Geeks Have Inherited the Earth!
Growing up, I was the kid who loved going to the movies, played video games, went to the comic book store all the time, played Magic: The Gathering, collected toys, did some acting, made my own films, wrote my own stories, and was an artist who wanted to get into animation. I was as hardcore of a geek as you could be in a time when being a geek was not cool. Needless to say, I got picked on a lot.
It has been really interesting and awesome to see that all change over the years. These days being a geek is looked at in a different light. We are living in a time when it's actually considered cool. Look at all the comic book and genre movies being made now that cater to the geek audience. Hollywood has been taken over by geeks, and they are making awesome movies for us. Then, of course, there are the conventions popping up all over the country, many of which are selling out ridiculously fast like San Diego Comic-Con. It wasn't too long ago when you could go to San Diego Comic-Con and pick up a ticket at the door! Now the whole thing sells out 15 minutes after tickets go on sale 6 months in advance.
The geek culture is growing like crazy, and I keep hearing the phrase, "geeks will inherit the earth." Well, I'm hear to tell you, I believe that geeks already have inherited the earth. Even the people who were "popular" back in the day are attempting to jump into the geek culture. I was recently sent an interview with character actor Mark Sheppard, who is on the series Supernatural, and he made a comment that sparked this little discussion of mine. He said:
"The geeks really have inherited the Earth, if you think about it. The kids that were writing sci-fi stories at school are now writing sci-fi stories for television and for film and for graphic novels. There's so much more out there with the proliferation of the Internet and the delivery systems. There's now a better way of reaching your audience than there used to be when we only had three channels and everything had to fit a certain format."
It's true! Look at the amazingly talented people out there who are working in the industry and giving us all of the incredible shows and movies that we love to watch. Some of these individuals include J.J. Abrams, Guillermo del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Jon Favreau, Marc Webb, Gareth Edwards, Natalie Portman, Zack Snyder, Robert Kirkman, and Christopher Nolan, and there are a ton more. They are all geeks like us who grew up going through a lot of the same stuff we did. Now they have the power and are making a living doing the things they love.
This trend is going to continue. There are a so many talented young individuals out there right now who are dreaming of the day when they will be able to kick ass doing the geeky things that they love for a living. Many of them are future filmmakers and storytellers. I'm sure you've heard that Abrams is sometimes considered the next Steven Spielberg. Well, there's someone out there right now who will one day be considered the next J.J. Abrams.
Thanks to the awesome power of the Internet, the geeks of the world have a voice. It's a place where geeks can find each other and see the things they have created. One of the coolest things about having a geek blog like GeekTyrant is that I have the privilege of finding and writing about all of the amazing stuff from our fellow geeks that I come across online. There is an endless supply of art, short films, fan films, cosplay, toys, comics, movies, TV shows, web-series, and more to talk about and share. The fact that there's an endless supply of this awesomeness is even more proof that geeks have inherited the earth.
Most importantly, the Internet is a place where these skilled people can be discovered. Several short film directors, artists, and writers have been discovered by putting their work out there for the world to see. Who's to say any of you can't be next?
It really is an exciting time to be a geek! We've taken over the world, and things are just getting better! Embrace your geekdom and keep working toward making your dreams a reality. You never know what can happen. After all, we do live in a world that's overrun by geeks.