The Changing Face of Nerd-dom Felix O’Connor
So far, 2016 has been a year of upheaval. Not since swathes of anti-feminists swarmed the internet during the infamous Gamergate of 2014-15 have I seen so much discussion of equality in mainstream pop culture, and so much backlash. This year, with much feminist fanfare and butthurt fanboy outage, came the most recent addition to the Ghostbusters film canon. Ghostbusters (2016), as it’s being called by many for clarity’s (and in some cases, vitriol’s) sake, is a reboot of the much loved classic 1984 film Ghostbusters starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson as a team of exterminator style ghost hunters. The 2016 reboot’s most notable difference to the 1984 version is that the four phantom fighting heroes are not quite as, well, male. No, this ghostbusting team, for the first time ever, has an all female ensemble. As a refreshing part from the “token chick” trope, this decision was taken to less than kindly by a certain portion of the male nerd demographic (read: straight, white and cisgender). The film is good. It’s an enjoyable summer blockbuster romp through New York city with some great action sequences and really funny, engaging characters. It’s great to see SNL’s Kate McKinnon, the first out lesbian on the show to date, finally getting recognition as the pure red hot ball of talent that she is. But the most interesting thing about this film, I think, is how it comments on the state of nerd culture right now, in 2016. The 1984 film wasn’t really about nerdiness. Yes, Stantz and Egon and even Venkman, at a slight stretch, were nerds. But in 1984 being a nerd meant a very different thing to what it means now. In 1984 comic conventions were still a fringe event, as opposed to the massively influential cornerstones of media consumption that they are in 2016. Being a computer scientist or games developer in 1984 was characterised as being a loser in your parents’ basement where now, while that stereotype still somewhat persists, professions in computing and games are some of the highest earning in the world. In 2016 superhero films like Deadpool with a traditionally uneventful February release makes over twice its budget back in the opening weekend. In 1984 the only superhero
film to be released was the infamously bad Supergirl. The world has changed drastically in the 32 years since Ghostbusters (1984) was released. Those very nerds that felt outcast by the mainstream media in their youth, who felt like Ghostbusters (1984) understood them and their geeky niche, are now being marketed to as a valuable and profitable demographic. The underdog has become the mainstream and yet retains the mindset of the underdog. Which is becomes more complicated when taking into account the fact that some of us- the LGBT+ community, women, people of colour- have not had the same rise to mainstream importance as the straight white cisgender males of nerd-dom. Many of us still struggle for accurate, respectful representation (or representation at all for that matter) in mainstream media. Which is where we get back to Ghostbusters (2016). One of the central plot elements of the film (minor spoilers incoming) is the idea of finding community when one needs it. The film’s arguable protagonist Erin (Kristen Wiig) tries to hide away her former interest in the paranormal in order to better assimilate into respectable academic society. It’s established later in the film that she is still haunted (no pun intended) by childhood bullying and isolation over her unconventional interest in ghosts, and trauma over a ghost repeatedly visiting her and no one believing her. No one, except for Abbey (Melissa McCarthy) a co-founder of the Ghostbusters and childhood friend. Rowan (Neil Casey) the villain of the film, has similar issues with shame and a history of isolation, however instead of finding community as Erin does, he lets his resentment of others fester and turn into something much more toxic altogether, culminating in a desire to destroy the world for being so cruel to him. What Ghostbusters (2016) does is takes a mirror to its audience and says “Which of these would you rather be?”. It acknowledges the pain felt by both Rowan and Erin as valid and shows different ways that real people react to this kind of pain and trauma- internalisation or community. As members of the LGBT+ community, as students, as nerds, we all experience injustice and feel overwhelmed by a world that seems indifferent to our struggles. But we have a choice. We can let those overwhelming feeling get the best of us, smother us, fill us with rage and resentment, let them turn us into giant undead creatures bent on smashing New York to pieces. Or we can use those feelings to grow stronger. We can use them to fuel us, to bring us together, to power those awesome guns that Kate McKinnon licks like a badass right before her big action sequence. So, when there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who are you going to call?