When did Nerd Culture go to shit/mainstream? - also how did it go to shit

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Nerd culture is just a matter of certain cohorts of dweebs never having to grow up, and then having tons of money to spend on toys. Earlier generations of nerds didn't have Star Wars toys and Mario.
 
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BAZINGA! BAZOOKA! BAZONKA! BIZOINKES! BABOOZA! BADONGA! BABOUNCY! BASQUISHY! BODONGO! BABILLA! BONGONGO! PEEPOOPOO! BLOWBIMPSKY! BRAPOOPA!
 
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It started to go mainstream long before it went to shit, it started to become mainstream as far back as the early 2000s with movies like The Lord of The Rings and Spider-Man, by 2005 "geek chic" was definitely a thing, however another big turning point of mainstream acceptance was 2008 with The Dark Knight briefly becoming the highest grossing movie and was in serious consideration for Best Picture.

It didn't start to go to shit until 2012 when Anita Sarkeesian got on her little soapbox, things worsened even more with Gamergate in 2014, but things didn't REALLY start to go to shit until 2017 when Marvel comics totally went to shit and The Last Jedi came out.

Everything was still at a decent level circa 2015, but these last 5 years have been a free fall into shit.
 
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MysticLord said:
Revenge of the Nerds, which BTW is a movie in which the bad guys win.
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Remember that one scene where the nerd literally rapes the jock's girlfriend while wearing a Darth Vader mask and it's played up like he's the good guy and he did nothing wrong?

Man, it was right in front of us this whole time
 
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Pissmaster said:
Remember that one scene where the nerd literally rapes the jock's girlfriend while wearing a Darth Vader mask and it's played up like he's the good guy and he did nothing wrong?

Man, it was right in front of us this whole time
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Her reaction and his explanation were forced and very off. Seemed like wish fulfillment, and IIRC there was a different filter around that scene.
 
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The bastions of ultra autism within the 'nerdy things' sphere are being watered down for mass appeal which is why it seems like its going to shit, but there are plenty of other ultra autistic subcultures which are either popping up or staying strong.

Its just that the ones you love and have invested in have been carved up to be sold off as individually wrapped and self contained experiences for mass consumption. Like the difference between a lifelong fisherman and a guy who pays for a fishing trip experience where he catches a salmon at a fish farm.

Enjoy the benefits of shitloads of cash flowing into your interest areas, it will fall out of vogue eventually, just hope that the creators you like haven't overextended themselves on the bubble and that the core audience and them are willing to reunite.
 
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2007 nerd culture.jpg

I normally prefer not to communicate in image macros, but I think this guy has a point. I especially find the release of Halo 3 significant, as that was such a huge event and I remember the hype machine was bigger than like anything I'd ever seen before, and suddenly it seems like every game needed that kind of marketing surrounding it.

Also the release of the iPhone was like opening up the normie floodgates. Honestly that event alone probably cements 2007 as the year nerd shit went mainstream, since now you didn't need a mouse and keyboard to access the internet, you could just fingerpaint your way on to the net unimpeded.
 
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L50LasPak said:
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I normally prefer not to communicate in image macros, but I think this guy has a point. I especially find the release of Halo 3 significant, as that was such a huge event and I remember the hype machine was bigger than like anything I'd ever seen before, and suddenly it seems like every game needed that kind of marketing surrounding it.

Also the release of the iPhone was like opening up the normie floodgates. Honestly that event alone probably cements 2007 as the year nerd shit went mainstream, since now you didn't need a mouse and keyboard to access the internet, you could just fingerpaint your way on to the net unimpeded.
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The straw that broke the camels back was obvious that hoopy the hoop never became the portal meme as the devs intended. Such is our dark path set in stone. :punished:
 
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Pissmaster said:
Remember that one scene where the nerd literally rapes the jock's girlfriend while wearing a Darth Vader mask and it's played up like he's the good guy and he did nothing wrong?

Man, it was right in front of us this whole time
Click to expand...
Watching that movie as a preteen in the early 2000s even at the time the rape scene creeped me out, the scene where they spy on the sorority sisters is fine, it was in keeping the theme of voyeurism many comedies around that time had like Animal House and Porky's, but having a character actually rape someone was taking things too far.

L50LasPak said:
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Wasn't even aware of the change of guard at G4 but it makes so much sense since it was around that time that I stopped watching it.

Another thing that happened that year was the big schism between Portal/Bioshock and Halo 3/CoD4, the former, along with games from the two prior years like Shadow of The Colossus and Okami, really gave rise to the "games as art" crowd which eventually went Woke and the latter really solidified the more "dudebro" type of gamer which as time went on the schism between these two groups would help fuel conflicts like Gamergate.

L50LasPak said:
I normally prefer not to communicate in image macros, but I think this guy has a point. I especially find the release of Halo 3 significant, as that was such a huge event and I remember the hype machine was bigger than like anything I'd ever seen before, and suddenly it seems like every game needed that kind of marketing surrounding it.
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Indeed, it was a big deal to see the game being advertised on stuff like soda.

L50LasPak said:
Also the release of the iPhone was like opening up the normie floodgates. Honestly that event alone probably cements 2007 as the year nerd shit went mainstream, since now you didn't need a mouse and keyboard to access the internet, you could just fingerpaint your way on to the net unimpeded.
Click to expand...
I knew when Apple announced they were going to make a cellphone that it would be the biggest fucking thing since sliced bread but even I couldn't have predicted the impact it would have.
 
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