AND SELF-IDENTIFICATION ''Geek'' has always had negative connotations within society at large, where being described as a geek tends to be an insult. The term has recently become less condescending, or even a badge of honor, within particular fields and subcultures; this is particularly evident in the technical disciplines, where the term is now more of a compliment denoting extraordinary skill. There is an increasing number of people who self-identify with the term, even when they don't fit the classic geek profile which emphasizes high intelligence but social isolation and loneliness as a result. NONTECHNICAL GEEKS Because geek is no longer purely pejorative there are many self-labeled geeks who disagree over the use of the label. Similarly many older geeks in whatever field of devotion become upset when their field becomes popular and wish to set up standards that exclude late adopters or whole subjects of interest as not being truly geeky. While in the past the dispute would not have been over use of the term geek this is not a new phenomenon by any means. There were loud disagreements in the 1960s and 1970s among Sf Fans over the use of Sci-fi Or Science Fiction , with some science fiction geeks trying to get sci-fi to be only used for what they defined as bad sf. Later there were fierce debates among geeks over the use of Hacker And Cracker and the adoption of Leet speak by less technically adroit computer users. Today geeks devoted to technical pursuits want to distinguish themselves from people they see as falsely holding themselves out to be intellectuals, in particular people who are most interested in the arts or entertainment rather than Techie subjects. For the most part the general public and even most geeks are unaware of the distinction and would be likely to see the computer geek and the genre Fandom geek as being more similar than dissimilar. While technical geeks are grudgingly acknowledged for being absorbed in a craft that at least has real life career potential, the derogatory definition of geeks remains popularized as that of a person engrossed in his area of interest at the cost of social skills, personal hygiene, and the general responsibilities of adulthood such as having a job and one's own place to live. Elements of the Slacker culture have merged with the geek culture in this respect. The characters Jay And Silent Bob of Kevin Smith 's Jersey movies are examples of self styled geeks who are adept at absorbing fandom or entertainment trivia but not particularly intelligent or educated otherwise. GEEKS ON TV Geeks have gained a cult status and some TV programs have cashed in on this image. In 2006 The WB ran a game show called Beauty And The Geek , where the geeks had to try and teach the beauties something about general knowledge while the geeks learned how to be cool from them. Comedy Central had a somewhat similar gameshow Beat The Geeks from 2001 to 2002. SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|