Why Disney hates geeks and nerds.

[@Mad-Cat_Dan]

They treated nerdy IPs like designer clothing labels. Thought people would spend money on brand recognition. There was no further thought about it.

[@ttrev007]

that is a really good point.

[@splifftachyon4420]

To use another clothing analogy, they're like the girl wearing a Dark Side of the Moon t-shirt, who when asked if she's a Pink Floyd fan, she says, "Who?" But, you know, she really likes her t-shirt.

[@contumelious-8440]

Yes, this, where is the, "send this to the Disney executives" button?

[@AvengerII]

@@splifftachyon4420 You just described most cosplayers who dress up as characters at cons! Many of them aren't even fans of the TV shows and movies they cosplayers as characters from! What disappointed about anime cons is HOW LITTLE most of the congoers who were obviously cosplayers cared about the art form. The industry panels and other related panels were populated by people I felt were not serious fans. They'll be gone in 2-3 years once they get over their compulsion to wear sew and wear spandex! I haven't been to a con in years. I save my money and buy from home or stream. Let the costumers have their cons!

[@spartacusforlife1508]

The customer is always right? Not in the case of t.v. and movies, anymore

[@robertcain4320]

I remember watching a talk show that had Jonathan Frakes as the guest. I don't remember the host. The subject of TREKIES came up, and the host leaned into Frakes and with a conspiratorial look said something along the lines of, "Aren't' they a bit...loony?" Frakes leaned slightly backwards and said something along the lines, "Are you sure about that?" He then made a comparison about baseball fans and Star Trek fans being close to each other, "Though one gets excited about chasing a ball around the diamond, and the other gets excited about exploring the universe." The host backed off. I think Frakes exposed his inner geekness that day, AND who said baseball fans can't enjoy Star Trek? Frakes is cool.

[@randyjones3050]

Frakes proved his geeky film-making bonafides with "Star Trek: First Contact". In my opinion, the second best movie in the franchise after "Wrath of Kahn". First Contact was a film made with an affection for the source material. I really would like to see Frakes put in charge of a new Star Trek film/series and given full creative control to see what he could do with it.

[@silverscorpio24]

If four random nerds had one hour to come up with a new movie script, they would come up with a whole franchise.

[@n.d.m.515]

And that is part of the problem. Nerds and Geeks have wonderful imaginations. They want to escape reality and ask what if questions. Getting reminded of reality or preached to is what made them outcasts. Imagination is what gave them a reason to continue in this upside down world.

[@Ni999]

I'm completely random, please don't hesitate to tag me if you need a fourth or an alternate or something. 😀

[@spiritofthewolf15x]

Has literally been done before to great success.

[@hariman7727]

One hour? That's enough for half a dozen, minimum.

[@SpiderMan-rt4cd]

and those random nerds would do better than hollywood.

[@ninjaswordtothehead]

It biils down to "The posers were put in charge." You watch, as we lose interest, they will move on to whatever is the next popular thing. I remember when these types of people made fun of us, right up until the things we loved started to make more money.

[@jdubbs8242]

Bingo.

[@maggiem6209]

Been saying this for almost two decades. I saw it at the midpoint of the MCU. I know it happened before that point, but I noticed it then. All posers that don't care.

[@nikopaseman7147]

I always reminded the glaring converts of their original opinions on the material, and that people who liked it were bullied for it (by them). I ask them if they'd be half as interested if it wasn't for its popularity, and they usually say no.

[@Darth_Conans]

"these types of people made fun of us, right up until the things we loved started to make more money" This is basically the thought I had the first time I went into a Walmart and saw Captain America and Punisher t-shirts for sale back around 2012. It should have dawned on me earlier.

[@jackhhun2698]

exactly I was part of the gatekeeping saying we don't need giant corporations in our culture they'll hallow it out and they did now many a geek and nerd are lost unsure of who to trust we always thought our fellow nerds would have our backs now its the fear they'll call us racist for playing with orcs

[@GeekOwtLowd]

Here's the problem. Many of these usurpers would argue, "We don't hate geeks and nerds. We ARE geeks and nerds." But really, there is a host of "Pop Culture" fans who don't like nerdy stuff. They like the idea of it, and the pop culture part of it. They like the memes, the nostalgia, the trivia, the references... but they couldn't care less about the nerdy stuff that appealed to guys like us in the first place.

[@memnarch129]

Its what in the past where called Posers and Hipsters. Those who like X cause its cool to like, not cause they like the source material.

[@clogs4956]

‘Appealed to guys AND GALS like us…” 😁

[@Parlimant_Strifey]

the problem becomes that they force you to learn new things, they could have just kept us in the slavery. Now that they have destroyed our trustable legacy IPs, you have no choice but to learn about topics you never once thought about.

[@phluphie]

@@clogs4956 In my day, Geek Grrls were very few and very far between. Nothin'd make a Jr High girl turn up her nose faster than going on about a tauntaun's saddle.

[@n.d.m.515]

​@@clogs4956 only the ugliest girls were Geeks and Nerds. Not these fony fans who dress up in hot cosplay and buy products because it is cool right now. Geek and Nerd culture was built by true outcasts that they call incels these days. Pimple boys who were lucky to get girls until adulthood, and some not even then.

[@Tigerkaya]

This is why i respect the 40k fandom. They are profoundly and passionate in gatekeeping their fandom.

[@nielsdejong]

How do they gatekeep?

[@MagicHjalti]

@@nielsdejong female space marines

[@nikopaseman7147]

I mean Games Workshop has flown too close to the sun several times. It's just so huge that a single entry can be ignored. They've signed off on kid-friendlier content like friendly Xeno characters in the imperium, non-violent Marines, etc. They've got several books centered on overly girl-boss characters. And there's more badly made games than I can count. But... The fandom largely determines the success of those ventures, and the company isn't entirely blind to what works and what fails... Yet.

[@TheIndianaGeoff]

​@@nielsdejongmostly by accusing everyone of Heresy and then invasion.

[@what4hats]

@TheIndianaGeoff it's heresy and extermanodus. Why invade when you can just blow up the planet?

[@user-yv4mm6bx3c]

We are people who were unilaterally rejected by our peers when we were younger, so we created things. Those creations were rejected as well at first, because we are not like them. We got involved in hobbies to focus our energies into something positive. When the outside world saw materialistic increase in value in what was created, they decided they wanted to enter our space, we opened our arms and minds to them because, we are not like them. Then they took what we loved and burned it to the ground. It's a harsh lesson. Be judgemental in who you let into your life.

[@abrahambobst4602]

George Lucas was an outsider too, no studio wanted to make his film at the time and thus took into his own hands.

[@MadsterV]

Absolutely a lesson: People see value, people try to take value away from you.

[@andrewtaylor940]

When Nicholas Myer was hired to direct Star Trek II, he immediately sat down and watched all of the episodes (At a time when home media was not yet a thing) in order to understand the heart and soul of the property. To understand what it was the fans loved about it. And in doing so he found the threads and touchstones needed not just to make the perfect Star Trek movie, but a true incredibly well structured cinematic masterpiece. Where every line, every shot, every single thing that appears on screen is both referencing what the fans loved, and was in direct layered service to the story itself. As he wove allegories of Moby Dick and Paradise Lost into a story of an elder crew. Coming to terms with their age, their life, their mortality. That they had more to look back on than to look forward to. Does anyone think anybody on Ms Paradise's staff watched a single episode of Star Trek, outside of the movies? Does anyone think Kathleen Kennedy has willingly watched any movie or show her studio has watched for fun?

[@Transfixed]

Exactly! And that's why Wrath of Khan is so beloved. I feel like the creators of the Star Trek Resurgence game must have done the same thing with TNG.

[@paulleannefischer1148]

First star trek movie I saw on a borrowed tv and VHS player. May be one of the first things I watched on tape. Your comment is well said!

[@kgjung2310]

Do you think those people have even read anything beyond a pamphlet? If one doesn't read books, one is not going to know how to really write good stories or learn good techniques. Combine that with the lack of any substantial life experience, and you have empty headed, shallow ignoramuses trying to write stories about things they know little to nothing about. You handed a plane to be piloted by a blind man while flying through the Andes.

[@dracos24]

I honestly couldn't imagine trying to write/direct a movie or show with such a rich IP as Star Trek or Star Wars. Just watching the source material *once* would take years out of your life.

[@frankgesuele6298]

Just imagine what she would have done to Khan😱

[@sebastiank5934]

Nerds used to be outcasts. We grew our franchises by being faithful. Now wokeness has crowbarred into our shared universes and shows nothing but hate to the customers.

[@AlejandroDiazadiaz201]

Have you watched Star Trek? How woke is a black woman in a military vessel in a miniskirt in the 1960's? Or how about a Japanese working with an American after WWII? Or a Russian on the Bridge in the middle of the Cold War? Or a world where money does not exist anymore? Or how about the X-Men defending a world that hates and fears them? It's always been "woke".

[@DaLink25]

It’s essentially the way the Romans operated with Christianity. When they realized they couldn’t stop it, they tried to hijack it by creating the Roman Catholic Church.

[@nealsterling8151]

Now we are again outcast, expelled from ourchosen sanctuaries, because bullies have taken over them. My sollution is to create my own Sci fi Universe and write (bad) stories just for my own pleasure.

[@AlejandroDiazadiaz201]

@nealsterling8151 Nothing wrong with writing the story you want to tell. I'd encourage it. I would suggest that you write it because you love it, because you love the characters and the universe. Don't write it out of a desire to exclude people though. Write it because you will love it, not because someone will not.

[@deanfirnatine7814]

You call yourselves nerds but sci fi nerds often includes the jocks, the stoners, etc While the wokesters are a combination of the absolute freak rejects of society with the artsy kids as supporters.

[@tyramasters-heinrichs921]

Thank you, Chato, thank you! I'm a woman, and a proud Nerd, who married a Geek, and we have two sons, one Geek and on Nerd...though I am challenged by tech, I wear my Browncoat with pride!

[@BrettCaton]

A lot of the nerd/geek crowd were desperate to find a woman to share their passions. Firefly was a pretty good bridge for men and women.

[@timbuktu8069]

And we know what a Browncoat is!

[@frankgesuele6298]

@@timbuktu8069 It gives one Serenity 😀

[@etherealbladerx8153]

You’re one of the few of the many thank you also what’s a brown coat?

[@jhoughjr1]

@@frankgesuele6298gets them all killed

[@pedroares6562]

It's the myth of "modern audience." They believe people who love the franchise will never fall out of love, but they are wrong. People get tired of companies stomping in the things they love and stop watching. I guess they will learn that harsh lesson sometime in the future... Maybe 2030

[@TheJoshman01]

Yup, watched every phase 1 and 2 Marvel movie (with the exception of Thor 2, due to being deployed), they absolutely shit the bed starting phase 3. Haven't paid to see any of their films since.

[@TheKarnophage]

The "modern audience" is code for the audience they want to shape with their values. If you don't like what they make you are not part of this mythical "modern audience".

[@OpinionFactChecker]

Agreed. I'm a 57 year old Trekker, and I refuse to watch anything after Enterprise, barring Picard S3. If they want to pander to a younger audience, that's fine, but don't expect the older ones to be so easy to please!

[@noneed4me2n7]

I was always confused why any company would burn it’s built in audience with any IP. Ideology over escapism.

[@tomhanks1769]

Disney is already learning the lesson, they need to cough up 9 billion dollars in a year, apparently they are considering an offer to sell Lucasfilm. If Disney's end goal was to ruin a 4 billion dollar IP and end up in financial trouble they did a splendid job.

[@isaacpriestley]

In comics, in the 70s through the 90s, it used to be common to hear artists discussing and homaging their favorite creators. John Byrne built on Jack Kirby and showed him respect as the towering figure he was. In 2001, Marvel put out a comic called “World’s Greatest Comic”, about the Fantastic Four, with everybody doing Kirby homages. The Image guys in the 90s would talk a ton about being inspired by Kirby or Byrne or Perez or whoever. There was a sense that “Those giants have built great things, and we want to stand on their shoulders to continue to build.” Now, it’s all about tearing down and “fixing”, and nobody shows respect to earlier creators at all.

[@inendlesspain4724]

The hubris of the mediocre, underachieving "creators" working in entertainment today is incredible.

[@trinelangohr6661]

I never thought about it like that, but now that you mention it, you're right.

[@peteranon8455]

I think the worst part is that it could have so easily been added to and occasionally spun off.

[@crosscutgames]

Gads. Byrne and Perez. I bought comics *because* they were the artists. No other reason.

[@dbsommers1]

@@crosscutgames Give me Perez on a team book. He can draw a dozen characters in a panel and keep it from looking crowded.

[@The_Savvy_Satyr]

Welp, I just spent an entire weekend at a Comic Con , so I would say that my geeky interests are quite important to me. And you are quite right. You get a bunch of us into a room and the conversation will run the gambit of movies, tv, books, video games , etc and what a glorious melting pot that it is.

[@irekaias]

I find it so weird that these companies and activists are trying to tell Geeks and Nerds how to play our games and enjoy our hobbies in exchange for "social morality and acceptance", we stupidly let them in because we wanted MORE people to enjoy our hobbies with, but we were always outcasts before, most of us have no qualms on being outcasts again.

[@n.d.m.515]

The difference between Geeks and Nerds and the woke is attitudes. The Woke want to be loved and heard and obeyed out of a sense of revenge. The Geeks and Nerds just want to be left alone, and the Woke saw that as weakness. We were played, like we always are.

[@Jeff-cn9up]

Fantastic point. I have never understood the normie fear of being called an "ist" or a "phobe". If I meet one of these insufferable wokies, I break their brain with how little I care about what they (were trained to ) think.

[@piranhapout]

​@@n.d.m.515Yup. It's the football all over again.

[@lainiwakura1776]

It all started when we tried to call out the fake geek girls who would do scantily clad cosplays for attention and were told to stop gatekeeping.

[@kevmasengale6903]

​@@lainiwakura1776keep gatekeeping. We what not gatekeep has done.

[@Alliclare]

I always find that people who are interested in things are more interesting people. A lot of people seem to be not interested in something for its own sake, but rather for how it can help push forward some cause or other. You can always tell when someone is really passionate about something. They can make their interest almost infectious.

[@TheMasterQuests]

That is very true. You can see passion for the craft in someone’s work without them saying it

[@Edino_Chattino]

Perfectly said. For my whole life I've been attracted not to the most beautiful women, but those who had a hobby they loved, regardless of what it was. They went above and beyond to learn everything about that given subject.

[@jhoughjr1]

Why have interests when push button be happy.

[@tatersquad2000]

This was a glimpse into a side of fandom rarely talked about. Nice catch, Chato!

[@jaredbrown1128]

I think they despise geeks and nerds because the culture is unifying. Geeks and nerds don't care about what color you are or who you sleep with. Talking about the same things you all enjoy and love brings people together. They want us divided, sorted in neat little categories. The geek/nerd multiverse tears down those walls and lets everyone enjoy these things together. "For the geek shall inherit the earth..." - some wise person, probably

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

Most of those people ruining the franchises are intersectional feminists. The vast majority of geek culture is intended FOR males... Most of the fans/audience ARE males... Why is anyone surprised that those people don't like either the source material OR the existing audience?

[@SwordmasterKane]

Can it be that the main reason geeks and nerds are despised by them is one part of the unifying aspect: that there are no minorities within the ranks of geeks and nerds? Or that they don't matter? And that would take away the power from the woke movement, because they are all about minorities and how they are surpressed by society? That would make so much sense.

[@AmigaWolf]

The people who run it now all, are the same people who bullied the nerds/geeks in school and out of school.

[@SouthernGuy5423]

@@SwordmasterKane Geeks and nerds WERE a minority for decades, so if you were one, you didn't care one bit about the nerd next to you's skin color, gender, or sexuality. My first experience hanging out with a gay man was playing D&D with him. It was a bit weird for about 30 seconds and then I was too busy rolling d20's and trying to not get killed by orcs to care anymore! It didn't mean I was suddenly any less straight, but we sure did have fun. I'd say that yes, that's one of the reasons the Social Justice Warriors dislike nerds and geeks.

[@Terrible_fate]

"The geek shall inherit the earth" Simpsons did it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/epnZfXpuf6loaK8 (at 0:27)

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

They hate people who put more effort into watching the movies and shows than they put into writing them.

[@robertcarter4002]

The writer of Black Widow said 'I wrote the script in 3 weeks'. I thought, 'Yeah, and it showed'.

[@Enriqueguiones]

I almost cried when you mentioned Harryhausen. He's one of the most imaginative and influential movie makers of all time. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Tim Burton and Peter Jackson LOVE his work. However, it seems like no one talks about him anymore. No one cares about his accomplishments. I interviewed him back in 2012, shortly before he died. It was a truly special moment for me.

[@TheMasterQuests]

What has he made?

[@Enriqueguiones]

@@TheMasterQuests The Beast from 20000 fathoms, The 7th voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the argonauts, The valley of Gwangi, Clash of the Titans...

[@BrettCaton]

@@Enriqueguiones Had a strong effect on the popularity of DnD imo. The skeletons were amazing.

[@matthewgaudet4064]

The ILM guys loved his work. Its how i got into his films in the first place.

[@TheMasterQuests]

@@Enriqueguiones Heard of some of these

[@Paul-TheHappyRecluse]

They thought popular geek entertainment was easy to create, because after all it was just geek entertainment. They tried to burn it all down and rebuild it in their image, creating a new fanbase from whole cloth. They only succeeded in burning it down. Fortunately Sony, Universal, Illuminations still exist.

[@ProfessorHeyTeeEn]

I'm tried of pretending that anyone can join a fandom. It requires a special kind of crazy to be able to memorize fictional spaceship serial numbers and production codes, the special abilities of all 108 pirates in One Piece, the publication order of a series of books including side-stories and comics... Disney basically tried to make this "for the greatest possible audience", but a good chunk of these people CAN'T join a fandom because they don't have the autistic attention to details.

[@sebastianwittmeier1274]

A broader audience then just geeks and nerds is fine. But if the filmmakers are none themselves AND even do not hire or fire the geeks in their team. And not only the ones interested in the franchise, but the skilful and passionate filmmaking specialists of every discipline.

[@LordEriolTolkien]

When i was a kid in highschool, nerds and geeks and dorks were all squares at the bottom of the social totem pole, ranking just above the special needs kids and exchange students that couldn't speak English. Before 'Revenge of the Nerds' gave them an image change in the mainstream imagination. But it wasn't until relatively recently with the advent of audiobooks that the final barrier to fandom entry was removed. Geeks were uncool because they Read outside corporate mainstream. Now that the corporate mainstream has rights to the IP's it thinks it can pump out any old dross with the correct label affixed and we the consumer will not ask questions, and simply buy product. And they hate us now because we won't buy inauthentic exploitative consumer dross any more. They worked so hard to commodify and standardise 'Art' as 'Product' and now resent us for Not relinquishing our aesthetic standards for their commercial desires. It is the same way they killed Rock Music as the predominant cultural musical style

[@jspaingreene6350]

Agree... and your comparison to commodifying rock (during the grunge era imo) is spot on.

[@LordEriolTolkien]

@@jspaingreene6350 I was a rock fan through the 70's and 80' and felt it die with Cobain and the rise of autotune

[@janibeg3247]

My high school had a caste system. The Honor Society kids were seperate from the general population. I had a foot in both camps - Honor Society and Varsity Club (2 sport 3 year varsity). All of the Honor Society kids went to college and produced several professors, physicians, engineers, teachers, lawyers, etc...

[@1Gr8Editrix]

It seems like the special needs & mentally ill -- formerly the bottom of the social totem pole -- have taken over. For the media people, it's a race to the bottom.

[@MamaMOB]

I was born a year before revenge of the nerds was released and when I was in school both the media and people treated nerds badly. I don't know where you got this idea that there was an image change after that movie but there wasn't. Media continued to portray nerds as really pathetic people. And we didn't treat nerds very well either. I say this as having been one of the biggest nerds in my school. I was not treated well. And I did not see portrayals of nerds being treated while on television either. So I legitimately don't know where you got that idea. I also don't understand where you get the idea that artists consider their art products because that is exactly what their art is and they do not consider it that. That's why they keep blaming us for not buying their product. You don't see people who flip burgers doing that now do you? And yes art and a burger are the same fucking thing at the end of the day. A product. If the customer doesn't want it it's a failure.

[@DoktorFishPhilly]

Your content is really good, my dude. Thank you for your truth and refreshing straightforward approach to all these "sensitive" topics.

[@Draconisrex1]

How is it childish to call out cultural vandals for their vandalism?

[@anelbegic2780]

Anything is possible when you follow the "everyone who doesn't agree with me is Hitler" philosiphy, don't you know?

[@AerysTMD]

They're marxist revisionists. Locusts of humanity. Devouring everything that is good & spitting it out as woke crap.

[@inendlesspain4724]

Sadly, a lot of people have bought into this narrative that nerds and geeks defending these hobbies which they've helped build from the ground up over the course of many years, during a time in which normies wouldn't give a rat's ass about them, is being "childish"; they believe actually mature people don't have nerdy interests holding them back from achieving a fulfilling life, when in reality they're nothing but corporate slaves, just mindlessly buying whatever product these corporations pump out like sludge.

[@anelbegic2780]

@@inendlesspain4724 Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next product.

[@WSKTV6]

It's not at all childish. If someone came into your home, praised all your photos & decorations & then tore it all down because they thought their ideas were better? Then proceeded to replace everything with their stuff you'd have every right to be upset. That's what's happened to nerd culture, it's something meaningful stolen & reduced down to a trendy corporate commodity used to virtue signal. And these companies will never truly understand that.

[@shuntguy]

Lucas was in his heart a car guy. That led to one of the big reasons Star Wars was so popular. The ships.

[@FearMonarch]

That explains soooo much of the podrace scene oh my god

[@shuntguy]

@@FearMonarch It also explains how the speeder Anakin takes during the chase in Ep. 2 looks like a hot rod. It's also the same yellow as Milner's coupe in American Graffiti.

[@tahlia__nerds_out]

When I read this, Luke’s landspeeder immediately came to mind for me. I’ve always loved it for some reason which may or may not have something to do with having one that my Star Wars action figures could use. In retrospect, Luke’s landspeeder kind of gives the feeling of a beat-up old car, which is part of its charm. Just like the Falcon basically being a bunch of cool parts that shouldn’t work together grafted together with love, spit, and duct tape (metaphorically) is part of her charm.

[@zxyatiywariii8]

He always has been. When he was a teenager he was in a horrific car crash (pic online, it was in his local paper) which would've killed him, except for a strange fluke: For some reason, his tri-point, race car harness belt BROKE and he was flung free before his car melded with a tree. He always said that experience changed his life; and showed him he had to stop messing around if he really wanted to create anything amazing, he had to get to work. But I feel like it also made him underestimate how long he'd live, because he COULD have kept the Star Wars rights and made the final three episodes HE had planned, instead of selling it all to Disney so they could shelf his outline, and puke out their own disgusting mess. I almost died when I was a teenager too and now I'm surprised every year that I've lived this long. So I understand the feeling, but damn, what a lost opportunity. . .

[@aquarius5719]

Ships buzz the camera like Nascar cars do.

[@dumbmoveguy]

It's true! Once I learn someone's nerdy interest, I instantly have a certain level of respect. Game recognize game, and Disney is looking a little unfamiliar

[@onemadkat]

Here’s the thing about being a nerd or a geek…it means you are passionate, you like things intensely, and you don’t apologize for that. These people who ruined our stories and characters, they don’t understand genuinely liking things. It’s all about irony to the point of nihilism with the new bosses. It’s cool not to care. They don’t have real interests, real commitments, so it’s beyond them when we do. They think everyone is just using their “interests” to make a brand of their lifestyle as they do and are shocked to find it’s actually real for some of us. In their media they tell on themselves.

[@dh2283]

I've always enjoyed these videos but, on hearing that list of "common interests" starting at around 3:50, I never realized how much I wished I knew and was friends with Mr. Chato. I wish you lived next door dude and we could spend the odd minute here and there talking about Star Trek as it was in the 60's, Space 1999 as it was in the 70's and everything else that our culture, Nerd Culture, created. But I'd also like to say that in an increasingly dark and bleak world, your rant gives me a level of optimism in that there is a common and immense breadth of shared experiences between us all and tat a group of people who are considered almost universally introverts and loaners actually have millions who are just like us all! May you live a thousand years!

[@davidcoleman757]

That's an amazing insight. We may not all be into the same stuff, but we immediately recognize and understand someone else's passion for a show we might not watch. Disney could never understand that. I love the idea of a geek multiverse. Brilliant.

[@geekybugle4241]

They hate Geeks and Nerds because that's an identity that traverses and surpases less important aspects as race, gender, religion, language, social status, etc. Much like with Gamers, those identities need to be either subverted or destroyed so the long march through culture can proceed.

[@clogs4956]

I’m a geek, a nerd and a gamer.

[@beerosaurusrex]

I think it's the social status part mots of all, that geeks/nerds aren't reliant or motivated by social status/currency or power. It's just about whether you are actually into the thing or not, and we're sensitive to frauds because they're likely trying to exploit us. When you look at all the SJW/woke/whatever types and activists, they are entirely about social status and power/control, and seem to consistently act in ways entirely contradictory to their stated interests and objectives, rarely seeming to actually care about what they claim, and will betray you as soon as it's beneficial. They're everything we despise, essentially the exact opposite.

[@OneWingedShark]

If you really look at it, they hate *anything* that is a social rallying point, any point of commonality that is more than a mere "checkbox"... what they want is a collection of atomic persons who have no will, for that would entail thinking of them as a *group* of people, and exist only to give them money.

[@nicholauscrawford7903]

Actually, Jesus Christ is supreme. Geekdom and nerd-dom are wonderful gifts from Him, to be sure, but God is the one who gave us the brains and spirit to even be able to enjoy it in the first place. Just ask Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, etc.

[@lunatic0verlord10]

@@nicholauscrawford7903 Meanwhile, lesser aspects are gifts of the devil.

[@NocandNC]

Very well put Chato, I think you hit the nail on the head! As a semi relevant example, I found college to be a phenomenally better experience than high-school because, in a course for animation, there wasn’t a single classmate who wasn’t at least a little nerdy. Our interests all crossed over somewhere or another. We all appreciated the art and creativity that went into our respective hobbies. There’s no such camaraderie to be found with these new age show runners. They don’t even respect us in our differences.

[@kenstrumpf909]

I was 22 when the original Star Wars came out in 1977. I saw it multiple times. As someone marinated in Heinlein and Asimov and Clarke among many others it was a sensation. I doubt the people at Lucasfilm today have ever heard of those names. Or if they have they’re just dismissed with a sneer.

[@alexortner2982]

Me too. I saw A New Hope seven times in the theater. When I drove off in my Alfa I was is in an X-Wing I was over the moon happy. Finally a movie I really loved. I had read a hundred Sci-Fi books and this movie really caught the flavor.

[@oswaldjh]

I even remember the first in theatre trailer for Star Wars in 1977 with my friend and our dates. The moment the trailer finished we both leaned forward to look at each other and yelled YES!. Startled the girls but they new who they were with and laughed.

[@davidcoleman757]

Oh yes. With a bit of John Wyndham thrown in. Seeing SW in '77 was the single greatest cinema experience of my life.

[@clogs4956]

⁠@@davidcoleman757 I never liked John Wyndham. If you have a few spare hours, ask me about Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock.

[@Zayphar]

I was a 13 year old on summer vacation on Cape Cod when it came out. We forced our dad to drive 20 miles to the only movie theater nearby to see it, instead of going to the beach or go sailing or fishing like he had planned. All we talked about for the next week of summer vacation was Star Wars, and my dad complained that he had wasted thousands on a summer vacation that we completely ignored for a movie we could have seen at our local movie theater near home.

[@shadowchaser3836]

Basically, it’s all about passion; something the modern writers lack. The nerds and the geeks (I am definitely in the spectrum) all have different things that feed into the stories they hold dear that today’s writers completely miss out on. They are so consumed by the need to do the politically correct thing at all times it’s to the point that they have become soulless. And we all see it even if they do not.

[@quin2203]

It was pretty clear early on that the Disney brand of Star Wars was not made for Star Wars fans. Disney then scratches their head and wonders why their attempts to create iconic marketing fall flat on the mainstream "fans". Heck, I knew there was a problem the moment they shut down The Clone Wars animation before it was finished. That was one of the few things keeping the fanbase going. I've little doubt KK had a hand in that. Then when we criticize practically anything Disney shits out we're called racist or sexist. So instead we simply have to watch as they exploit and destroy our cherished stories we grew up with while they financially implode. I wonder how some historians will describe this era of woke "entertainment". It's like a black hole where very few decent movies and shows were created. The rest were sacrificed on this twisted woke alter.

[@TheNucaKola]

It’ll be remembered as a lost decade of media

[@Nyet-Zdyes]

The audience that they WANT for Disney Star Wars is the same audience that they want for the new Little Mermaid.

[@TheMasterQuests]

Well that’s too damn bad cause it doesn’t exist

[@basher20]

I think this was discussed as the Princess Problem. Disney realizes their franchises aren't appealing to boys, so they buy Star Wars. Then the first reaction is "OK, how do we get girls to like it?"

[@Attmay]

To think that if boomers hadn’t turned their backs on Disney after Walt died, this wouldn’t be happening. The audience who were children for the later years of his life grew up and either got shipped to Vietnam or went to Canada to avoid it. Under those circumstances, when you’re trying to avoid being shot by the Vietcong or caught by the authorities, the last thing on your mind is the running time of a Lesley Ann Warren musical. All the ingredients for a Disney comeback in the 80s were there. Home video and the Disney Channel were new ways to introduce the Disney library to a new generation. And it felt like it was time for another movie about a princess when it had been 30 years since *Sleeping Beauty.* People who think that it’s gonna happen again the same way are kidding themselves and missing the point. They only bounced back once they stopped expecting things to happen exactly the same way they happened when Walt was alive. And once they were swimming in cash, like Scrooge McDuck in the money vault again, they practically dismantle the infrastructure that Walt left in place and replaced everything with computers. When they got rid of the ink and paint department, they got rid of the department within animation that historically employed the most women. They say “the future is female“ now while giving the short shrift to the women of OG Disney unless they were originally played by Blake Edwards’ widow. What must be most humiliating about Mario beating their butts is that Princess Peach beat them, too.

[@madaxe606]

Nailed it. Spot on. Guys like Henry Cavill exude geekness because he's clearly one of us, and understands on an instinctive level what it is that we appreciate about these sort of franchises. If the money guys running these studios were smart, they'd be sure to hire people like him of Favreau. Then again, Filoni is/was one of us, and he's as woke as a gender studies major, at the point, so who knows....

[@elliec4154]

I feel like Filoni cares about the story most. I think the wokeness is because atm that's the only way to get your Star Wars projects approved, so he bends to fit so he can get his projects.

[@TimeOut210]

You should be getting WAY more views, Chato. Your content is always first-class.

[@raminagrobis6112]

I guess it's the precisely the geek 'paradox' (my way to bottomline it) he's just talked about. Wide popularity and "geekiness":are strange bedfellows....

[@terryschmitt8050]

I miss Ed Catmull. His book on creativity shows his geeky journey through computers and technology to the head of Pixar and eventually Disney studios. His name doesn't get thrown around often, but he was a geeky heart at the head of Pixar.

[@russwilliams4777]

His name is legendary in computer graphics - at least as far as Catmull-Rom Splines and Catmull-Clark subdivision go

[@firehot006]

@@russwilliams4777 Although he did some what sully himself with the antitrust stuff.

[@ClaudioMalagrino]

The man was a legend.

[@MyMy-tv7fd]

ha, well said. The soul of geekdom is the ability to analyse the LOTR films from the perspective of the books and lovingly pick out the bits where they do in fact outdo the original book while still deploring the fact that they dropped Tom Bombdadil and murdered Saruman all wrong

[@nicholauscrawford7903]

At least when Saruman died in the movies, they took the advice of Christopher Lee, who had seen someone die that way, in how to portray it. Lee had even met Tolkien himself! But I do hear you about not showing the scourging of the Shire or Tom Bombadil.

[@anon5263]

See, I can understand dropping Tom Bombadil for a movie adaptation. Reasonable choice to make, since his mystery and ambiguity lends itself to curious legends and tales read from a book that can be read at your own pace, but maybe not so much in a movie constrained by theatre contracts. However, I think the Scourging of the Shire was a necessary element of the story, in that even when the Archetypal evil is destroyed in a dramatic event, the evil elements linger and can still return to your very home, corrupting the very thing you wanted to save. But perhaps Hollywood in it's twisted evil, didn't like the idea that we Hobbits could successfully band together against their dark arts.

[@mailen7341]

I would have like to see Tom Bombadil in the films. But as a woman the changement of nature they did in female characters and notably Arwen and Eowin are far more angrying me. They transformer an inspirational Penelope ( Arwen)who is the life compass and hope bringer hope keeper to Aragorn, and allows him to remain "untounched" by evil, into a warrior/sorcerer unabled to embroide or forge Aragorn banner. While in the same time transforming the Fearless Valkiry Iron Lady Eowin into a poor heart broken teen kind of à woman.......atrocious

[@Isoquant]

There are parts of the trilogy that outdo the books?

[@MyMy-tv7fd]

@@Isoquant - to my mind, yes. A few examples spring to mind (I have only seen the films once): first where Bilbo says goodbye to Frodo at Rivendell and wants 'one last look' at The Ring - Frodo very smartly says no - and Bilbo has the 'Jekyll and Hyde' moment which made me jump in my seat - as it is not in the book. And then there is the 'casting out' scene where Gandalf breaks the hold of Saruman over King Theoden - rather more impressive than the book as Gandalf just takes him aside for a pep talk which is not recorded - I have always thought that a bit lame. Then there is a good bit of orc dialogue where they want to eat Merry and Pippin as they lack 'fresh meat', but then my humour is not everyone's.

[@robertmartin2604]

Hit the nail on the head. It all boils down to passion for the source material and wanting to produce a film product that shouts "Isnt this cool!

[@YourLocalCopiumDealer]

So true. Henry Cavill, a fan of both the witcher books and games, was the best man for the job as witcher. Sadly he was the only one with a passion for the project and I'm still angry at how they squandered the chance to make something special.

[@charlesratcliff2016]

I love being a Geeks, Nerds, and Dorks. I became a nerd due to growing up in the 70s and watching TV shows like Starsky and Hutch, Magnum P.I., and movies like Commando, Cobra, and the Star Wars movie. The goal of these TV show and movies were there entertaining and the goal of the writers and directors was to entertain those who watch these shows and not pushing the "MESSAGE!!!)

[@n.d.m.515]

They did have messages, but they were usually in recognition that it wasn't black and white. Even the more blatant messages were secondary to writing an entertaining show that even if in disagreement, you still enjoyed. I love Star Trek: TNG, but sometimes disagreed with the premise, conclusions, and messages. Yet, never did I feel pressured and yelled at that I must agree with the show to properly be entertained.

[@gregcampwriter]

The irony is that we geeks are always willing to include anyone--regardless of race, sex, orientation, gender identity, etc.--who is a fellow geek. We were the original woke, and there was a lot of potential within geek culture that corporations shunted aside in favor of pop woke.

[@n.d.m.515]

You are partly correct. If a Geek or Nerd didn't want to accept someone or group, they didn't make a big stink about it. They just stayed away from those people. The Woke are the exact opposite. They are The Borg, assimilate or die!

[@dixonhill1108]

Seriously a literal klingon could show up and get worshiped, race isn't on the radar.

[@nikopaseman7147]

​@@dixonhill1108that's the clear difference, though. It's all they think about, so not being on our radar is a problem to them. They've been twisted into thinking race matters more than the character, now.

[@jackhhun2698]

woke was taken over by corporations specifically to deal with nerd culture that they felt could not be controlled

[@jackhhun2698]

@@nikopaseman7147 they think orcs are black and why i never understood how orcs are black people?

[@grandmufftwerkin9037]

Studio Ghibli is superior to Disney. Change my mind.

[@silverjohn6037]

Current year Disney, unquestionably. When Disney himself or Eisner were running the place it's a close call.

[@edrosa3485]

Seriously? Ghibli would be VERY competitive with Disney AT IT'S PRIME. Today it's like comparing a 4 figure restaurant meal with cat vomit.

[@landor7610]

Lilo and Stich.

[@RambleOn07]

​@@edrosa3485 brutal, yet apt.

[@mercster]

Anime sucks. I have no love for modern Disney, but I'll take their old classics over anime any day.

[@BenjaminGatzke]

Rubs me wrong every time new Spock gets geek shamed and when so many characters haven’t got a clue who they are and focus too much on what everything happening around them means about themselves. Kirk and team knew who they were and what their principles and purpose were. We’re not looking for caricatures of worst selves, we’re looking for the ideals of who we aspire to be in these characters.

[@codyw1]

That's because they are now being written by people with no purpose, and zero principles.

[@jlovebirch]

Well said. Every other pop culture franchise has been ruined by clueless activists with no appreciation or understanding of the culture itself. It's like hiring a dentist to perform open-heart surgery.

[@digbystrawbridge6161]

Many thanks, very insightful, and sadly true, the new owners of theses IPs seem to neither understand nor like the existing fans. However your list of great geeky enterprises could include Doctor Who, and Lord of The Rings - these merit a mention too, and these have drawn on the humanities as much as the sciences. As an Historian I can get nerdy about some pretty old and rather obscure stuff;-)

[@CallMeChato]

Thanks so much. I should have mentioned Dr. Who and I did mention LotR with my second breakfast remark. Ha.

[@Geo-vk7cp]

The other thing they don't seem to get is that nerds like to analyze things they like. Yeah, that means you'll get complaints but it isn't because we don't like it, it's usually because we just want it to be better.

[@beerosaurusrex]

It's a lot similar to sports, which as someone into all the typical nerdy stuff alongside sports, there is so much overlap in the fanbases (people always associate sports with 'jocks' but there is a huge difference between sports athletes and sports fans, baseball especially gets super nerdy). Imagine being threatened or making disparaging remarks about sports fans because they love to analyze and discuss the game, teams, players. That's all sports media is.

[@corvidaegudmund1186]

@@beerosaurusrex Very true. Now that I think about it, both sides love to analyze and refine things. Whether it be a sports fan theorizing that a team should have used x play or put this player in this position, or a video game player tweaking their stat build or multiplayer party strategie. I do wonder why most people dont see the connection. Sports are more popular and socially acceptable, I guess?

[@danielvandusen5724]

The really messed up thing is that all these properties tended to be the realm of boys and nerds, not because they were patriarchal and were being gatekept but because girls and people considered "cool", wanted nothing to do with these franchises and made fun of all the nerds that did enjoy them. Now that these franchises have become insanely profitable and popular, due almost exclusively to the passion and love from all these "nerds" and "dorks" that kept them alive for decades, but are now being mocked and ridiculed all over again because these nerds are upset that the "cool" have decided that they now want to come in and change everything to make it more palatable for their tastes and politics and treat the people that kept the fandom alive, like they're bad people for not being overjoyed at the "cool" kids coming in to change and denigrate the stories and characters that were so beloved by nerds for so many years.

[@dgrhm08]

Disney's motive for acquiring Marvel, Lucasfilm & Pixar was to increase their marketshare beyond preteen girls. Once acquired, they decided to warp those things into something non-geeky. Can anyone really say anything Disney created before those purchases appealed to geeks? (Tron, maybe?) The women writing & producing the gek stuff would have had contempt for those of us who loved/lived the stuff. They were never immersed in the culture. A she-geek was a common as a unicorn.

[@sebastianwittmeier1274]

Have you seen the Black Hole movie by Disney?

[@sebastianwittmeier1274]

It is from 1979 and would qualify.

[@Sarafimm2]

From what I remember: Bryan Singer told Hugh Jackman not to read comics about Wolverine in the (2000) X-men. You can tell that fact in some scenes that were made early on in the filming. The on set crew would smuggle him copies of Wolverine comics to read as filming progressed. After the movie made money and a sequel was planned, he bought them himself and really got into the character for (2003) X-men 2 in which he played a far superior version of Wolverine both visually (great effects team!) and character acting-wise. Jackman continues to play Wolverine today as it's an iconic role for him. As far as Robert Downey, Jr. and Iron Man, he was already a fan of the comic book character and knew the flaws, technical behavior, and charisma he should put onscreen to sell him the way he should as an actor. And we know that Iron Man is what really kicked off Disney being able to produce all the Marvel movies.

[@BrettCaton]

Robert Downey, Jr. having serious flaws and trouble with alcohol made him the perfect actor for the part, too. Back then, they weren't afraid to make complex characters, who had to struggle past their demons. Whereas now we have Mary Sues who are just perfect and everyone else needs to acknowledge their greatness.

[@abrahambobst4602]

And it was led by Favreau, obviously a fan as well.

[@MrSuckeragi]

This is what makes Henry Cavill a gem. An actor and a fan.

[@edtoomuchfun957]

THANK YOU! You summarized all the issues I've seen over the past 10 years and see no hope of ending.

[@franek_izerski]

It's about ideological warfare. They don't care about losing money and the ones who are pushing this, take warfare, any warfare, quite seriously.

[@mrgoober6320]

Worse, it's social engineering.

[@captainblue2344]

Art has become a greased funnel to shovel BS and contempt down the public's throat.

[@303Thatoneguy]

They do care about money

[@RoninCatholic]

@@303Thatoneguy Marginally, as an afterthought. The Message(TM) is the main point.

[@lostscott9912]

This video was my discovery of you! I’m an early 90’s baby and because of my ‘late 60’s baby’ nerd father, I understood and related to every reference, actually every word you said. I have been noticing this too. Matter of fact, I’ve caught on to all of this for a while now and if I’m being honest, I have been hopelessly optimistic thinking “ok so maybe this movie/show didn’t turn out so great. It’s just the learning curve. The next thing will be better. They will eventually get it right!” To be honest, I think I need to come to terms and accept the fact that these companies are doing the exact thing that George always spoke about and why he created Lucasfilm and ILM in the first place. You were spot on! Great video! I’ll subscribe and will be buying some merch when I have some extra change in my pocket!

[@jenniferhanses]

I think you may have a good point there, amidst discounting all the women in the fandom who have the same interests and geek over the same things. Not only do we exist, but we actually exist in sizeable numbers. I have bonded with other women over reruns of the 1960s Monkees show or the many loves of Commander Shepard. I also feel the need to point out that though the team behind Star Trek II through IV weren't Trekkies, they pulled every episode of the show to watch before writing. You don't have to be a fan to give something its due. Though the fact that they were part of wider geekdom may explain why they understood wider geekdom. I think a piece that often gets misses is that a lot of female, non-white, GLBT geeks stand with straight white males on the fact that the stuff we're being served sucks. We're just stuck in the middle because then we get attacked by the corporations for being whiny geeks while we're attacked from the other side because the diversity is supposedly for us. Let me tell you, asking for a female, non white, or GLBT character is not the same as saying "make the stories suck." And it's getting really tiring being attacked on both sides. So, look, the stories don't suck because there's representation. Some of the Mass Effect Geeks have been suggesting that they do a prequel series for TV rather than the trilogy itself. The proposed series would follow Anderson (a black man), Hackett (a Latino man if you ever read archive info) and a woman (race unknown) lead diplomat during the first contact wars and after. There's been no issues with this diversity because this is how the story was already established. I'm sure the corporations could find a way to ruin it. But look how many bases you have covered in the original material that you could focus on! No one is taking issue with this concept. It's already established lore. You could take it and run. The other thought I had as you mentioned Wrath of Khan and how geeks relate to culture is that Wrath of Khan is influenced by Shakespeare and many other classics. Indiana Jones and Star Wars were influenced by classic movies. Geeks have interconnected cultural hobbies, but those hobbies aren't all ephemeral. Some of them stretch back decades and centuries and reflect a very long understanding of storytelling. And that leads me to ask why modern writers of TV drivel don't share that long background of interconnected stories. Because they are writers, and I suffer under the delusion that people choose that career because they like and appreciate stories, and have read a lot of them. I mean, not that I've looked, but I can't recall Kathleen Kennedy, for example, ever mentioning the stories that she likes, not ever a surface mention for the paparazzi, much less an in depth "I am influenced by Agatha Christie or Sweet Valley High." Nothing. Not even non-geeky things.

[@corvidaegudmund1186]

I think most people take issue more with a story/character being done poorly than with things like gender, even if they dont know it themselves. People have adored strong/heroic characters of all stripes over the years. It's just most writers now appear to think that heroism is somewhat childish, and strength=being a jerk. Plus, I think they dont want to research old stories and legends to make quality stories. For instance, on the new live action Little Mermaid, it has been pointed that there are African mermaid legends. Why not do a story about one of those, instead of representation being a copy/paste of an existing tale? And yeah, they say they want female fans....until said females start disagreeing with them.

[@jkeauctions]

One of the best stories of The Orville Season 3 was "A Tale of Two Topas". Because it was well written, well acted, and well directed, I thought it was one of the finest pieces of visual scifi I had seen in a long time. It was really a good old fashioned Star Trek morality play, and you could take it any way you wanted to, but you could appreciate the artistry and skill that went into making it. The story dealt with Family, sexual orientation, essentially a coming of age story in the Heinlein tradition. SciFi turned me into a libertarian. My mentors were Robert Heinlein, Paul Anderson, and Jerry Pournelle. They taught me to accept everybody for who they are, and that I could be anybody I wanted to be. I don't care what color you are, or who you sleep with, as we used to say in the US, it's a free country. Live your best life, and screw the folks trying to pit us all against each other. There are a lot of straight white males like me who do not fit into the stereotype, who just want to live and let live, so that we can all lead fulfilling lives and have fun doing it. Here's to all the nerds.

[@roddmatsui3554]

We built the whole city for them, with paperboy routes and grocery clerk jobs, and much toil and being on time to the theatres, showing love endlessly; and they soiled the paradise.

[@krnatsu]

One writer I wish got more attention is Dwayne McDuffy, who was a black writer who co-created Milestone, which created a lot of non-white characters who would later be bought by DC, such as Static, Icon, Rocket (not the Racoon lol) and Hardware. And the reason Dwayne made these characters was not only because there weren't as many non-White characters, but additionally they were simply good characters, who appealed to a variety of different people, not just other black people. So of course DC in their "Return of Milestone" from a few years ago, needed as much modern politics as possible, and shit all over the point Dwayne was making, its not enough for your character to be a certain race, gender, sexuality or so on, they also have to be a character. Dwayne also wrote for the DCAU and was the show runner for the UAF era of Ben 10 one of my favourite shows ever. He unfortunately passed away in the early 2010s, but I'm not sure on how well he would've appreciated how DC mishandled his characters just to score brownie points. The point I'm making is writers like Dwayne, understood something that Kathleen Kennedy, Rian Johnson and Mindy Kaling just to name a few will never grasp, it is not the fact you're character is in the minority that determines their worth, its how well they are written that makes us like them. Static, Harley Quinn, John Constantine and Jaime Blue Beetle are are just a few examples of either non-white, male or straight characters who are loved for who they are, not just because they exist. I hope I made my point clear, because I just wish these corporations would realise there's too many hairs in their food for us to want to eat it

[@geoffwheeler2994]

I think everything comes down to a massive miscalculation on their part of ways they thought would expand their market and make them more money. Thinking they'll always have the diehard fans, if they target it more for the mass audience casual fanbase they can be more profitable. Same thing has happened with rule changes over the past 5 to 10 years in basketball and football. All they ended up doing was making movies and sports almost unwatchable for those same die hard fans they took for granted.

[@pigeonpoo1823]

I think there's a correlation between people who care and easter eggs. There's more easter eggs in Picard 3's museum than in the whole of 1&2. And it was a geek who made S3.

[@disruptive_innovator]

Well said. It's a neat thing when a nerd discovers another nerd. There's a kind of electricity, "geeking out" i guess. It was great discovering in the myriad of banal entertainment that some nerds out there had created nuggets of that electricity in our culture. Except for a few rare sparks it's all gone now, like tears in rain.

[@darkhierophant4914]

My geeky interests are so important to me so much that i was made fun of in high school and I didn't care. I'm still a fan of those things. Transformers, comics, video games, rpgs, anime were all a part of me. I get bitter and angry when i see things I've loved most of my life get destroyed, especially by the current woketard movement.

[@Captain_Neckbeard]

Same. I got made fun of for wearing video game t-shirts. I'm still the same guy 20 years later. My bullies were stupid rednecks, so screw em.

[@jackuber7358]

Man, you had me rolling several times. And when you started listing those movies, I found myself yelling, "yes!" and "right!" several times. Nice job!

[@scottn7cy]

It's more that geeky interests. I feel like Disney is molesting my childhood memories.

[@FearMonarch]

Man you nailed it, I recently (i mean about a year ago) went to my first concert again in y e a r s and it was for the band that did the soundtrack for Scott Pilgrims video game playing that OST and some other songs, and it was just a nerd gathering. Undertale shirts, borderline full cosplay, people talking about comics in the line outside the show, it was wild. I was wearing my kirby hat and a guy in front of the line had a kirby button down hawaiian shirt and he was like "yooo kirby!" And pointed at me when we saw each other. It was just a blissful gathering of people still on the niche all just "stuck in a room"

[@CallMeChato]

Yep.

[@OpinionFactChecker]

I was the first person in Western Australia to play (and probably the only) the Colecovision system as my father was the repair agent. We set up a wheel and screen in a formula 3000 car at an electronics show, that was very cool, I miss those days!

[@BrettCaton]

I had a friend who was one of the first people in nsw to play on the shared battletech arcade games. I never saw them myself, but he was totally blown away by them. I played the boardgame and was happy with that, but I do miss the days I could go out with my mates and sit down in machines at an arcade and share stuff together.

[@armorhand3332]

Wow, you nailed that one on the head (and yes, you probably did hear me laughing out loud). I really appreciate your candor - and humor. Sincerely, a lifetime citizen of Geekdom.

[@benh715]

What a great synopsis of woke! An anti resilience movement. Brilliant.

[@JeghedderThomas]

That's actually a pretty good observation, we do tend to spread our interests across many media - and proper geeks (or nerds if you will) are quite versatile, especially since we turned "cool". Even better when we manage to straddle our nerdiness with a functioning real life, meaning we may quote Ray Bradbury/Star Trek/Monty Python etc. yet also be able to do the shopping and tying our shoelaces, often at the same time.

[@SierraSierraFoxtrot]

Never heard of the firesign theater troupe! Thank you for mentioning them, sounds very interesting!

[@hehhehheh4588]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKiqZpZvftiamKM

[@ardanblade641]

I think you hit the nail on the head! We aren’t looking for one thing, but many. We want the elements we love about a franchise to be part of it. Continuity, consistence of ideas, and what makes those ideas fit together in a cohesive whole define a setting for us. Blasters in Star Wars need to not just shoot a laser bolt, but it needs to sound cool and make puffs of smoke as it vaporizes what it hits. We want to hear the roar of an engine as a car races in a chase scene. We like that the ship in Alien has 80s screens everywhere. It makes the world feel alive, and gives us cool things to enjoy!

[@markrichards7377]

I remember Felicia Day did a nice piece on what being a geek means. She said something about it not being just a demographic to be marketed to. There is more to the culture than buy buy buy.

[@robmartin1691]

Perfect take. A must link and share for friends and family to understand...we're not complainers, we're business consultants.

[@jspaingreene6350]

Unfortunately there is a small contingent of nerds that still are drinking the kool-aid. My brother is one... he's in his 40s and still goes to the comic shop for his subscriptions, loves his toys, analyzes everything and STILL sees everything put out. He's flagging on Disney+ a little, but still a true believer. I love Harrison Ford. When i told my bro i wouldn't see the new Indy film because i didn't want to see him further denigrated... he said it's because i listen to right-wing incel reviews. 😮 I told him that people like Chato and Drinker are the kinds of nerds I identify with. Lol... never mind that i have my own opinions, or that i introduced him to comic collecting, or that I'm a free thinking 50 year old woman of color... which doesn't matter, but apparently some people think it does and that they should represent my interests 😂

[@corvidaegudmund1186]

Heaven forbid you want to see a character you like treated well, huh? As a LOTR fan, I didn't watch Rings of Power for similar reasons. They took what was basically a powerful sorceress who *didn't need armor* to be the most powerful person in a room and turned her into a common fighter (and not the compelling kind). It's like they want women/people of color.....until said people start disagreeing with them.

[@Ni999]

Sorry to hear that about your brother. As your friend, it's incumbent on me to help by pointing out that he's not a nerd, he's a dweeb and a simp. Be brave, stay strong, you're not alone.

[@jspaingreene6350]

@@Ni999 LoL...I love him but sometimes you gotta stand up to the ridiculousness. Hopefully he'll snap out of it

[@jspaingreene6350]

@@corvidaegudmund1186 Commiserations - I'm sorry we have to witness it, but at least we can talk to each other and know we're not crazy. Love your user name - I love crows and ravens. While I've always enjoyed female characters and hoped for more - they're definitely going about it the wrong way. And like you so rightly point out - why are they wrecking the ones that exist???

[@Ni999]

@@jspaingreene6350 🙏

[@masonbricke4568]

Your metaphor of actors and actresses being merely "vessels to pour dialogue into" is spot on and perfect. Excellent choice of words. :)

[@CaptnNuco]

I have always believed that the success of "The Big Bang Theory" has had a negative impact on Nerd/Geek culture. The show seemed to lack genuine respect for the fandoms it portrayed, instead opting for a superficial portrayal that focused on mocking the characters as "freaks" for comedic effect. Ever since this show, executives and producers have eagerly sought out franchises with established fan bases, without truly comprehending the reasons behind their existence. Geekdom, by its very nature, caters to a niche audience, and these corporations attempt to transform it into something that appeals to a broader, mainstream audience that never would have watched the show in the first place. It's a recipe for failure, and we are seeing that today with core fans walking away from these franchises. More and more you hear "I've given up on (insert franchise here)" from longtime fans, and it's heartbreaking. The Irony of the whole situation is if they left those franchises alone, let them be what made them special, they would have made more Money.

[@MarleneBlackwinter]

Very, well said!! Excellent and you absolutely nailed some of the most important key points of Geekdom and Nerdosity!!!

[@matthewiskra771]

When you listed the numerous geek touchstones and shibboleths I found myself... knowing each and every one. Even more obscure ones like Fireball XL5. Now I am equally parts smugly proud and forlornly ashamed.

[@CallMeChato]

Never be ashamed.

[@doktor_ghul]

Stand Strong, Brother. SPECTRUM IS GREEN.

[@Ni999]

Trying to grasp how that famous documentary, Fireball XL5, is somehow obscure and I got nothing. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@n.d.m.515]

​@@Ni999 I am a lifelong Geek and Nerd, but never heard of it or known anyone who ever talked about whatever it is you are referencing. Remember, just because you know or like something and have friends the same doesn't mean it's not overall obscure. Not every Geek and Nerd likes the same things. I hate anime.

[@Ni999]

@@n.d.m.515 It's not anime, it's a fantastic puppet show by the maker of Thunderbirds and Space 1999, to name but a few. You didn't get the reference probably because you're not old enough. Either way, I really enjoyed your belief that you were in some sort of position to lecture me about anything. An actual geek would have done a search, found the episodes online free to watch and then checked it out in the time it took you to explain to me how to conform and care about your feelings. If I find your Teddy laying around here, I'll be sure to put him back in your pram. 🙂😘

[@MikeJones-xv5lm]

I think I heard the Chin himself say it best. At a convention, Bruce Campbell said "a movie buff may see a million movies but a fan will watch one movie a million times". Exaggerated sure but it is how the original Star Wars became a classic. I was 7 years old when Star Wars debuted (and back then it was just called Star Wars, the Nee Hope was added later). I begged and whined and spent my allowance to see that movie 8 to 19 times in 1977! I can't think of any moder movie I've paid to see more than once in several decades (that includes bothering to watch them on streaming services). Says something about modern movies. Just my thoughts!

[@ninjaswordtothehead]

Funny how, once the movies came out, these "fans" all show up and try to tell the fandom "how things really are"; conveniently forgetting that the original fans are why the movie even exists in the first place.

[@NoalFarstrider]

This is a really good breakdown of what's happening in the societal zeitgeist...

[@Launchpad05]

Imagine if A geeky guy was given the job to direct A 'Lizzie McGuire', or A 'Hanna Montana' project. That's how mismatched things are in Hollywood with who they pick to helm our beloved geek properties. As if they think jocks, and cheer leaders are more qualified than geeks, and nerds.

[@lukedogwalker]

So refreshing to hear someone put actors back in their proper place. I've never cared about their opinions unless they were also working as a director (eg Frakes). Actors are moving scenery, and are nothing without the words and direction that is gifted to them by creatives. In Shakespear's time, actors were ignored unless they were performing... and rightly so.

[@jimihendrix1575]

Personally, I couldn't care LESS what Disney likes or hates. They have absolutely ZERO impact on my life. But I can guarantee Disney cares what I think of them. They have never seen one thin dime from me, and when more folks follow in my footsteps, I promise, Disney will care then.

[@dko6954]

That's a very good take and something we seem to really forget. These people don't have our passions or our interests. They honestly don't know anything about it and it shows.

[@Vulpine407]

The Expanse is one of the few bright spots in geek/pop culture during the latter half of the teens. Well written, with zero activism inserted. It told incredible plot stories, both major and character specific, and had us on the edge of our seats right up to the end of the final episode. BTW, if you haven't read the books, do so after watching the series. Anyway, The expanse had diversity WITHOUT making it seemed forced or contrived in any way. There was a gay couple (one who was a major diplomat in the story) but they simply handled it as part of their life, not trying to force the story and character to revolve around that one facet. THAT is how you have diversity and equality in a production. Simply let it flow as a natural part of the character(s), not make it the only point they exist for in the show/movie. In other words, don't insert/force it upon audiences. This is the primary reason Star Trek Discovery is so cringe-y , while The Expanse is so fantastic. BTW, if you loved The Expanse, check out Babylon 5 from the nineties for another sci-fi series that gave us fantastic stories and great characters.

[@dalevalentine1721]

The fact that the book authors were also writer/producers on the show made a huge difference. Also, regarding the actors not being part of the geek culture, see @TYandThatGuy - Wes Chatham is definitely part of the culture

[@drlca6601]

Honestly Expanse S1 was good, but every thing afterwards was pretty trash IMO. The show suffered from a weak lead and the faux-Patois accents were as unbelievable as they were cringe. I watched until S3, which had issues, but couldn't get past a few episodes of S4.

[@waltersumofan]

love the sidebar accurate science that pops up, which I can't think of at the moment but those moments either in continuity or in conversation when you know the writer knows what you know, y'know? Whether it's for a joke or for background it's those moments that work and are important with the main plots

[@jayblake682]

I think you’re spot on with your analysis, but there’s at least one exception. Chris Chibnall apparently was a huge Dr. Who fan growing up, but he’s been just as disastrous to that IP as any of the others.

[@codyw1]

To be fair, he may have been as a teen but openly admitted when he took over that he hadn't watched the original series in DECADES. That's not a fan.

[@dwayneeutsey8162]

Excellent point. My idea of a good conversation would include going down several rabbit holes: old Star Trek, the Beatles and whether Paul is Dead, The Big Lebowski and Dudeism, Caddyshack one-liners, old SCTV parodies, favorite MAD Magazine artists, the 1977 theatrical release of Star Wars, and the classic Hawaiian episodes of The Brady Bunch. Just for starters.

[@abdullaal-naimi9075]

I've been observing this for years, they hate nerds and revel in the destruction of any nerd interests. Several of their commentators have said so themselves. I think the main reason for this hate is that nerd/geek culture has effortlessly created fun and inclusive communities while the sjws cultivated nothing but hate and division. They hate the fact that gamers, comic fans, and other nerds can come together and get absorbed in their own multiverses and enjoy their time. The squares can't seem to find the joy in life, and why should they, when everything is sexist, racist, abelist, transphobic, and whatever else-phobic they'll come up with.

[@colorin81colorado]

Thank you Paul for bringing this topic today. I'm amazed (but I shouldn't) how many of us here in 2023 are still remembering the day we first saw the Star Wars movie back in 1977... As I go through the chat, lots of your subscribers seem to have shared memories even though we are living all over the world and come from very different cultures and races. You are right in stating how the current cancer/cancel culture has infiltrated all our beloved franchises but not out of our shared love for them but out of their hate and disdain for the things we have always loved. All the Victoria Alonsos and Kathelene Kennedys of the world will never take away who we are! We are the old hard my lads!

[@jarchack]

Fireball XL5 was the show that started my sci-fi journey when I was a wee laddie. Now, other than books, I've almost given up on the genre outside of a few shows like "the expanse". I'm cautiously pessimistic about Star Trek and my guess is that SNW season 2 is going to be barely watchable.

[@KenMeredith]

I'm glad you mentioned the actors. A lot of good people have been unfairly treated for simply doing what was asked of them. You properly lay the blame at the right feet.

[@johnnymidnight2982]

Geeks are made. Nerds are born.

[@edouthouse613]

As a friend of mine was fond of saying, "Gotta get in where you fit in." Disney is trying to forcibly merge completely different things with predictable results.

[@beebTim]

The problem with Nerd Culture is that sooner or later you end up with a Bill Gates or a Mark Zuckerberg.

[@theghostofmaximumvolume3414]

Even worse you get a Dave Filoni and a Kevin Smith.

[@jiheeder5611]

Never stop, Mr. Chato! This was a powerful thought that needs be available to the universe.

[@stainlesssteelrat2821]

geeks and nerds really care about the IPs they are into and will call out dubious plot moves , dodgy cannon and so on ... Normies not so much .

[@holdingpattern245]

speaking of calling out dodgy things, 4:16

[@tiredman4540]

Your list took me up into soaring vistas and down into the crypts of memory! How can people with so much power and resources at their fingertips be so miserable, and expect us to be too, when there are so many stories and worlds out there?

[@AlejandroDiazadiaz201]

Chato, I am as much of a nerd as they get. But maturity showed me something that you miss here. Normal people don't dive into every detail of lore, the same way we don't memorize sports stats. And that is ok. And I don't need to know what a sports player had for breakfast to enjoy a great game the same way they don't need to understand Repulsor technology to enjoy Iron Man. I'll get a date to Marvel because it's not made for Nerds anymore. She'll enjoy it without 10 years of comics in her brain. We have our nerd cons to discuss the vitiability of a Heisenberg Compensator, and that would bore a non nerd the same way we'd space out at a needle point summit. EDIT: I welcome the non nerds, if you're not a purist, have a sense of humor, and don't behave like brat because of high school, you'll make friends and get dates. Hollywood just handed you a thing in common with them.

[@johntabler349]

This is the rare channel that always offers a unique non copycat point of view