I don’t know if everyone has noticed, or maybe it’s just me, but all of the sudden it’s cool to be a nerd. It went from “look at that dork reading a book” to “look at that hipster reading a book.” Nerd-dom has not only become accepted, it is celebrated. It’s celebrated with huge conventions and enormous fanfare. And as a total nerd, I have to say I’m pretty happy about this change. No longer do I have to hide my nerdy interests. I can finally break out and show the world the true dork that I am. And at last, the world will love me more for it.
The hipster craze has actually really helped the nerd cause. They made it cool to be different and to forge your own path. So hipsters, although I’ll never be one of you because I’m just too mainstream, I’ll always appreciate what you did for my people. Now it’s cool to like old things: literature, classical music, movies from before the 1970s. It makes you seem educated and cultured instead of boring and bookish. And a love of old things is probably my nerdiest quality. I truly believe that I was born in the wrong century. But as my luck would have it, now all the cool parties are Great Gatsby themed, and not coming in costume makes you lame. There is no longer the idea of being “too cool.” No one is too cool to dress up and no one is too cool to get super into it. All that aloof ambivalence just doesn’t cut it anymore. Now is the time to be a part of something, to go all out. So if I want to dress in full flapper attire like I just stepped out of the twenties then I damn well will and I’m 100% cooler for it.
Another thing that has recently become cool is sci-fi and fantasy. I’m talking about Harry Potter, Star Wars, Sherlock, Game of Thrones, Star Trek, and most of all superheroes. Ok, who are we kidding, Harry Potter was always cool and anyone who says differently is kidding themselves. But superheroes have reemerged and they’re better than ever. It’s a simple formula really. Take the hottest actors in Hollywood add action, adventure, and fighting, throw in a dash of romance and you’ve got yourself the next hottest thing. Superheroes have become so cool that they even have several different versions of the same movie at the same time. I’m talking to you Batman and Spiderman. So now we can all don our favorite superhero costumes and get together to discuss and analyze every second of the movie with actor and director input. I just don’t think life can get any better than that.
So I say to the nerds of the world: our time is now. Take hold of it and don’t waste it. Right now we’re cool and that’s not something I’m going to let go of without a fight.
