Kevin's suggestion for this week's 500 Words was, I think, to talk about geek trends I liked or didn't like or something. I suppose I could go back and listen to the podcast, but I'm late as it is! Between Mass Effect 3 and my new job, we're lucky to even have an internet to look at!
I came to terms with my geekdom years ago. It's my lot in life: wear glasses, play video games, and generally fail at anything athletic. I'm okay with it. In another world, maybe I'd toss a football around instead, but as is, I'll continue to make my way through life with my +3 Sad Geek Soul of Nerdom... But that doesn't mean I agree with every geek thing in the world.
Just as it would be wrong to say that every Asian person has a tiny wiener and drives like shit, it's wrong to generalize about the things that geeks are into. There are plenty of things that, as a geek, I'm supposed to revere, but just can't bring myself to do it. For instance, the Lord of the Rings books/movies/merchandising-opportunities. Yes, of course the movies were badass. It's kind of hard to make an action-packed sweeping-epic poorly, though I suppose it does happen.
Honestly, though, I've read or watched a bajillion things that were entirely derivative of the LOTR phenomenon, but I look at the original as archaic and bland. Here's what I hate about most people, but it's especially true of geeks, we tend to think that what came before, or even what helped indoctrinate us into geekdom, is intrinsically better than whatever slop they're slinging now. But I just don't buy it.
Okay, so I haven't read the Game of Thrones series personally (I'll get to it someday, I swear!) but I know that it's got a hell of a lot more fucking in it than Tolkien's books. And if there's one thing I think every person on the world will admit to, it's that more fucking is better than less fucking (maybe the up-tight folks of the world won't be completely on the same page with this, but I think their attitudes would change if they just got a little more action).
This attitude among nerds is ridiculous. The SNES was not intrinsically better than the XBOX. In fact, if Doc Brown ever gets his flux capacitor working IRL, I'd love to see the look on my 11 year-old self's face if I showed him what Skyrim looks like. If I offered that kid a choice between playing Skyrim or Faxanadu, I'm willing to bet that he'd piss himself with glee before he could even get his Dorito-dust encrusted hands onto the 360 controller. That enthusiasm is the problem.
When we were younger, we just liked shit. We liked it so much! In a time of our lives when we couldn't have everything, we kind of had to love anything we were able to get our mitts onto and that meant loving the shit out of games that really were pretty shitty. Yes, at the time The Legend of Zelda was bad ass, but anyone who tells you the original is better than Skyward Sword is completely full of shit and should go choke on a Triforce.
Also, Anime is dumb and Star Wars is over-rated.
This has been 500 Words! Please leave your suggestions for next weeks' 500 Words in the comments or tweet them to @FHGPodcast
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