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Movie News
Patton Oswalt, Real Geeks Are Already Awake...
Hey folks, Harry here… and I've had a lot of reader mail about a recent article that Patton Oswalt wrote about "GEEK CULTURE coming to an end?" due to the lack of exclusivity and how now that anyone can be a geek if they dedicate themselves to it – thanks to the instant knowledge and accessibility to so much of "Geek" culture as Patton perceives it.
However – there's a few things that bug me about the article. You should know that I'm very friendly with Patton, in a… we know each other, there's history. The moment that I knew Geek culture was completely out of control, was when Patton was the voice of the star character of a PIXAR film. Geeks win.
Patton is an incredibly talented comedian – and I'm betting on certain specific areas of Geekery, he'd school my ass up and down both sides of a New York block. But, his big picture? Well, it is comedy. It makes me laugh. However, there's a good many readers that took it completely seriously. It was if Patton had seen the lighthouse signal and rode through cyberspace screaming about the BRITISH.
But it is the end of a year, that is giving birth to the Geekiest year that I think I've ever even dared to imagine. But that's not thinking long term. Let's go back to the birth of Geek Culture.
It didn't start with Star Wars. That's the atomic bomb that set off the modern Geek Army that has encircled the globe. But it began with the forming of the first Science Fiction societies & fanzines were formed. It started when 17 year old Julius Schwartz and 16 year old Forrest J Ackerman got together with their friend Mort Weisinger and started publishing a Fanzine called TIME TRAVELLER. Ackerman & Schwartz were many things, but these guys were a quality and a level of Geek that very few living Geeks can rival. Right now, the greatest living Geek in my estimation is Ray Bradbury & Ray Harryhausen. If you get it, you get it, if you don't… I'm dearly sorry.
Now throughout those men's lives, they pushed the agenda of Geekery to the forefront of culture. Those men were geeks. Stan Lee is an astonishing geek. Get him talking about 30's & 40's films and you'll spend one of the best days of your life. I know, I've done it. But the thing is… We live in the world these men envisioned when they read Jules Verne and H.G. Welles. When they watched the birth of UNIVERSAL STUDIOS and all the great studios – and they dared to let those film fever pitch their dreams to such a degree that they all became the founding fathers of modern Geek culture. There's hundreds and hundreds of others. Fans that became wild hyper amazingly functional geeks that created companies like ILM, DIGITAL DOMAIN, DREAMWORKS, WETA… The folks that made modern geek film culture like Landis, Lucas, Spielberg, Carpenter, DePalma, Bogdanovich, Friedkin, Dante…. Those guys live and breathe film, cinema and pop-culture.
As I've gone about meeting most of the shapers of the modern geek world, I find that the latest wave of Geek Cinema innovators… Well, they all worship and love all those guys and more.
My generation… People born beginning around 1963 – 1982 (I know that's a wide range, but people in that age range had a similar experience). We're the crazy folks that have changed the world.
One of my best friends for talking about this specific topic. The evolution of Geek Culture is a fellow by the name of Ernie Cline. Because we both keenly had a very similar series of obsessions, he freaks out at me though, simply because my childhood was spent in the birth of modern Convention and Fan culture – as my father was one of the Original Dealers traveling the country finding Geek Treasures to sell to a burgeoning Geek Culture.
Patton bemoans the death of the culture because everything is accessible. Tell that to folks that try to collect MONDO TEES posters. Hell, I'm a geek that has a massive collection, brought on by my deep love of CITIZEN KANE and Kane's collecting habits. I mean. Charles Foster Kane… he was a geek. Orson Welles? Man was on the cover of a SUPERMAN comic, pulled the greatest radio prank in history and was the voice of THE SHADOW?
To me, most of the GEEKS I know and hang out with are folks that like to live good. That aspire to better their lives so that they can be a better geek. That doesn't mean that you have to be at a financial status to be a geek, but it doesn't hurt. BUT – here I am. Self-proclaimed HEADGEEK – and what was I talking to Quint about last night?
What was I tweeting about?
I was tweeting about how I wished there was an INFRA MAN toy. I'd done a search for a couple weeks on Ebay, and was shocked that I couldn't find something. So as I was talking to Quint, I was continuing my search for an INFRA MAN toy. I really desperately want one. Why? Well, I love INFRA MAN. Saw it in a theater in the 70s and it blew my mind. Seriously. Holy shit.
Then, once I created AICN – and Roger Ebert had me on his show as a guest host a few times, well… my fondest memory from working with Rog, was the CULT MOVIE show we did together, where we both traded geek cult cinema – and one of the picks was INFRA MAN. I honestly had a Geek spaz moment live on television. When Roger stopped telling folks about INFRA MAN, and he turned to begin the cross-talk… My hands shot up to click my wrists like INFRA MAN… and Roger's face exploded with delight, because… well, if you love INFRA MAN… you'll do that when someone mentions INFRA MAN.
Other than Ancient Gods, CHINESE SUPER HEROES are few and far apart. Generally, they believe in personal development that would make BATMAN kind of common day. Just look at the SHAW BROTHERS films. Anyway, INFRA MAN was the SHAW Bros' attempt at doing the Superhero thing. The result was this sublimely brilliant crazy fucking movie that I dearly love.
Anyway, in the quiet – post Christmas tabulation of "Did I get what I want" – I suddenly had a flash in my mind of an INFRA MAN toy.. It instantly conjured childhood acting as INFRA MAN on my fortress tree house and at the exact moment, I thought of Roger's delighted expression as I geeked out.
So that's why I want the toy. After a bit of looking, I found this video online. You can find it yourself, if you're good. But it was a YouTube video about one collectors 3 year quest for an INFRA MAN toy. Over the course of the video I learned that some collector contacted a company and paid them to make him the toy. They did… but they made 100 extra. So there's only 101 INFRA MAN toys in the world. And the skull faced Viking helmet baddie? They made 101 of him too. They're awesome toys. INFRA MAN has detachable fists!!! Awesome sauce.
OK – So as a result… At least until I attain my fucking INFRA MAN toy – Geek culture is fucking alive. NOW – there is a chance that by me using the lack of an INFRA MAN toy's readable accessibility, could in fact inspire someone to make not just the toy… But the leather jacket in ridiculously large sizes… and an INFRA MAN motorcycle helmet – and what about all the monsters this time?
If you're a geek that can attain anything and everything you want… You're a bad geek. The basic spirit and fire in the belly of a geek – is a desire for that which you do not yet have. And the best geeks create the things they wish existed. That's why I was producing a JOHN CARTER OF MARS movie with Jim Jacks. To me, it was all about showing people a type of science fiction that has never existed cinematically. For me, JOHN CARTER OF MARS could have been BEN HUR of Science Fantasy Romance genre. We wanted that kind of quality to it. That level of detail and antiquity. When it fell apart, I was not destroyed. I could never believe that I would succeed where so many far greater folks had failed. That story is a tough nut to crack… but now DISNEY is giving it a go – and I hope to God they knock it out of the fucking park.
Because, my entire life. The whole of it. I have wanted to see a JOHN CARTER OF MARS movie. Well… At least 3 days after I first saw EMPIRE STRIKES BACK the opening day… and my Dad handed me the book – and said, "THEY SHOULD MAKE THIS!" They should.
The film that Patton Oswalt is Nostradamusing into existence is actually being written right now. The film that takes everything he loves and shows it in a cohesive, kinda brilliantly conceived meta-verse… Well, that's Ernie Cline's READY PLAYER ONE. Donald Deline is producing. (He's also the absurd awesome man that is producing GREEN LANTERN and YOUR HIGHNESS right now) I can't wait for the world to read Ernie's book… I just hope Warners gets what it is they have, and actually finances it so it can actually be what it has the potential to be. Which is a film… that like what Roger Rabbit did to an entire generation of Animation geeks… this is a story and a device that allows one to create a future geek universe that actually makes a shitload of sense.
How can I say this? Because since reading the manuscript back early this summer, several things in the script have come to pass. And they are little scary things.
GEEK CULTURE is in an amazing place.
It's actually getting kinda scary here in Austin. The geek fervor here is just kind of amazing. The sheer number of blogs and websites that are being birthed out of here… well, it is crazy. Tim League and I blame each other for bringing so many cool events to Austin, but personally… I blame Louis Black, editor of the Austin Chronicle, who blames my Dad in a lot of ways… But like with every scene… there's so many contributing factors. Would we be the geeks we are, without the influence of Gilbert Shelton upon Austin? Or Jack Jaxon? What about those geeks that ran the University of Texas' SATURDAY MORNING FILM CLUB that indoctrinated me to so many of the film fetishes that I've pursued to their exhaustive ends.
GEEK ANTHROPOLOGY is so much fun. To find who was programming the Paramount theater on the night that they double featured SCHLOCK THE BANANA MONSTER and the original STAR WARS… I saw SCHLOCK before I saw Monty Python's work. But they came almost immediately next.
I was chatting with Randy Cook via Skype the other day. We became friends on THE LORD OF THE RINGS set, once I started reenacting the movements of his Stop Motion dinosaurs from Ringo Starr's CAVEMAN. Anyway we were chatting, and his lovely little daughter was sitting at the kitchen table with him, and Randy, smiling at the camera asked her, "What were you for Halloween?" and the little girl smiled her baby toothed grin and squealed… "I was Gwangi!" - Yes, Randy Cook is raising a beautiful blonde daughter that was once GWANGI as a small girl in 2010. Geek culture is fine.
GEEK CULTURE takes care of its own. We're a community. If you have Geek Values you cherish and wish to take root – we as a culture now have given you the power. You can throw Backyard Film Parties for your Neighborhood with a very reasonable investment.
The coolest thing about GEEK CULTURE is the sharing of it. That's the primary lesson we take from Forrest J Ackerman's life. The sharing of our obsessions lead us to new things.
Everything might be available, but you'll always need guides to take you through it. That help open up your interests and that reward you so frequently that you discover more about the things we love.
One of my father's dear friends in the collectibles business was a fella by the name of BOBBY MOREHEAD. He was a friend of Frank Zappa's back in the day. Anyway, Bobby lived on the exact opposite corner of the block that I grew up on, and long before the internet – my father and he found each other. Bobby was gifted with the ability to find amazing things and to geek out about the knowledge contained in the stories behind objects. Same as my father. Well, Bobby had a ton of Circus Freak stuff from the 1800's & early 1900's. As a result, I've known about Chang & Eng, the original Siamese Twins. After the Famous Monsters convention that I went to this year, I came back with the new issues of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND – and on the back cover was an ad for a place on 6th Street in Austin called MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD (Totally not related to Disney's in development MUSEUM OF THE WEIRD movie and future attraction at Disneyland) and I saw a painting there of CHANG & ENG that reminded me of the stories I knew about them and I told my wife. She wound up purchasing this painting for me – and it is now here in the living room. The result was me doing further reading on Chang & Eng. Who knows what that one geeky bit of trivia will lead me. I've already begun rolling around notions – but hell, surely someone is doing that story already.
We don't need computers to become self-aware and create derivative watered down versions of things we're passionate about. That is constantly happening And to the seasoned and hardened geeks that go through geek culture trying to label the references in everything. Then bemoaning the lack of originality. One of my father's college professors, who taught a class on film – told him & Tobe Hooper & Tsui Hark… all of whom were there, that there's just a few basic story variations throughout the history of man. It's all about the characters you build, the environments you put them in, the perils they overcome and how it ends. I think folks will find that Hollywood, writers, television producers, video game creators… they're all drawing upon the history of pop culture.
Pop Culture has always had it's success and failures. That's one of the reasons I love AMADEUS so much… F. Murray's Salieri is such an awesome Mozart geek. It is very much about the feelings of critics versus the popularity of a genius ahead of his time. You know… just like everyone that recognizes the genius of Edgar Wright's SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD. We'll be proven correct in time. Of this I have zero doubt.
GEEK CULTURE is fine, I say this because the same folks that didn't love TRON for the past 28 years – are the leaders of the minority vocal opinion on the film. I know this to be the case because we bitch at each other till the wee hours of the night about it. We call each other names and we feign hating each other for each others' estimation of the film, and then we laugh about the argument and just how crazy we get about it. This is as it should be.
Having access to everything isn't the key, the key is having the time to appreciate it. That is a luxury. As I type this, I've been watching Jean Pierre Melville's ARMY OF SHADOWS about the French Resistence against the Nazi Occupation of France. It is amazing. Before that was ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS – both Criterion BluRays.
The notion that everything is available is also a grotesque statement. We're all waiting for THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED to be unleashed from the Jerry Lewis Prison. I've heard of a 3 hour + version of Robert Altman's POPEYE that Robert Evans allegedly has. Additional musical numbers and more. That shit ain't available. Patton? You seen the new Luc Besson flick with the pterodactyl in Paris and some smoking hot French babe nudity with a MUMMY!!?!? What about SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO – to see that right now you have to fly to Japan… and speak the language. And there are geeks that have done exactly that – and they totally rule the roost on that front. BUT I HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET! And that's all that counts. I have my Yamato Flashlight Wave Motion Gun right next to my computer to remind me everyday to see if it is on BluRay yet. And I have to go to obscure websites for that information.
The number one thing that'll save Geek Culture is a reminder that the coolest things already exist and warrant finding. Everytime Quentin Tarantino comes to Austin with a week of films – there's a host of titles that I've never heard of. When I program BNAT, I do the same. Mainly so I can finally see them the proper way.
But then, I'm the sort of geek that has always had a circle of friends, but I was also popular in other scenes. Cuz I shared that knowledge instead of hoarding it. To me, I celebrate the films that have come before, that were almost made, and that could've been had the studios believed as the filmmaker had.
We're still not entirely there. I mean, we haven't even really touched upon H.P. Lovecraft yet in any sort of greater GEEK awareness level. We're all hoping to Cthulhu that UNIVERSAL will realize that it has the chance to change horror for the better and forever with Guillermo Del Toro's AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS… but it still, even with Cameron producing, will be a fight. Because it still hasn't been done in a manner that has left him available for the masses.
Oh sure, it's been turned into a geek culture item. Bumper stickers and plushies… but it still isn't in a 3800 screen release pattern in 3D IMAX R RATING. We still haven't seen a single Alfred Bester novel on screen. Nobody has really cinematically cracked cyberpunk at the level it could be. Nobody has translated the EC Science Fiction & Pirate & WWI Flying stories to screen. We have not yet seen a Basil Wolverton inspired animated feature. There's so much that we have to mine.
We still don't have a great FANTASTIC FOUR movie series that last for 20 years. Same with most comic characters. We've just been flashed a nipple of the potential that can be made.
I mean. You saw BLACK SWAN – you know Darren Aronofsky has the reins of the next WOLVERINE Movie – that it is a standalone and it will blow our minds like that first time you had really tremendously great sex. And you know it. You can feel it. I even found myself watching a video of Hugh Jackman shrugging off an errant Cricket pitch and I saw his physique that he has right now – heading into that movie – and HOLY SHIT – he isn't even shaped like the previous incarnation of WOLVERINE. He's bulked up. Looks amazing. And now he'll have a director, that he absolutely trusts from THE FOUNTAIN, taking him on an incredible Japanese WOLVERINE story that will blow out minds. You know it.
And we have to wait.
A good geek is always waiting. Painfully so. I find myself dying to see COWBOYS & ALIENS after the sneak at BNAT – to see a great Harrison Ford performance again? To see him with Daniel Craig being badasses? Speaking of Craig, now that MGM has money – we're going to get Sam Mendes making a Craig BOND flick.
Then there's the geek miracle that is coming. The one where Bill Condon makes the TWILIGHT Series awesome with his imminent brilliant 2 part conclusion. I can't begin to explain how he'll do it. But it's Bill, he can't help but be brilliant.
GEEK culture is flourishing – and those douches at the gym in the Boba Fett shirt. They won't beat you up, they're one of us. Speaking of which, does anyone know if GOOGLE really took their name from Tod Browning's FREAKS song?
So folks – do not worry – GEEK Culture is powering forward. We'll always have the battles with the money people that finance the prevalence of quality geek product – and you'll always have a ready supply of geeks to let you know whether or not their looking forward to it.
As for all those knowing glances between hardcore geeks… So long as BNATTERS have Jeff Mahler – we are a tight group, there can only be 200 a year – and yet tons apply. The reason I keep it intimate is so that it remains intimate. I constructed it to be hard to get into. Why? Because it makes it that much more special for the ones that attend.
Then there's what I get to do with FAMOUS MONSTERS this year. Giggle.
You could watch for your whole life, non stop, and not even see 15% of everything filmed that is cool. Same with books, music, art, food and life experiences in general. To geek about these things with one another, to be able to find a friend no matter what hour you're obsession has kept you up pursuing… that's the dream man. We're living it.
Some guy on Twitter the other day was jealous about me watching something on Netflix, so I told him… Dude, it is on Netflix. But the guy was in South Africa, where Netflix doesn't go. I made a joke about him being in Prawn Country and he threw out some little known facts about living with Prawns… and a cultural Geek experience was given. That is what we have now. The ability to put on WITHNAIL & I – tweet it, then folks start talking with you about it. Sometimes famous, sometimes just a geek like me. No matter…
Patton, the cynicism of L.A. Geekery can be poisonous. Move to Austin. Seriously. Geek culture is in the Renaissance - the last Renaissance lasted 300 years… we haven't even hit a full 100 yet. You'll see.
Readers Talkbackcomments powered by Disqus
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Dec. 29, 2010, 2:51 a.m. CST
Lord I was born a ramblin' man!
by HEADGEEK
Patton, Real Geeks Never Sleep - except in INCEPTION
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:59 a.m. CST
Good on ya, Harry.
by QuiGonnDucard
Nice read for into the night. Nice read for the end of the year.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:01 a.m. CST
Are Pat & Oswald a comedy team?
by Orionsangels
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:04 a.m. CST
I thought it was "Gooble Gobble"
by ArcherNX01
But the geek-glomeration accepts one and all.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:08 a.m. CST
Yeah I don't think I count as a geek.
by PurityOfEssence
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:12 a.m. CST
Great Article Harry
by Fineus Fog
Posted it wherever I could (hope you dont mind) I wake up everyday to go to a place of work where we get to work on films like District 9 and others- and during those long painful hours quite often we just find ourselves "geeking out". Whether it's about film, music, TV, food whatever but as you say there's nothing greater than sharing passion with others
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:16 a.m. CST
Yeah, I'm not reading all that.
by Matt
and I don't think I like this term "geek culture". It's not something I think should be embraced.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:25 a.m. CST
Post a link to the original article
by CmdX
I think both articles make good points, although he does have you beat in the "Somebody with experience in the publishing business proofread this during normal business hours" department
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:34 a.m. CST
Well said Harry
by NeverTalksBack
I agree, the best thing to me is that you have this thing you love, whether it be a film, a painting, or song, and you find someone else to geek out with about it. Art transcends all divisions and brings people together. And at the very least gets people talking and communicating when otherwise they wouldn't be ;)
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:47 a.m. CST
What the FUCK is an "Infra Man"??
by fettitular
I just youtubed this damn thing, and all i can say is... WOW. So let me get this straight... THIS is what Harry claims to be "sublimely brilliant": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zute03nWWI&feature=related What. The. FUCK. lmao The predecessor to Power Rangers... Ultraman?!? I absolutely just do not see the appeal of this. I guess i have to turn in my "geek card"... It really reminds me of "Hipster" mentality. They "like" something generally obscure (as if to feel some phony sense of exclusivity) and it is usually objectively awful. They enjoy it specifically because it is just downright fucking stupid, or poorly made. Fuck, that shit is annoying... Ergo, Geek mentality = Hipster mentality. Boo to both. Booooooooooo
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:58 a.m. CST
When does READY PLAYER ONE come out?
by Bandit 37
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:59 a.m. CST
I think it's safe to assume now...
by fettitular
That Harry is, without a doubt, unbelievably PASSIONATE... yet he also completely lacks any OBJECTIVITY whatsoever. I honestly don't think it's healthy to only have one or the other. Balance is always a good thing. Not trying to start a "flame war" here, or whatever the hell you wanna call it, but i think it's an interesting discussion... With that said... ironically, i feel thats the best thing i've ever read from Harry in the 11 years that i've been coming here. His love for all things GEEK really shines through his words here, and it's actually somewhat coherent and structured, in a strange sort of way... which is obviously extremely rare for him ;-)
Dec. 29, 2010, 4 a.m. CST
First the Kevin Smith article and now this. Weird
by ndally
Nobody thought or thinks "Geek Culture" is dead and you know that. This article reads almost like your bragging and name dropping to prove your finger is on pulse of geek society more than anyone else. Its awesome that you have an outlet like this website and everyone knows how big of a geek you are but what are you doing here? Everyone knows your geek experiences are better than most and you highlight these experiences again and again in your articles to show the world how awesome it must be to be Harry Knowles. At least thats how it seems from the sidelines. Im sure your a nice dude and all but im not sure you understand how you come across when you write about who you know and what you've done especially when your setting up BNAT. Yes its great your friends with film makers and have connections from this site and feel free to write about those all you want but your tone is almost that your thinking "Im an insider and a player in hollywood now let me tell you how this works". AICN in reality has become a middleman between deadline.com or variety etc. so if Geek Culture seems like its in trouble its because this site(amoung others) have lost what once made them special. You use to be one of us but now seem like one of them, you know what i mean? Im not just trolling or picking on you because im jealous of your success its that this article is weird much like the Kevin Smith article. Its just weird. Anyways i had more i wanted to say but i feel im rambln on so il just stop here.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:10 a.m. CST
cornering and coveting the geek demographic
by justmyluck
There's cash there. While I fit the profile of geek, and I'm older than Harry to boot, I'd never go around preaching geek to anyone unless my life depended on it (cough).
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:11 a.m. CST
Brownroast, exactly...
by fettitular
I think to be a geek, you must have terrible taste in art... Seriously. Geeks find weird, obscure, and basically irrelevant things to become obsessive about or enamored with, but it has nothing to do with the QUALITY of it, artistically speaking... Infra Man is a perfect example. There is absolutely nothing in that flick that is OBJECTIVELY good in any way, shape, or form. You can "geek out" all you want over it, but it is in no way good, atristically speaking, or more specifically, in terms of film-making. That's the thing that i kind of feel sorry about with harry. He has a childlike, giddy passion for these things, but i don't think he's capable of seeing through them in an objective way, like I or many others can... by seeing what makes a great film, TRULY GREAT, at a fundemental level, free of bias... His "controversial" taste in films seems to support this argument. He most definitely understands "Geek Culture" and all things "geeky", but he just does not understand the artistic aspect of film-making. Anyone else agree?
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:16 a.m. CST
In hindsight...
by fettitular
I already kind of regret posting what i just did. I think it's a deeper, more philosophical debate that i'm digging into... and that kind of debate, as i've discovered in the past, isn't very welcome here. So... Nevermind! ;-)
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:17 a.m. CST
Slow news day (or month)?
by FlandersBum
Who cares what Patton Oswalt thinks. I can't believe you spent the time to write a small book about this topic. What a huge waste of time.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:18 a.m. CST
by fettitular
Nice post, man. You summed up my feelings pretty nicely there. Harry is quite the character...
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:20 a.m. CST
by talkingmonkey
"Luc Besson flick with the pterodactyl in Paris and some smoking hot French babe nudity with a MUMMY!!?!?" Years back the layman would've described The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec about as well as the above and the geek would respond with the actual title of the film...in its native language, of course. And this is partly why geekdom is dying: a complete lack of obsession with the details and the wallowing in the crudity of the masses, there used to be something akin to reverence that went along with a geek's adoration of whatever they loved. The other major factor was the sense of ownership and exclusivity to it that just doesn't exist anymore. You watched/read/played/etc something that the majority of the people around you were ignorant of, that was part of the appeal whether conscious or not. It's all mainstream now and the only remnants of geekdom are snide comments and arguing. Heck, my mother watched Battlestar Galactica.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:20 a.m. CST
Gooble gobble, gooble gobble...
by fettitular
ONE OF US! ONE OF US! Gooble gobble, gooble gobble... ONE OF US! ONE OF US! Haha... when South Park was actually good, once upon a time....
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:30 a.m. CST
Holy crap, it's Harry!
by fettitular
Take a look at this old-ass clip from Inside Edition, back in '98, when Harry started to make a name for himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLBwr_533XA&feature=related Interesting watching that, all these years later...
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:32 a.m. CST
Some interesting comments from Mr. Ebert towards the end of the clip...
by fettitular
Hhhmmmm... foreshadowing perhaps? ;-)
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:43 a.m. CST
Love this post, Harry... but!
by Frisco
(everyone has a big butt, y'know) But! While I can understand why you see collecting things as being such an important part of geek culture, I submit to you that collecting is just an urge that some people have, and it will find expression in those people's interests. For example, there are hardcore sports memorabilia collectors who would be collecting rare movie posters, films, action figures and whatnot if they were into genre stuff instead of sports. I happen to be a longtime geek who has ZERO inclination to collect or acquire or own anything ancillary to the movies, comics, and books that I love so much. I've never owned or wanted a Star Wars action figure, but I have been assessing buildings for their zombie apocalypse survival worthiness since the late 70s. I'm pretty sure that makes me a geek.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:51 a.m. CST
I'm reading the Patton Oswalt article right now...
by fettitular
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_angrynerd_geekculture/all/1 There's the link in case anyone gives a shit. Pretty interesting read actually. He definitely brings up some valid points. It really goes beyond "Geek Culture"... It really explores general ideas about instant gratification, immediate access to all kinds of information, and the dangers of it leading to creative desensitization, etc. Much to ponder...
Dec. 29, 2010, 5:03 a.m. CST
You sure have a lot to say...
by Newbs
...about an article you very clearly didn't read, Harry. Read it, then read this post, and see if maybe you weren't a little off-base; reacting to what people said about it rather than what it actually said. Also, while you're reading your post (for the first time?), maybe you can fix some of the grammar and spelling, too. As a sort of bonus. It's called editing, and there's no shame in it.
Dec. 29, 2010, 5:21 a.m. CST
All bow before The Great Telemarketer...
by fettitular
This dude is the best thing about this entire site. And you wouldn't know it from that post, but this guy is fucking HILARIOUS too... (Dude, i want to hear more of those awesome, schizophrenic ramblings you made about your wife and all that shit... that was fucking CLASSIC lol) It's good to hear from someone like that, because that is exactly where my own mind trails off too. Deep, philosophical ruminations... I fuckin' love it. I liked your earlier point about "identity" and what that really means. That's the first thing that came to my mind. It was much easier before the internet to introspect... to get lost in your own thoughts and truly know who you are, deep down. But with the internet now, you are immersed in EVERYONE ELSES thoughts and opinions on fucking EVERYTHING. So reality starts to blur a bit, in terms of what YOU really feel, as opposed to what you read somewhere on some anonymous website. Our thoughts and feelings are, in a way, becoming "poisoned" or tainted from the thoughts and feelings of others... the "collective"... it's inevitable, really. Our brains are fucking information/data sponges! I don't know if that makes a whole lotta sense, but it's a weird, and slightly terrifying idea when you think about it. We're all becoming mindless AUTOMATONS!! Nooooooooo!!
Dec. 29, 2010, 5:24 a.m. CST
by fettitular
I really liked the last idea you brought up, about the inherently selfish, smug aspect of "Geek culture". Probably explains why geeks, in general, suffer from pretty major social and emotional disorders... They're completely self-absorbed and they obsess over ideas and or THINGS, instead of people and relationships, etc. Definitely a strong connection there...
Dec. 29, 2010, 6:07 a.m. CST
WHAT is with the double spaces?
by squidman
Harry, you do realize that practice of double-spacing after each sentence went out with word-processors and typewriters? There. How's that for "geekery"?
Dec. 29, 2010, 6:11 a.m. CST
Patton is right. This article makes no sense.
by shutupfanboy
Besides the obvious fact no one knows or cares about Infra Man and Jules Verne's novel were written for the masses. Geekdom thanks to comic book movies, shows like Big Bang theory and the internet has become the cool in thing. In five years, we will go back to a jock state or we will continue to let everyone to the point, we are a nation of geeks. If you went a convention in 2004 compared to now, you will see the difference which is women. There are more chicks attending this thing then ever before. It could be Anime, comic book movies that now have love stories in them or just having a geek father or mother who passed Star Wars down to them. If a group of girls thinks something is cool eventually with the hive mind of women other women will see it being cool and guys will go out of their way to understand it to pick said girls. The internet mainly Wikipedia has given the knowledge it would take a geek years to understand, a few minutes for a person with a passing interest. Its no longer a secret club, its a Walmart on Christmas Eve. The mystery behind is gone, but thats a good thing. While Patton sees it as a negative, I see it as a positive. Yes, the exclusivity is gone, but exclusivity breeds contempt both ways. Its good a kid in the Bronx is reading the same comic as an executive in LA or a college girl at Notre Dame. We will still have the crazy nerds who ask dumb ass questions at Star Trek conventions and collectors who will mortgage their futures to get a Sideshow statue, but now we have a growing group of people who are fascinated by it just like us when we first started. I was in line at WizardWorld Philly with my wife and we talked to an executive just there to meet Patrick Stewart. Yet, he was very interested in what was going and find it cool that there were so many things going on. Being a Geek is not about our knowledge about comics, sci-fi and cartoons, its our love of it. So, what is so wrong in people loving or at least interested in something you love? Nothing, its selfish. When I was a kid I thought Star Wars was made just for me and not a lot of people got it minus certain friends at school and my uncle. I was stunned when I read it was the number one of all time. I didn't think people understood it as well as I did, but I was wrong. It was a good wrong. I am glad other people love Star Wars, Star Trek and comics, because that means there is still hope for humanity. The message in geekdom is one of hope and wonder. If that message gets through to 2 out of 5 of this new generation, then its a better world that is being created today.
Dec. 29, 2010, 6:25 a.m. CST
You haven't SEEN geek yet.
by UltimaRex
Two words: 20th. Movies.
Dec. 29, 2010, 6:44 a.m. CST
The sad thing about geeks is
by Mark
most of them don't have any kind of quality threshold. So they'll gobble up shit like Harry Potter, Twilight, the Transformers movies and Tron: Legacy and think that they are 'masterpieces'. Then they come online and rant about how great they are, against people who actually know a thing or two about cinema and filmmaking. <p> The cool thing about the 'geek' directors of my youth, Spielberg, Lucas, Carpenter, Dante, Zemeckis etc. is that they all knew film history and had a grasp of form, unlike the new generation, Abrams, McG, Ratner, Bay, Sommers etc whose films all lack any kind of understanding of form and mise-en-scene.
Dec. 29, 2010, 6:47 a.m. CST
46 Ellipsis
by NoSmellNoTell
I couldn't read this. Harry, how do you have 46 ellipsis in one article? Patton's article is at least readable. You may have some great points in your article that I would love to read if they weren't lost in all the nonsense.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:02 a.m. CST
this is why you shouldn't tweet your articles
by zom-bot.com
because the structure of an article, broken into limited-character sized chunks is annoying as hell, and what can start of as a seemingly heartfelt effort can be totally derailed by 'what was i tweeting about'. jesus christ.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:05 a.m. CST
also: 'giggle'
by zom-bot.com
needs to go
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:05 a.m. CST
Geek culture...
by Lobanhaki2
...is not a product of scarcity of a product, it's the product of a mentality that values such things. As long as there are people who get excited about one thing or another, there will be a geek culture.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:32 a.m. CST
Headgeek posts need a compendium
by Akivaran
While a frequent visitor to the site, I guess I have not gleaned as much information as I thought. After reading the above post, I was lost several times and had to switch between several tabs to keep up. In the future, would it be possible to annotate these types of posts? I enjoy them don't get me wrong, but specific sites would prolly be better than Wikipedia for information.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:33 a.m. CST
I agree with one important thing...
by Alucinor
I'm with Patton oswalt on the fact that I have completely lost touch with popular culture. I always fancied myself in the know when it came to a lot of geek stuff, not necessarily everything, but enough so that I always felt I had more information on all of the cool geek stuff than the normal guy. Before, people were just not interested in knowing things like the fact that George Lucas didn't actually direct Empire and Jedi... It's right there in the credits I'd yell! Now there are legions of people debating every detail of Star Wars and how George Lucas fucked up the new ones because he directed them himself. Regardless of know this information, most people don't really care that much about the film industry... It is just aomething to debate, something to complain about. I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams that something so terrible such as Twilight would ever be this popular, and make this much money. I went from being pop culture savvy to just plain lost... People think Saturday night live is funny now? It is still popular? I sit around the TV with my friends, family, everyone I know and we sit dumbfounded at how anyone could get paid to write such terrible jokes, such terrible skits and characters. We allow this crap to flourish! I rarely ever see movies anymore because they just all seem like 10 other movies, even the so called original movies seem like they are just pieces of hit movies put together... Like Priest for instance... I saw the trailer and thought hey, it's white Blade Equilibrium. It seems like people don't really have a fully thought out opinion anymore, it is just one giant mess of shiny colors and a shit-ton of group think. As if fake Optimus Prime can smash phony Megatron in a movie where the characters don't even closely resemble the source material, and because they smash stuff it is AWESOME. This mentality has me at a loss. I'm at a point where all I really hope for anymore is that 10% of the movies that come out are original stories, not based on a damn thing. I won't even get that lucky next year.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:35 a.m. CST
by SminkyPinky
'nuff said.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:41 a.m. CST
Couldn't get a quarter way though this
by jimmy_009
Not because it was poorly written or anything, it's just... who cares? What does this have to do with anything? I'm a geek, you're a geek, you're technically not a geek, that guy wishes he was a geek?... does any of this matter AT ALL?
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:43 a.m. CST
Well done, Harry
by Fah_Q
I enjoyed the article. Love seeing when your passion comes through to the reader. It gave my morning a boost. Thanks.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:07 a.m. CST
Errant Cricket Pitch?
by dean
Dude, that was a perfect wrong 'un, bowled by one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Baseball translation: dude completely misread a pitch from one of the greatest pitchers of all time. And Warnie wasn't even trying.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:08 a.m. CST
You should know that I'm very friendly with Patton
by mr teaspoon
"You should know that I'm very friendly with Patton" Of course we should.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:10 a.m. CST
I love Oswalt's stand-up but...
by The_Floating_Skull_of_Robert_Loggia
This article reads like a Harry column, except in place of name drops and reminiscences of weekend barbecues with Uncle Forry or sitting on John Wayne's lap while his father played Parcheesi with Timothy Leary we get Oswalt telling us how much more enlightened he is due to his being the first kid on his block to read Alan Moore or listen to a Crass 7-inch. He sounds less like a "geek" and more like a full-on hipster, here, tossing around totemic labels like otaku and peppering his prose with obscure geek-culture references in an all-too-obvious attempt to cement his King Geek status. When he does this in his stand-up it's funny and borders on self-deprecation. As applied here, however, it's just plain self-indulgent. <br><br> It's obvious that much of this is meant to be humorous, but there's an equal amount of venom spewing here, suggesting that he's somehow angry that the masses have uncovered his treasure trove of useless knowledge - the very thing that made him a successful comedian rather than just a rotund, obnoxious know-it-all standing behind the counter of some indie record store in the East Village. <br><br> If Patton Oswalt hates the mainstreaming of his sacred cow geek culture so much, then he should take his act back underground. Print up his new book "zine" style, and distribute it himself. Burn his own CD's and sell them on the sidewalks in Soho.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:28 a.m. CST
Google is ...
by theBigE
A google is a very large number, but less than infinity. It's a one followed by 100 0's. How do I know this? I'm a geek! Actually first heard of it by reading the comic strip Peanuts in the 70's. Now THAT makes me a geek - learning math from a comic strip.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:35 a.m. CST
I thought Patton was a middle aged lesbian???
by _Venkman
He's actually a man? And here I was thinking Caprica was so progressive for casting a gay mobster and lesbian talk show host in their show.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:36 a.m. CST
I don't see the connection between the two articles.
by David Cloverfield
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:45 a.m. CST
Pop culture back then was magical...
by samuraiyao
Look what nerd and geek culture created.. The likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs came from that era and took control of everything..
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:45 a.m. CST
I feel you Harry but...
by Arteska
I think you kind of only make a glancing rebuttal to what Oswalt had to say and that's partially because someone like you is decidedly NOT the target of his rant. You rightly bring up how MOST of the creators of what geeks love and want to see are bona fide geeks themselves but willfully ignoring how much lazy pandering is going on (e.g. a person wearing a Star Wars shirt is a stock character) and how much too-hip-for-it misanthropy has strangled fandom. What Oswalt was talking about is stuff like Rich Ross saying he's going to read the Marvel Encyclopedia (or have an assistant type coverage of it for him) and then get in a room with shareholders to drive its cultural destiny. What Oswalt is talking about is the way that things that mean something to people have been packaged to sell a false identity to people that don't like the shit to begin with and he's talking about the people that purport to like this stuff but instead tirelessly belittle it all in attempt to mask the near indiscriminate but somehow more honest tastes of their younger self, or worse, calculate now to exclude people and things from something that was always for the most part an inclusive and semi-tolerant thing. Frankly I just feel like this is the nature of things. This is our generation bitching about Woodstock music being used to sell Coca Cola and kitchen cleaning products. I'm astonished that we are essentially getting the pop culture we all wanted as young ones but I'm more surprised and disappointed (and Oswalt is too I think) about how few appreciate it and how perversely commodified and co-opted it has all become. I know that you can sidestep the downer aspect of most of this stuff if you yourself enjoy it (whatever it is) honestly, but the train isn't being driven by as many of the right people with as honest intent as it used to. That's all.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:54 a.m. CST
I know this is mainly a movie site but
by skycrapper
Game of Thrones will be the "geek" event of 2011 and you guys hardly even mention it. Bill Condon's Twightlight? C'mon man. Oh, my brother and I loved Infra Man and Ultra Man as kids too.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:54 a.m. CST
Harry, pass that j this way
by Bartleby T. Scrivener
Wow, what are you smoking? I'm telling you all right now. Harry brought out the 4 footer (the one with the ice chamber), packed that baby and hit it hard! I love to read half-baked articles. Next time I'd like an ode to Saturday afternoon kung-fu movies, pippi longstocking films, or those spooky legend of boggy creek docudramas.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:06 a.m. CST
Harry, that was wonderful
by Ben Harrison
I woke up to see this post this morning and read it with a big cup of coffee. Living in the middle of nowhere, I've had to do some real work to hunt down the films I wanted to see. You captured what it's like to find those things that mean the most. Great work. Also, I loved the WITHNAIL AND I mention at the end! That was the first movie I ever watched with my now-girlfriend.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:10 a.m. CST
it's all about sharing a particular moment in culture with someone
by Ben Harrison
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:34 a.m. CST
Nice going, Harry.
by DocPazuzu
You just confirmed every word Patton wrote in that column. In fact, I'm pretty sure both Bradbury and Harryhausen would agree with him. I've never been one to bag on you for your articles before, but that was virtually unreadable. You've also missed the point. Patton isn't saying that hardcore, old school geeks have lost their interests. He's saying that the culture itself has become so widespread and diluted that it's starting to eat itself and filter into every nook and cranny of the mainstream.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:41 a.m. CST
I Love Infra-Man! Or should I say "Jet Jaguar"?
by Snake Foreskin
I watched that film a bunch of times as a kid and had such fond memories that I tracked it down on DVD a few years ago. Yes, it's an import, but it works on Region 1 machines... and it's MINE! I fondly remember my dad and I pretending to be "Infra-Man... The Man With The Matzoh Ball Fists"! Yes, we're Jewish Geeks. Anyway, Inframan was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I still remember Siskel & Ebert reviewing it! Hearing them talk seriously about "Princess Dragon Mum" and how bad a movie it was cracked me up! They should put that review in the DVD Special Features! I, too, would love to have an Inframan toy, Harry. If I ever find one I'll let you know!
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:43 a.m. CST
Geek Hipsters
by Bald Evil
What Patton may be reacting to (tongue in cheek though it may be) is the current fad for skimming what is easy and accessible off the top of geekdom to appear hip and trendy... geek hipsterdom. Anyone who's immersed in the stuff we love so deeply knows what I mean. There will always be those who wear iron-on 'Empire Strikes Back' t-shirts because "Star Wars is cool", and those who can name every patron in the cantina scene... and there will always be a gulf between those people.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:45 a.m. CST
I had a long post, long ago...
by MCVamp
About geeks, and types of geeks, and what is considered newsworthy here at AICN because of the type of geek one seems to be (I defended a shitty romcom as geek-news-worthy because there are the film completist geeks who must see EVERYTHING.) However, once one gets into "Geek Culture," well it becomes muddy. I haven't wrapped my head around it, but at 36 and entering the responsible family phase of my life, I have a different view of "geek." To "Geek out" is to spot something that makes that emotional, irrational connection to your soul. It's the extraordinary piece of something just slightly different than what's considered to be standard fare. We all know that. We also know that studios have now noticed, and since "geeks" have disposable income, they are taking advantage of it by catering to that demographic, without even caring if a film makes money in theaters as long as they know they can at least sell it to Netflix and Redbox and break even in the worst case. Being a geek isn't necessarily something to be proud of, even now. For the average kid, advertising how quirky and cool you are because you endorse a certain thing is closer to a hipster than a geek. However, as Trekkers need to be called Trekkers--because Trekkies is insulting for God knows why--calling a conscious geek a hipster is tantamount to slapping them in the face. Being a geek is supposed to be an accident. Being a geek on purpose, well, that's just weird. There's nothing wrong with being weird, but... Shit I don't know. I can't place my finger on what's wrong with it. Maybe I'm fighting my own age too much to be objective about what's going on around me. Maybe I'm afraid that something like this very post moves me closer to something I didn't want to be--someone who has to occasionally (or often) put childish things aside. Anyway, I have no problem with someone who makes a true living being a geek like Harry. He was born to it. Someone like Patton Oswalt is a geek who manages to make a living by playing to his peers, yet maybe, just a little, he uses them--which is forgivable because it's ultimately harmless; someone's going to do it anyway; and hey, Patton Oswalt gotta eat. Probably just need some coffee.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:52 a.m. CST
The kingdom of the geek
by kubricksnutsack
is a male one by design. While some seem to think that geekery is about the cult of the obscure, it runs deeper than that. The geek is absorbed in the minutiae of facts surrounding a subject and this is a very male and autistic world. Again, I subscribe to the notion that all men are autistic to different degrees. Is there much difference between the sports geek who can name every cup final or scoring player from the past 50 years to those who can recite whole film scripts verbatim? No, there is no difference. The geek is the person who takes an interest too far...too far...to the realms of unhealthy obsession. The term geek these days has been watered down to those who enjoy left-field interests. We need to reclaim the "g" word - the same way as the "n" and "f" words wer reclaimed by the black and gay community.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:53 a.m. CST
BlizzCon's GEEK IS
by jack black
was a nice small tribute to what makes a Geek and differentiates him from the others.watch the video: http://bit.ly/h06tna And Harry well said mate,really well said.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10 a.m. CST
Star Wars us for geeks. Star Trek is for dorks.
by _Venkman
Chewbacca 4 life.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:03 a.m. CST
Maybe this is why I didn't like Scott Pilgrim
by Bartleby T. Scrivener
Too many references made by kids who weren't even born yet, let alone, appreciate it. The internet made geek accessible. But what made geek cool back before the internet was that it wasn't wide spread. You had to search for your geek. You had to actually use the yellow pages and find out where a comic shop was. You had to ask your parents for a ride, or in my case, hop on the bike and trek it for a few miles. But it was worth it and you appreciated it more. You would get with your other geek friends over lunch and geek talk over chili fries and coke refills. People would look at you and laugh at the fact you have comics on your table, or eavesdrop on your 1000th conversation about Star Wars. You were proud to be geek and didn't care if it was cool or not.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:14 a.m. CST
by PatientZer0
Wow...it's a truly rare thing when I run across someone else who is as bent around the handle over InfraMan as I am. I have purchased at least 3 pirated VHS tapes and finally the DVD that was released a few years ago, and it made my LIFE. InfraMan blew my mind like it had never been blown before...I became a 6 year old monster fighting InfraBoy. I got 2 words for you Harry: THUNDERBALL FISTS!!!
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:20 a.m. CST
by iamcap
We are getting a CAPTAIN AMERICA WW2 movie and a THOR movie with ASGARD GOODIES. Yeah, geeks rule 2011.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:30 a.m. CST
What I gather from this article and talkback
by jimmy_009
Is that "geeks" feel like they were in on the ground floor of geekdom and everyone else are posers and now being a geek is passe. Kind of like the hipsters that loved that underground indie rock band until they went all mainstream. WHO GIVES A FUCK?!? What's with all the navel gazing? "I was a geek BEFORE it was cool! I got CRED!" If this is what you're saying, you were a dork before, you're a delusional dork now.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:39 a.m. CST
Agreed jimmy_009
by skycrapper
Too much nostalgia is cancer to your soul...someone should tell a lot of older "geeks" this.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:49 a.m. CST
i came to this conclusion almost 20 years ago
by zom-bot.com
when it started becoming hard for me to find genuine, vintage tees and good clothes at thrift shops because it was becoming popular and thrift style was becoming acceptable. next thing you know, hollywood stars are wearing $500 tees designed to look like vintage thrift. then fake vintage tees were in every department store from tiffany's to wal-mart. but me and other geeks had been wearing second hand treasures our whole lives. also, people in popular fashion people started wearing glasses again- big plastic nerdy glasses that geeks wore- because it was ironic that a pretty person with good vision would need them, but also because it genuinely makes someone look geeky and smarter than they are. sometimes to the extend to plain, nonperscription plastic or glass in them, and in many cases, hipster girls wear the biggest ugliest frames they can-WITHOUT LENSES purely to achieve this look. those are two ways geek lifestyle has been made mainstream, at least.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:54 a.m. CST
agreed bartleby
by zom-bot.com
i don't understand the cross-gen confusion of scott pilgrim and the like- how can kids born in the early or mid ninties dare even claim to be a part of eighties culture is beyond me. at best, they grew up with playstations, not atari nintendo or 8-bit anything. i made the argument over at mopedarmy.com that there are severe mental issues in hipsters born in the 90's, dressing and claiming the 80's and riding mopeds from the 70's. but then again i also know that the 80's were truly the last original pop decade, everything since has been mashup, homage and regurgitation. so i agree with harry on the true geek era ending around the mid eighties. if you weren't at least 5 years old by 1990, you didn't 'live' the 80's and have no claim to it.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11 a.m. CST
Harry, I have the INFRA MAN Kubrick toys.
by The Reluctant Austinite
As a fellow "Infra Man" obsessive who discovered the movie on VHS after seeing the Siskel and Ebert "Guilty Pleasures" episode, I can tell you about some INFRA MAN toys that were officially released in Japan that I own. There was an INFRA MAN Kubrick figure packaged with one of those skeleton guard figures in an exclusive VCD set. Before an awesome DVD was available in the US, the VCD was the best way to get "INFRA MAN" in widescreen with a quality print, so of course I had to have it. I'm not sure how limited the print run was of the set, but I think you might have a better than average chance of finding it online. Happy hunting.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:04 a.m. CST
Does it even matter if the mainstream devours geekdom?
by Happyfat73
Why should it matter if the mainstream adopts and repurposes things that were once only beloved by a minority of geeks?</p> Who cares if dumbell-toting meatheads are wearing Boba-Fett shirts?</p> All that matters is if you enjoy a thing for what it is? I hate this posturing superiority complex that some geeks adopt, simply because they like something that is obscure (or liked it before everyone else did). Then, when it becomes popular, must be abandoned as being uncool.</p> Fuck that noise. If you like something - own it. If the mainstream likes it too, then so be it. If the little Justin Beiber-loving tween down the street jumps on The Wire bandwagon (unlikely as that is), it wouldn't diminish the inherent awesomeness of The Wire in any way. Just enjoy what you enjoy, and let everyone else do the same. Live and let live, baby!
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:08 a.m. CST
Ow. I just tripped over all those names you dropped.
by Sgt. Black
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:09 a.m. CST
Harry, you should write a book.
by greedosolo
I'm all out of toilet tissue.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:10 a.m. CST
You misunderstood Patton
by miseducation
Patton's central argument isn't specifically about the erosion of valuable geek lore as something to treasure. He means to say that Geek culture was centrally about obsession and discovery and the internet has fundamentally changed that. We all have blogs and twitters and information about something new to geek about is like a currency. Patton isn't saying that obsessing and discovering new crazy things isn't possible, but rather that it's no longer unique thing and basically a commonplace reaction to most art.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:12 a.m. CST
geekdom and consumerism are dead
by MacReady452
Your possessions will be taken from you because you have no means to retain them. Your money is worthless. That is why I got a machete for Christmas. Not the stupid fucking movie. A REAL MACHETE.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:16 a.m. CST
by Frojitsu
Great article. That's all I have to say. Don't let others tell you how to write, just keep doing what you do. We all have issues in the world, but you bring us fresh, personal insight. I like that.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:16 a.m. CST
"We'll be proven correct in time"
by caseyaramian
Nah... Scott and Ramona are unlikeable douchebags. Only the hardest of core will still worship at the alter of Pilgrim.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:20 a.m. CST
Geek culture's been going downhill ever since Buddy Holly died.
by THE_CHOPPAH
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:22 a.m. CST
Yes, Harry, don't let others tell you how to write.
by THE_CHOPPAH
Please, we need more sentences like: "Right now, the greatest living Geek in my estimation is Ray Bradbury & Ray Harryhausen."
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:24 a.m. CST
fucks sake
by MacReady452
does the whole TB have to collapse every time I refresh? I came back for this?
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:26 a.m. CST
Missing the big picture, Harry?
by tensticks
I don't think that's Patton. It's you. He nailed it.
Dec. 29, 2010, noon CST
what the fuck is Geek Culture?
by sith_rising
Star Wars is as mainstream as it gets, has been since 1977. Star Trek and Marvel Comics and Halo and all that other shit are mainstream also, always have been. The only difference is, some people are able to move out of their parent's house, get jobs, go to college, keep in shape, buy a nice car, fuck women, dress well, and still enjoy Star Wars and Batman and LOTR and Harry Potter. Others just get fat, or stay fat, stay at home, keep workin' the cargo shorts and long hair and Neon Genesis T-shirt, remain socially inept virgins that can't approach a female except at a Con or the Ren Fair, think women actually are built like Psylocke or Chun Li, have no real education other than what comic writers tell them, and since they have no rent to pay or car payment, can throw their entire meager paycheck at the latest Sideshow 500 dollar maquette. And the real kicker is this - most women have more than a little geek in them. They tend to like LOTR or Star Trek or Star Wars or Harry Potter or Wonder Woman or Batman, they're huge suckers for Willow, Legend, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and especially The Princess Bride. That shit is like pussy catnip. But if you look like Kevin Smith or Joss Whedon or Patton Oswalt, you can't even approach them.
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:02 p.m. CST
by THE_CHOPPAH
You are my child.
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:05 p.m. CST
no credibility
by snookibaconmuffpie
Patton wrote a coherent, readable article that made a semblance of sence. Harry once again writes a rebuttal that's resembles the ramblings of a retarded sea cucumber that has been gang rapedby a bunch of sea horses who promised the cucumber their splooge contained ritalin. Harry, you lost your right to call yourself a geek with your rave of the godzilla remake and are the poster boy of why anyone would be insulted to be called a geek after your review of the remake of NMOES.
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:19 p.m. CST
John Carter....
by WONKABAR
isn't it about time we started seeing something from this...like a a teaser or pics or something? The Disney machine started rolling on Tron 18 months prior it seems
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:20 p.m. CST
John Carter?
by THE_CHOPPAH
What's that? Is there going to be a franchise centered on Noah Wylie?
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:24 p.m. CST
Harry, I hope you kept your receipt...
by Cheeses_of_Nazareth
from the guys who built you this new "improved" web site...'Cause I would be asking for my money back if I were you...
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:34 p.m. CST
by alice133
geeks dont write long stories. they act them out. (in costume)
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:34 p.m. CST
It's amazing how little you understood the article, Harry
by D.Vader
And astounding, though unsurprising, how you still had to make this article mostly about you. The fact that you didn't understand Patton's brilliant article is evidenced by how defensively you take up your position, as if Patton is assailing all of geekdom like a self-hating Jew. Geekdom IS under attack. You're blind if you can't even accept that notion. You even reference our vulnerability though you come to the wrong conclusions. We haven't gotten a good Fantastic Four movie yet. You see that as evidence that Geekdom is fine. Yet you neglect the REAL evidence that geekdom is being reappropriated and exploited for money. We havent gotten a good F4 movie because geekdom is being controlled by non-geeks and moneymen. It's no longer OURS. It's watered-down pap for the masses, NOT for us. Sure we still have things that are ours, but not for long. Being a geek used to mean being different, obsessive in our knowledge, having that secret knowing language. But now everyone can be a geek. Brit a geek can be cool. I've always been proud to be one, but now it's mainstream. It's NOT the same. Sure it affords us great new geeky items like cool artwork and new toys and movies based on our favorite topics and totems. But for every LOrd of thr Rings, we get Fantastic Four or Heroes season 2 and 3. Dungeons and Dragons with Marlon Wayans. You said this Harry: something about the fire that drives a geek is to possess something they do not yet have. (copy paste isn't working well on this iPhone) How wrong you are. That's not what a geek is about. That's what greed is about. Being a geek is about being knowledgable and obsessive in your love for something and seeking out others to share obtuse (you touched upon this briefly before going on the offensive and writing your biography again). Sure, we're Hoarders too, but that's not the fire that drives us to seek more. It's our desire for that same feeling that makes us feel warm inside when one of us tosses out a random movie quote in everyday conversation and we all get it. Sometimes that feeling comes from a new toy or story, but that doesn't drive us all. This decade started out great. As thr decade of the Geek. We had X-Men and Spider-Man and Frodo on the bigscreb. New Star Wars movies and The Matrix. And what happened? We got more cool stuff, but we also grew into a very cynical bunch. And we became an easy target for exploitation. And we still suffer from that today. I'd rather be optimistic and hopeful for the future than a cynical bastard, but I'm not blind to what's happened to our world. *apologies for any major typos. Rants are hard on the iPhone. P
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:35 p.m. CST
Now let me get back to reading about Tinto Brass.
by D.Vader
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:38 p.m. CST
I'm afraid you've misjudged Welles AND Kane
by abcdefz7
Welles and Kane weren't geeks, Harry. Kane collected things (and, as Leland said, collected *people*, too) to some degree out of avarice and to maybe a larger degree to try to buy people as well as stave off his lonliness. The mark of this is the difficulty in cataloging his collection; it was sprawling, unfocused, and uneducated. He didn't have more than a passing interest in most things and certainly not an obsessive interest in one particular area of culture; he was trying to buy people *through* culture. Welles was an artist/scholar who had a pretty great understanding of humanity through the arts (through actual interactions with people, less so, but he was still a keen observer). He collected knowledge and he collected memoribillia from his own work and saved pre-production work for various projects. (Much of this literally went up in flame.) But I think that part of what personifies a "geek" is that their interest and devotion to some field is encompassing to a degree that it makes them socially awkward: A geek is distinctive in a way which is unattractive to "normal" people. "Geek" may be the new "queer" but neither has overcome certain negative connotations in mainstream culture, however progressive the inner circle may feel they've been. That being said: Welles was a charmer. Those who came to dislike him didn't dislike him because of his cultural interests -- they disliked him because of his ego, his treatment of others, or other more character-based issues. To the more mainstream audience, he was a charmer and a raconteur of the highest order -- hardly marks of a geek. It would be nice if you were more careful about your observations before you went and shrugged off those who "don't get it."
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:39 p.m. CST
By the way, almost everyone knows of Eng and Chang
by D.Vader
That's why they're called Siamese twins. I wouldn't say that's really geeky secret knowledge. Knowing they settled in my home state of North Carolina, I'd say that borders on geeky. And this is a topic close to the original definition of our societal namesake. How's that for geeky dissection.
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:45 p.m. CST
Batman, Spider-man, Avengers, Star Trek, Supes
by Nerd Rage
2012 will be the ultimte year of the geek. It will also be the end of the world. Go figure.
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:46 p.m. CST
It was this site that made me proud to call myself a geek
by D.Vader
Back when I was a 14 year old Star Wars obsessive. Now with the state of this website today, it make me sad to admit that.
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:49 p.m. CST
by Nerd Rage
You forgot Orson Welles was the voice of Unicron from Transformers in the animated movie.
Dec. 29, 2010, 12:55 p.m. CST
eh? what?
by Goodplacetoshoveit
Watching a load of sci-fi makes you Greek? While I admit I didn't read anything Harry wrote (he talks a lot of shit), I hardly think a genre can change your nationality.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:08 p.m. CST
@ nerd rage re: Welles and Transformer
by abcdefz7
Welles hardly took part in Tranformers because he was a fan. His disgust at the project and his role in it is infamous. He lamented the fact that he was playing "a toy." "You know what I did this morning? I played the voice of a toy. Some terrible robot toys from Japan that changed from one thing to another. The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen." -- Orson Welles
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:09 p.m. CST
Another Harry article, huh?
by SierraTangoFoxtrotUniform
I know to skip this now.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:11 p.m. CST
Nostalgia is killing pop culture/art
by Samuel Fulmer
Too many douches looking back, not enough looking forward. Idiots who want to watch new Planet of the Apes films with James Franco because they used to rub Dr. Zaius dolls and grape jelly on themselves back in the early 70's.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:12 p.m. CST
Geek culture died when pedalback left the building
by Six Demon Bag
God this place is horrid
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:19 p.m. CST
What's with the having to click on each message
by Samuel Fulmer
in order to read it. So you guys have a chance to improve this sight, and it's been made even less user friendly.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:20 p.m. CST
arteska nailed it
by LazyDolphin
...and nailed it elegantly.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:21 p.m. CST
by Samuel Fulmer
It was cool to have a few comic book films a year back 10 years ago, but when there's a couple a week, it's hard to care (especially when it's based on second/third tier heroes).
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:34 p.m. CST
by snookibaconmuffpie
The studios and filmmakers realize the touch of Harry and the rotting stench of geek will kill their films. I hope the makers of john Conners have regulated Harry to a small back room acting out the film with plastic figures instead of letting him have any actual inpu t on the film
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:36 p.m. CST
so this site is not about movies?
by jb
I'm not a geek, maybe thats why I can't stand the aicn writers. I like film and the process of movie making. Guess this is the wrong place for me...
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:41 p.m. CST
It's not a very complicated situation at all...
by Fuzzyjefe
While geek culture used to be (for the most part) creatively-driven, it is more and more becoming profit-driven. Geeks used to be a group that found things to enjoy. Now we are a market share that is being sold a product that research says we will like and spend our money on. Not to say that there aren't still things out there being produced by people passionate about it, but you're deluding yourself if you think that Marvel t-shirts at Target and the fucked-sideways Spider-man musical are the result of geek passion. Nope. Product for profit. See? We aren't being ATTACKED, we're being assimillated. There are still wonderfully awesome gems out there, but we have to sift through tons more soulless dross to find them. That's all.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:43 p.m. CST
All this from the Headgeek who disliked Inception....
by D.Vader
And said he chooses the dreams of the artist over the dreams of the executive (studio suits). Yet he loved the Nightmare on Elm Street remake. I wouldn't mind Harry's sometimes contrarian opinions on movies if he wasn't so hypocritical about it and contradicted himself with the next review.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:56 p.m. CST
Issue with your diatribe
by askholia
I think Oswalt's point that I took was that Geek Culture while doing well monetarily, is utter choking in the dust of inferior products. While Wolverine and Cowboys and Aliens looks sweet, there is still many many MANY movies that are supposed to appeal to Geeks like us...and they dont. Eks Vs Sever anyone? The point is that while we have the money to back us know we should be doing something of a Geek renaissance instead of "HERE! QUICK, SPEND ALL THIS LOOT!" That is my 2 1/2 cents for what its worth.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:57 p.m. CST
Harry's Inception review
by Samuel Fulmer
Look we've all got all own opinions..blah..blah, but I couldn't quite get why his biggest beef with the movie was that the dreams weren't crazy enough. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seemed like the main idea of Inception was how someone can have their ideas changed by one thought, not trying to outdue the cinema of David Lynch and the Nightmare on Elm Street series. It would be like saying Blade Runner sucks because the action scenes in Star Wars were better.
Dec. 29, 2010, 1:59 p.m. CST
I guess I'm a film geek
by Samuel Fulmer
Because I look forward more to films of certain directors, actors, actresses, etc. than I do films based on comics or past tv shows. Maybe that's the difference between me and the "real" geeks who seem to be more interested in recapturing their childhood in some weird Michael Jackson-esque manner.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:04 p.m. CST
It was rambling but..
by Traumnovelle
..the part where you said the gym douches won't beat you up, 'they're one of us.' Word up. And THAT'S why Patton comes off like such a whiny bitch. <P> "That guy is weightlifting and wearing a Boba Fett shirt! I don't weightlift, so HE shouldn't be allowed to wear stuff I like!!" <P> Me, personally, I lift weights. I am a pretty big dude. I'm not sicko, HGH big, but I am pretty big. I also love sports and I go to strip clubs. In many ways, I am a stereotypical man. But I do all that AND I am a geek through and through. I waited all day in line for Return of the King. For Christmas, my sister got me an original, 1968 hardback printing of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I squealed like a fat kid. I have a huge videogame pantheon in my living room, from the PS3 back to the Sega Master System. <P> Patton Oswalt, as funny as he can be, can eat a dick.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:05 p.m. CST
JOHN CARTER is NOT "Science Fiction"
by Taillefer
Jesus Christ, Harry, why the hell would such a learned geek as yourself be so loose and careless with the term "Science Fiction?" There's a lot of fiction in JC, to be sure, but there's absolutely no science. Same with Star Wars. Both of these are heroic fantasy that simply substitutes flying airships for seafaring vessels, magic spells for "the force", and light sabers for proper swords. The main theme in STAR WARS is to rely on your inner power rather than technology, for cryin' out loud. Not that there's anything wrong with that—I happen to love the genre. But Sci-Fi it ain't. Science Fiction is concerned with how advanced science (technology) might affect the human condition, and vice versa. It is not concerned with swashbuckling across planets, rescuing princesses and fighting monsters. Please get a clue and stop.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:09 p.m. CST
That was borderline incoherent.
by Olsen Twins_Fan
Like Harry's fingers were just puking on a keyboard.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:12 p.m. CST
The proof that geek culture is dying (changed into something else)
by ufoclub1977
This site is the proof. To a geek like me this site is proof that geekdom has become a commercial enterprise full of business politics and outside forces of manipulation. The minute the wall came down between the filmmakers/studios and the geeks running this site is the minute that the organized "geekdom" that it represented (when Phantom Menace was coming out) was subverted into a shade of cultural/bureaucratic machine that filmmakers of the 70's rebelled against (of course they unintentionally created the new bureaucratic machine, lol). It's not the same dismay that I felt when I saw Star Wars t-shirts for sale at Urban Outfitters (commercializing and spotlighting what was my and my friends long standing niche identity), because now this site is still quite fun because of the talkbacks and the freeflow of opinions/information from the insiders, the insightful and the hilariously inane. I do salute this site for not censoring (for the most part) ridiculous posts and ridiculing posts. __________ Back when I saw you, Harry, and your dad at the Austin Convention center peddling cool items and I was buying up the old Star Wars issue of Cinefantastique... that was when geeks waz keepin it real, mothafuckas!
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:20 p.m. CST
I think geek culture
by STLost
is more diluted than anything. Every geek fad gets a copycat, and then they just multiply until it isn't fun anymore.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:24 p.m. CST
geek has become the new punk, geek is dead
by Samuel Fulmer
punk became Greenday and Blink 182, geek has become mainstream with Big Bang Theory being one of the top shows and people waiting breathlessly to watch Thor movies. The cultural wave must come from somewhere. Perhaps it will be theworld of professional pinball players or sweater vest collectors.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:26 p.m. CST
Uh, I grew up in the eighties, and EVERYBODY...
by mr.underwater
...I went to school with LOVED Star Wars. Jocks, preppies, metal stoner dudes, what have you. It was the one thing that tied everyone together, everyone could do a Yoda impression. Why would anyone expect it to be any different now?<br><br>Muscle-heads at the gym are wearing Boba Fett shirts? They always were.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:29 p.m. CST
Yeah with Star Wars
by Samuel Fulmer
I don't think it really got looked at as being douchey and geeky until they started trying to be like Trekkies and having conventions and the bad films (prequels) came out. 2000-2008 was the period of Star Wars' decline, but it has since made a comeback because enough years have passed since ROTS that a lot of people have just been able to forget the prequels.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:32 p.m. CST
The only problem with Geek Culture...
by tailhook
is when the people making the products allow that culture to infest the making of the products. Its only when the Culture is largely ignored that you actually get stuff worth watching, and worth Geeking out over. The reason for this is that the Geek is good at worshipping stuff, not building it. He can mimic stuff, not create it. Every time you see some tool walking around as a Klingon at a convention, all he's doing is reliving allready created material.. not building new stuff. At the same time, any new take on it is discarded because the Geek is too infatuated with what is, to appreciate whats new. Simply seperate wholesale the Geeks from the actual design of any new material and you're most of the way there. This site in particular should be largely ignored by major and independent studios as they make the products we watch every day. If its not, we get crap products.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:35 p.m. CST
I agree tailhook
by Samuel Fulmer
That's how I felt watching Predators. It was like watching a film by someone who loved the first film and wanted to cram in as many moments echoing the first film instead of doing their own thing. Too much nostalgia is killing pop culture.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:56 p.m. CST
by WONKABAR
I remember when the biggest celebrity there was Herb Jefferson
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:58 p.m. CST
Obsession, knowledge, and interest.
by Larry Sellers
As long as you possess high levels of all three in one or more subjects, you are "geek". These folks who wear Atari t-shirts and talk about how "awesome" 80s cartoons were are another story.
Dec. 29, 2010, 2:59 p.m. CST
Comic-Con 2
by WONKABAR
...now the poor guy is relegated to a tiny cubicle in the sails-pavilion
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:03 p.m. CST
Comic-Con 3
by WONKABAR
HERB JEFFERSON DESERVES OUR RESPECT! Line your asses up for Herb Jefferson in 2011!!!
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:05 p.m. CST
Comic-Con 4
by WONKABAR
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:06 p.m. CST
Dreams must be strange?
by abcdefz7
Oh -- just to address this point: From personal experince, some are strange and some are just mundane. A couple mornings ago I woke up from a dream in which I had gone to an acquaintance's 28th Street apartment he shares with his girlfriend. It was an attic apartment with a shared kitchen downstairs. I asked what the rent was and it was remarkably affordable for this area. We went downstairs and he showed me the kitchen. The fridge was kind of old, as was the whole decorating scheme and whatnot, but it was clean, and definitely a bargain. The only weird thing about it is I don't know much about this guy except to have a passing acquaintance. No idea where he lives or if he even has a girlfreind. Other than that, it's a pretty banal dream. They often are. One of the most memorable dreams in cinema isn't exactly banal, but it's not all that strange. It's Harry Caul's dream in THE CONVERSATION. It's ethereal and ends memorably, but there's nothing there that couldn't happen in real life if enough fog were involved. Just sayin'.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:07 p.m. CST
John Carpenter of Mars?
by CodeName
For some strange reason, I always thought that John Carter of Mars was already made by John Carpenter starring himself in the guise of Ghosts of Mars. How bizarre.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:16 p.m. CST
I want my Herb Jefferson T-shirt NOW!
by WONKABAR
I will not rest until Herb Jefferson shirts are standard dress for junior-high students all over the world! Herb Jefferson is the new Metalica!
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:19 p.m. CST
Hrrmm. Ok so taking an interest in cool stuff is
by UltraTron
geeky? What are the paremeters? I have an earth vs the flying saucers saucer animated in the film and signed by harryhausen. To me that's not geeky. That's worthy of the smithsonian. Someone has to create things to geek out about and inspire people. All this instant gratification comes at a price. That price is the years of my life and the years others like me have spent in the creation of some of your favorite movie and videogame moments. Now give me those wikileak UFO files already- woohoo! I was right all along- The truth is out there!
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:22 p.m. CST
here is the deal
by rockness
harry and patton both make valid points. however, it took me a while to even realize harry was making valid points because, honestly, patton is a great writer and harry is not. so a great writer can sorta weasel his ideas into your brain even if, upon closer inspection, you don't really agree. and a poor writer sort of makes their entire argument seem illogical and stupid. i don't know where i'm going with this except to say i wish harry took longer on his posts. :(
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:26 p.m. CST
Unreadable...The only thing dying is this site
by JiggahJu
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:28 p.m. CST
by WONKABAR
It's posts like that sum up exactly why I think they should change the name of the upcoming film to simply "Barsoom". Nice one-word title like Avatar. I always thought "John Carter of Mars" sounded kinda meh...aside from being the title of the last and lamest book in the series
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:38 p.m. CST
Harry's Rosebud
by Samuel Fulmer
A copy of Dazzler #15.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:39 p.m. CST
Patton and Harry are both right
by Tacoloft
First off, great piece Harry! I think what you have said in so many words is that there are levels of Geekdom. A whole variety of geeks that perceive and celebrate geek culture in their own way. Some are very hardcore and revel in it day after day, like yourself, and others sample and celebrate when they can, like the douches at the gym wearing Boba Fett shirts. Patton O. Is also right in that exclusivity to his level of Geekdom that he knows is ending. However your observation of different geek strata really sets it right. My only shuddering wince of your article was that you praise Scott Pilgrim vs The World as being on par with some sort of Genius creativity... Well it was an o.k. Film. I have discussed SP with other geek friends and they were not blown over by it -at all. We all came away from it with a "that was an alright film" type of vibe. Now Tron--- Tron is much more better of a movie than Scott Pilgrim. It was more entertaining and Geekier than the A.D.D. Pop culture induced Scott Pilgrim. Sadly I think SP will be just another Teen movie.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:45 p.m. CST
The real question is this:
by THE_CHOPPAH
Where the fuck is AsimovLives?
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:47 p.m. CST
Herb Jefferson T-Shirts should be available at every Hot-Topic
by WONKABAR
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:49 p.m. CST
Asimov is currently in an undisclosed location
by Samuel Fulmer
Being forced to watch Star Trek (2009) by JJ Abrams and his film junta Clockwork Orange style. He will be released once he proclaims Star Trek (2009) to be superior to all other forms of human entertainment, especially the scene with Scotty and the little Ompa Lumpa.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:52 p.m. CST
I had to stop reading this halfway through
by dale_cooper
There's something really dispiriting about an allegedly grown man babbling on about how his life won't have meaning until he buys a rare toy based on a shitty old movie about a Japanese monster hero. (For the record, I love monsters and superheroes, like Japanese culture, and own a few toys myself.) Maybe this is the wrong site for me to be on.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:54 p.m. CST
A 3 hour cut of Altman's Popeye
by Samuel Fulmer
Look I think it is an underated film, but I don't think extra scenes would make it better. If anything it would make a slightly tedious film, even more tedious.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:56 p.m. CST
3 movies that I'd like to see
by Samuel Fulmer
The original 132 minute cut of Orson Welles Magnificent Ambersons, a David Lynch approved extended cut of Dune, and the original tidal wave ending restored to De Palma's Snake Eyes.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:57 p.m. CST
Actually, for realsy...
by WONKABAR
somebody needs to make Dune-stillsuit T-shirt. That would be sick...like a print all around the shirt with that design. It would be kinda like a muscle shirt...but better. And yes, Herb Jefferson needs our love. I'm tired of walking by and seeing him bored out of his mind all day. Tarrantino should sit next to him and bake him a cake or some shit.
Dec. 29, 2010, 3:57 p.m. CST
by Superturd
I feel the same way about kick ass that SOME of the AICNers feel about scott pilgrim, and I NEVER had the presumption to go around telling people they were straight up WRONG for not liking it, or not even being on the same page. THESE ARE NICHEY PROPERTIES GUYS!!! Universal was dumb for spending 60 mil on it expecting to recoup, and LionsGate is DAMNED lucky they are cracking 100 mil on an indie production (YEAH, THAT ONE WAS ACTUALLY INDIE AND DIDN'T NEED MOOD-COMPROMISING MUSIC BY BECK AND METRIC TO SELL IT) I liked it too. But seriously, everyone, shut the fuck up; if it becomes a cult classic, it won't be because of your dumb ass.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4 p.m. CST
the_telemarketer is blowing my mind
by THE_CHOPPAH
Literally, he is sucking my brain.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:01 p.m. CST
mr.underwater ... in the 80's
by ufoclub1977
When I was in middle school and high school... loving Star Wars/Star Trek/Fantasy was not really the thing the cheerleaders, jocks, stoners, or even mainstream people really talked much about... or energetically acknowledged and that is reflected in the fashion (no star wars t-shirts or adult merchandise that was getting popular). The stoners were on the edge of it, and often blurred into the scifi guys... but come on... it was not mainstream in the 80's with regular kids. That's why I was classified as a scifi artist geek. I remember drawing a picture of the alien (from 1979's film) and a popular girl looking at it and asking, "Are you still drawing that?" She had known me in 5th grade. There were no muscleheads wearing boba fett t-shirts in my neck of the woods, however there was one driving a porche and still wearing new wave eyeliner in 1984.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:02 p.m. CST
did it knock off Harry's hat?
by Bens_Hog
Just wondering if Patton's article knocked Harry's hat off when it went completely over his head.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:02 p.m. CST
And, yes, my brain is shaped like a cock.
by THE_CHOPPAH
I have the CT scan images to prove it.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:02 p.m. CST
I actually really liked Scott Pilgrim
by Samuel Fulmer
but yeah it seems like there is an effort by a lot of internet gurus to shove it down everyones throat as the next "cult" film. Cults are usually grown out of a genuine love, not by some goober proclaiming it a work of genius that everyone else is just too dumb to get.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:05 p.m. CST
And the Expendables was garbage
by Samuel Fulmer
And that's because the action scenes were so poorly done. It's like Michael J. Fox was the camera man and Stallone brought a bunch of uppers into the editing room. When the action scenes in comedies like The Other Guys and Knight and Day are better than the action scenes in what was supposed to be the action film of the year, somethings wrong.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:07 p.m. CST
And patton blew his load, as always,
by Superturd
When he started putting his own ideas of the future in the article; clearly going for laughs over insight, inevitably, and giving someone like Harry room to make an editorial defending the nature of the geek THAT WILL ONLY BE READ BY GEEKS. We are geeks because they made us geeks. To us, we are merely art connoisseurs, but to THEM, who think that art needs period costuming and SAT words, we are geeks, because we believe our art to be true, valuable art. We pursue our mondo tees posters the same way some pursue a matisse, or an escher. This is our art, and the reason we have permeated the culture is that their form of art is no longer relevent. Geekism allows for self-referencing, lapses in traditional logic, and an abundance of humor, which all mesh perfectly well with today's modern audiences, geek or non-geek. We are not getting everything we want; Iron Man 2 could have been our empire strikes back instead of a set-up for a property that WE are quite familiar with. But for every Iron Man 2, there's a kick ass or scott pilgrim that the masses kinda forget about and WE go gaga over, because it's for US. Iron man 2 and Tron 2 were not as good as they could have been because of them, not us. There is no need to defend our geek status, Harry. By definition, we are a subculture; boba fett t-shirts don't make you a geek, watching all 3 original star wars back to back on dvd because the blu's are the extended cuts makes you a geek. It's not the time thing you mentioned, Harry, although we all would love to be QT circa '97-'03 and just marathon flicks all day; it is what we assign the little time we have. Patton's type of geek is dead. The signs of a geek are not indicative signs anymore. But the spirit lives on.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:14 p.m. CST
Star Wars wasn't cool between 85-90
by THE_CHOPPAH
But started to make a comeback when "Heir to the Empire" came out. Everyone may have liked Star Wars, but they left it after ROTJ. Now stroke my brain, bitch.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:15 p.m. CST
DVD Column
by Ben Addiction
Harry - where's the DVD column? It's been a month. Honestly that's the main reason I come here and it sucks that you can't be more consistent. If you don't want to or don't have time to do it, please consider farming it out so that it at least comes out on time. I know this is your job and not a hobby, so having a professional standard wouldn't be a bad thing to strive for.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:16 p.m. CST
superturd. calm down.
by THE_CHOPPAH
you're blabbering. Choppah doesn't like blabbering. Rog would think you are rambling.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:17 p.m. CST
You want a DVD column?
by THE_CHOPPAH
Just go to the 1000+ "geek" websites that have their own DVD reviews. You can't rely on Harry's DVD column and more than you can rely on the weather being nice for your wedding. Wait, geeks don't get married, or do they? Let me ask my 3rd wife.
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:19 p.m. CST
Here's my DVD column:
by THE_CHOPPAH
What the fuck are you doing still buying DVDs? Blu-Ray, bitches!
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:20 p.m. CST
I use DVDs for coasters
by THE_CHOPPAH
And I install the software on all of those AOL discs.... Yes, that's right.. I'm in Bizarro world!
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:21 p.m. CST
Isn't it ironic?
by WONKABAR
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:28 p.m. CST
Just sit back let and that song play in your mind all day fuckers
by WONKABAR
...over and over. It's like raiiiyaaan
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:35 p.m. CST
Here's Harry's inspiration for improving AICN:
by THE_CHOPPAH
Dec. 29, 2010, 4:49 p.m. CST
Let's face it: the truth is we're all useless after the Apocalypse
by D.Vader
Unless it's a Zombie-pocalypse, in which our film geek expertise will come in handy, but life after any other kind of apocalypse will see us at the bottom of society's food chain relegated to gatherer status. Don't worry, historians (geeks of a more scholarly sort) and professors will be there too, utterly useless as books will be there for future generations to learn from. Cheerleaders will provide nice eye candy and function as great boning buddies but will be needed more for repopulation. They'll have it better than us despite probably having less of a skill set.
Dec. 29, 2010, 5 p.m. CST
Harry,Start a national GEEK_CLUB
by JimmyPasta
Where fellow geeks can meet locally to discuss all things GEEK. We can have meetings,meet geek chicks,discuss movies,meet geek chicks,argue about comics,meet geek chicks. I think it would be a cool idea.
Dec. 29, 2010, 5:07 p.m. CST
d. vader...
by WONKABAR
The first rule of Zombieland: Cardio. When the zombie outbreak first hit, the first to go, for obvious reasons... were the fatties.
Dec. 29, 2010, 5:35 p.m. CST
"A good geek is always waiting."
by rabidfnark
Well said, sir! Well said indeed!
Dec. 29, 2010, 5:42 p.m. CST
geek culture is alive and well
by snookibaconmuffpie
Just not on AICN, it died with Harry's godzilla review and lives on with his NOES review. Really did you think Harry could or would hold down real job? He found a way to make a few bucks from creating buzz for the studios and some "good reviews" for their product.
Dec. 29, 2010, 5:58 p.m. CST
Cheerleaders are overated...
by caseyaramian
This Trek/Wars nerd scored a cheerleader. The sex was fantastic, but good God was she dumb. I married a bitter woman who can barely tolerate geeks and our culture. But the woman knows art.
Dec. 29, 2010, 6:20 p.m. CST
If the sex was great...
by D.Vader
That's not overrated. I had a cheerleader once too. But in a non-penetration threesome. Which was still fantastic.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:15 p.m. CST
non-penetration threesome
by THE_CHOPPAH
Folks, I give you the Next Great Talkbacker Handle.
Dec. 29, 2010, 7:23 p.m. CST
INFRAMAN is not so much a riff on American heroes...
by Soundblaster
...as it is a blatant rip-off of Japanese tokusatsu programs like Kikaider and Kamen Rider. Ditto for "Jet Jaguar" of the Godzilla series, a character created specifically to appeal to the Ultraman fanatics.
Dec. 29, 2010, 8:59 p.m. CST
by THE_CHOPPAH
Now that was some CHOPPING. I haven't seen CHOPPING like that since Paul Bunyan swung his dick at a whorehouse. Still, you should re-post with paragraph breaks. All you need to do is hit enter in these brave new days of AICN.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:47 p.m. CST
who...the fuck....cares?!
by themagus
seriously...geeks talking about "geekdom"? snooze.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:56 p.m. CST
Serious chopping fo sho.
by D.Vader
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:57 p.m. CST
The 80's were actually kinda boring
by MST3KPIMP
There seems to be a lot of thirty-somethings like myself who lurk here & seem to think culture began with Star Wars. This is simply insane. It's just too easy to reflect on ones childhood as being the best period where everything great went down and now it sucks. "Have you learned nothing from your parents?" Don't get me wrong.. I'm quite aware that I was fortunate to live though the SW movies and all the rest of it but I also remember being incredibly frustrated from sheer boredom as there just was'nt alot going on. Cool movies would come along but you expected it so it was taken for granted. So what did you do between movies? Honestly, Most toys/home video games sucked then and rarely satisfied as technology or quality was just not there. T.V. was limited & consisted of alot of reruns and generic shit and I often found myself watching the few VHS tapes we had over and over which is why I can recite all dialog from National Lampoon's Vacation. I think a nice thing I can say about that time is just that you were forced to properly digest media and culture as it was such an agonizingly slow process waiting for things to happen. It was these stretches of time that gave things more meaning as you mind could reflect on what you saw/heard and create a proper memory. Now its the opposite with mass media available in every form you are over saturated with sights & sounds of varying quality from all directions. The trick to enjoying these times is to limit your intake and digest things more instead of being a perpetual consuming machine with no perspective.
Dec. 29, 2010, 9:57 p.m. CST
Sure, "Infra-Man" was a rip-off of--
by The Reluctant Austinite
Ultraman and the other giant hero vs giant rubber monsters genre, but it is unique in that it married the absolutely insane style of Shaw Brothers martial arts and their non-stop, super fast fighting choreography with the colorful costumes and laserblasting effects of the Toho monster epics.
Dec. 29, 2010, 10:15 p.m. CST
by Hershal
I'm usually quite tolerant of Harry's ramblings but this is bursting the seams of credulity.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:01 p.m. CST
Great article, Harry's enthusiasm for film is unmatched
by BluRonin
It's what keeps me coming back to AICN. Most film reviewers seem to enjoy bashing movies more than celebrating them. Anyways, thanks Harry for helping fuel my film obsession for the last 12 years. Now I own over 1900 DVDs/Blu-rays, have attended the last 5 Fantastic Fests (even though I live one the other side of the continent in Canada), and am currently watching "The Beast Within." A crazy werewolf film from the 80's I never would've heard of it it weren't for Geek culture.
Dec. 29, 2010, 11:37 p.m. CST
by montessaurus
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:05 a.m. CST
reluctant austinite
by CodeName
Infra-Man was truly groundbreaking for its time in that respect. You hit it dead-on.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:45 a.m. CST
geeks are like cockroaches
by seabiscuits
you think you kill them and they pop right back up again
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:21 a.m. CST
by AllPowerfulWizardOfOz
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:43 a.m. CST
Kate Bosworth is Marilyn Monroe
by evergreen_peppermint_and_flashlight
Please let Kate Bosworth portray Marilyn Monroe in my music video, in my dreams tonight, in my occult book store.
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:44 a.m. CST
I tried watching the Sarah Conner show but
by _Venkman
couldn't really get into it.
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:51 a.m. CST
It may not be dead, but it sure is different
by Jaka
The exclusivity and feeling that you may know something the "other people" don't is gone. Everything can be found on the internet. ebay has brought down the price on a vast majority of what used to be considered nearly impossible to find items. These days more time is spent arguing about why something somebody else likes actually sucks than why something a few of us may love is cool. You have to constantly defend your position (which is exactly what you just did Harry), instead of just enjoy the things you're a geek about. It's definitely not the same way it used to be. But I don't think it's dead, either. Just different.
Dec. 30, 2010, 2:20 a.m. CST
the problem with "Geek Culture"
by GhostDad
Is that it's becoming like a political party. You have to love a checklist of things in order to truely be part of the group. Love Star Wars, but don't like Scott Pilgrim? Not a true geek! Love sci-fi, hate anime? Not a true geek!
Dec. 30, 2010, 3:07 a.m. CST
The Harry Human Centipede is the greatest thing ever.
by Doctor_Strangepork
Dec. 30, 2010, 3:34 a.m. CST
by Bruce of all Trades
You just hit the 'enter' key. And about this whole geek culture debate... geek material (like genre movies, comics, anime, manga, music etc.) is out there more than it ever was and anyone who still wants to become passionate about it can. That's pretty much all there is to it. The rest? Much ado about nothing.
Dec. 30, 2010, 3:39 a.m. CST
i say we take off & nuke the site from orbit
by mcdowell_32000
it's the only way to be sure.
Dec. 30, 2010, 5:56 a.m. CST
Geek culture died
by Nivek666
When sites like this, CHUD, Hard Horizons, etc. started pushing the critics and over the top reviews over the films & geek subject matter themselves. The whole "George Lucas raped my childhood" crowd getting a voice did more damage to the genres than Uwe Boll.
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:26 a.m. CST
That post, like this site, is a fucking shambles
by quantize
Harry giggling like a gay twit, playing with his dick...what a fucking shame. Anyone that incoherent and ridiculous is a very poor ambassador of anything to do with 'geekery'
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:38 a.m. CST
Obsessive Geekery kills invention..thats what i got from it
by quantize
and what Harry simply doesn't get. Yabbering about every aspect of art doesn't actually make ANYTHING, not even better art
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:39 a.m. CST
by Darth Busey
This was really the tipping point when it became sorta "cool" to identify oneself as a geek.
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:43 a.m. CST
by Darth Busey
When geek becomes mainstream, geekery must find a new niche. Areas such as sci-fi, fantasy, super heroes, comics, martial arts movies...mainstream has claimed these as their own. Even fucking MUSICALS are acceptable nowadays. Tarantino has done more to destroy geekdom than anybody else in the last 20 years. I wish QT would make a romantic comedy, so he can destroy that fucking genre, too.
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:48 a.m. CST
This site continues to nose-dive...
by scrote
...incredible. A news site with hardly any news. I only check in now for the BTSPOTD. Harry, get yourself a couple of primer books on grammar, will you? Jesus Christ, some of the drivel you throw up on here would make a ten year old blush with shame. Oh yeah, nice animation btw; I've often wondered what your other hobbies were...
Dec. 30, 2010, 7:04 a.m. CST
Remember when writing used to have a point?
by Rex Carsalot
Boy, those were the days.
Dec. 30, 2010, 7:19 a.m. CST
I dont like the idea of geeks
by 1997-2011
I think geeks are people who have good taste that is all, but if you transform all your personality into this "geek clone" then you are nothing more than a fucked up sub-culture wanna-be child who wants to belong to a group. And I think we all should act normal regardless of what you like or what you like to collect. I'm a star wars fan and people know that about me, but who isnt? Well I know people who hate star wars and think its over-rated, not surprised most of them are chicks but whatever they just got bad tastes and I don't rebel against them by dressing differently and being all "geek-like". And now in the 2000s everyone thinks they are a geek which is just pathetic. Just because you like Apple products and liked AVATAR doesnt make you a geek idiot. And if you like Apple products you are probably the opposite of a geek because a geek would be well-informed enough to know how much of a rip-off they are and how bad for the industry Apple is with its closed-source philosophy. A real geek would want District 9 and Moon to win oscars or would rewatch Star Trek but not for nostalgia purposes but just because it is fucking awesome or quote obscure stuff like stargate sg-1 because lets face it, that show is so fucking relevant in every Real life situation just by being itself, just like Seinfeld, but only stoners quote seinfeld. Oh and yeah if you do drugs whatever it is, you are in no way a geek in any form. Geeks have better things to do than put their mouth over a pipe.
Dec. 30, 2010, 8 a.m. CST
People like Harry will be the last to know
by Thunderbolt Ross
Any kind of epicenter of geekdom is the last place to go for insight into whether it's dying out or not.
Dec. 30, 2010, 8:09 a.m. CST
Stupid question, brother, but...
by Larry Knowles
You know how screenplays go through several re-writes before being filmed? The same is true (or should be) with published essays. You can be an effective writer, but you need to focus on editting, revising. People will quit reading (as I did with this) if the thoughts are not organized and concise. Harry, I'd be happy to help you begin editting and revising some of your columns if you would like to email me your sloppy copy. Call me when you get a moment. Forever Your brother, Larry
Dec. 30, 2010, 8:20 a.m. CST
larryknowles --- good points
by 1997-2011
I'm with you on your brother's writing, hes a good guy with a big heart but needs improvement.
Dec. 30, 2010, 8:31 a.m. CST
jeez harry...
by omarthesnake
i thought your diatribe was a poorly written, rambling piece of shit that my eyes glazed over a third of the way through, then i started to read Patton's original article. geeks should only pontificate one-third as much as they think they should, tops. you both need serious editing, whatever your meandering points might be.
Dec. 30, 2010, 8:43 a.m. CST
Is it possible for a Harry animation to make one sick?
by openthepodbaydoorshal
Cuz the Harry Centipede is surely close to doing it!!!!!!
Dec. 30, 2010, 8:48 a.m. CST
I'm not bothering with this site anymore...
by Snake Foreskin
at least until it gets fixed. Let's face it, AICN is broken right now. It's like going to the Museum of Natural History in NYC and finding out that most of the exhibits are closed for renovation. No dinosaurs, no hall of life, no diaramas - just the Grecian urns and Peruvian wedding gowns. This is a real shame. <p> Harry, whenever you get things sorted out, I'll be back. And you know what? You never even bothered to let me know the status of the Scorekeeper Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows soundtrack contest. I still haven't seen any post about it, and the contest winner was supposed to have been chosen a month ago. The FCC frowns upon such negligence.
Dec. 30, 2010, 9:18 a.m. CST
by Jeff8A
I can't believe some enterprising film distributor hasn't brought this movie to some artsy-fartsy theater here in the states yet.
Dec. 30, 2010, 9:20 a.m. CST
Stupidfatginger's post got deleted?
by D.Vader
Damn. Anyway, good to see CreepyThinMan back with the original handle!
Dec. 30, 2010, 9:34 a.m. CST
History of Google not Freaks related
by KingKirby
Harry - to your question regarding Google being related to Tod Browning's "Freaks": the short answer is no. My longer geek answer is that the "Google" name is actually based on a misspelling of "Googol" (1 followed by 100 zeros), the intention of which is to convey the thousands of things you can find with their search engine. The lyric of the song from Browning's "Freaks" is "Gooble gobble, gooble gobble, we accept you, we accept you." No google there at all.
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:12 a.m. CST
so Google is to Googol
by HadWoodenTeethChasedMobyDick
like Donkey Kong is to Monkey Kong
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:19 a.m. CST
Stupid fat Ginger has many good points
by Six Demon Bag
And he stayed on topic--so why was it deleted and he presumably banned?! Was it because the mods didn't AGREE with something in the post? For a man who claims he can take as good as he gives, he sure does have thin skin. This place used to be such a hotbed for great discussion but when we are getting banned for simply not liking what someone says is pathetic. This site is a joke.
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:21 a.m. CST
My last post....
by Six Demon Bag
Dec 29, 2010 8:25:31 CST Get a grip Knowles! by stupidfatginger Seriously, you disgust me. You continue to take free product from Amazon for which you are supposed to deliver a DVD review column that you can't be buggered to put out regularly because you're still hung over from your birthday wankfest and when you do it's usually half-assed. You show no integrity and refuse to deliver what you know is going to be a less than sterling review of Inception because you're afraid you might piss off some studio big wig and when you finally deliver it weeks after anyone has stopped caring you somehow, as you always seem to do, make it about yourself. You pose and preen and post pictures of all your baubles and beads on Twitter revealing yourself as the hoarder and prize whore we all know you to truly be. You sit there and think about what you didn't get for Christmas instead of appreciating what you did get for Christmas. You assume your readers are fucking idiots and don't know who Chang and Eng are and reveal yourself as the pigeon-holed dolt who probably didn't take the time to find out that Darin Strauss wrote a book about them in the last 10 years. You call Patton Oswalt to task for daring to criticize the state of geek culture when you have probably done more to illegitamize (not a real word but appropriate here and you know what I mean) it than any studio exec. You create a website designed to break movie news and rumors and gossip and it becomes little more than a rehash of news broken much earlier and more coherently on other sites. You then all but abandon that site to lay claim to a site and a name cherished by genre fans and I can only shake in fear at the terrible things you will do that would make Uncle Forry spin in his grave. Your existing site falls to shit and ruin for weeks and all you can be bothered to do is throw up this pathetic stillborn version of it. When you do post something on your site, it's masturbatory, self-indulgent pablum like the riveting treatise above or it's to shove a Green Lantern ring in our faces and to talk about how cool you are and how're you're part of such an exclusive club and how your nephew will probably never even get to touch that ring. And then you whine about how you almost lost 'your precious' just hours later on Twitter. You know, when I was young I thought I had a cool uncle. Turned out he was an irresponsible drunk asshole. You're a hack Knowles. You're a flea-market huckster who's been running a long con as a legitmate industry insider and it delights me that more people are finally catching on. Of course, some people have know this for a while. Case in point: http://efilmcritic.com/feature.php?feature=1346
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:31 a.m. CST
face it, we're all a geek
by HadWoodenTeethChasedMobyDick
a jock, an outcast, a goth, a molly ringwald
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:37 a.m. CST
Hard to take Harry seriously on anything geek-related
by UCB Agent1
He's never read the Harry Potter novels, he has faith in the Twilight series, he didn't like Inception, he's incapable of judging any film on it's own merits. Many he created modern geek culture, but he also sold out the minute he starting palling around with the filmmakers. So maybe he's responsible for both the renaissance of geekdom, AND for it's slow, awful death. When was the last time this site posted any kind of exclusive scoops or news that weren't TV-related? All the real exclusive stuff he gets access to just gets sent to BNAT. Or is hinted at in "giggles". Say what you want about Harry's watching Attack of the Clones in a motel room and praising it. At least he SHARED back then. If Harry cared about anything other than himself, maybe he'd use some of those connections of his to actually get some exclusive content for the site. Hell, the BNAT attendees were told not to reveal that they saw Hobo With a Shotgun. There's no description of what was in the preview they saw if Cowboys and Aliens. 10 years ago those reviews would be all over this site. Now, it's giggles and secrets. Harry is on the inside and he's only sharing with those who kiss his ass. Harry won't risk the access he has gotten to share any actual news on this site. I've been reading this site since at least 1997, and Harry has become another cog in the machine. It's essentially the end of "Animal Farm". The studios have co-opted him and he didn't blink twice. "Harry's chosen HD-DVD, and here's why!" was the day this site began to die. Harry, you sold out your fans. You fat bastard.
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:44 a.m. CST
ucb agent1 MAKES SOME VERY COGENT POINTS
by Darth Busey
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:55 a.m. CST
by UCB Agent1
Right on about Quint. He's the only actually putting good content on the site anymore.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:15 a.m. CST
Patton Oswalt and Harry's attempt to inject himself...
by FlickaPoo
...into the conversation are irrelevant to me. I've always come here for Talkback, and the great names absent from the bloody fields of Talkback are too many to count at this point. Maybe things will improve once the "redesign" (De-design? Un-design?) is sorted out, but I'm not holding my breath.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:20 a.m. CST
...↑uh, no disrespect to the fine talkbackers here today.
by FlickaPoo
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:28 a.m. CST
"We're the crazy folks that have changed the world."
by schadenfreudian
EVERY generation thinks that of itself. Ever talk to an ex-hippie about the 60's? Holy shit.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:42 a.m. CST
by FlickaPoo
...truth. I didn't think anybody could be as annoying and self indulgent as the baby boomers, but we're (I'm the same age as Harry) well on our way to knocking them off their pedestal of self-pleasuring flatulence... And if we keep using phrases like "geek culture" we may already be there.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:58 a.m. CST
I keep a geek culture in my secret room.
by THE_CHOPPAH
It's made from the saliva of a Star Wars geek, the semen of a Star Trek geek, the sweat of a Silver Age comics geek, the earwax of a Doctor Who geek, the snot of a manga geek, a stool sample from a Harry Potter geek and the tears of a Firefly geek, of which there are rivers.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:59 a.m. CST
Every generation is "special."
by THE_CHOPPAH
Sorry, I meant "retarded." That was a rare slip into political correctness for THE_CHOPPAH. Apologies.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:08 p.m. CST
CHOPPY is like The Man coming round and taking names...
by FlickaPoo
...in the Johnny Cash song. He's simultaneously the most interesting thing going on AICN...and an agent of destruction. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts And I looked and behold, a pale horse And his name that sat on it was THE CHOPPAH And Hell followed with him
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:10 p.m. CST
by schadenfreudian
I'm probably in the same ballpark, age-wise, and I completely agree. Every time I hear one of my friends talking about how awesome the 80's were, I wanna fucking puke.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:12 p.m. CST
I had to come back to ask a question, Harry:
by Snake Foreskin
Has this site been taken over by Chinese hackers? Al Quaeda? Entertainment Tonight? All I can tell you is that half the time your site doesn't even load. The other half, it is barely functional. We have always been a demanding and sometimes unreasonable bunch of TBers. We like to kvetch and complain at the slightest of things. But this is literally the survival of AICN we are discussing, whether you care to admit it or not.<p><p> I would imagine that the holidays are sapping precious time away from the site's developer and yourself. But please tell me and the rest of your loyal visitors that you are going to get this site back in proper working order in the early days of 2011. We need to hear reassurances from you that AICN will indeed rise from the ashes, otherwise I am afraid you will be facing the loss of the majority of your fans in the coming days and weeks.<p><p> The 21st century is about to enter its second decade. Will Ain't It Cool News still have any relevance? Will it even continue to exist? The next couple of weeks will be crucial in determining that. Between the poor quality of current content offerings, terribly glitchy design & implementation and all of the spambot posts, I fear for the future of Ain't It Cool News. I hope you are taking this turn of events as seriously as many of your visitors are, Harry.<p><p> And now, I must put down my scythe, remove my black hooded robe and stop playing the part of The Grim Reaper. Ingmar Bergman's estate would like them back.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:12 p.m. CST
The Choppah
by schadenfreudian
In measured hundredweight and penny pound. When the man comes around.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:21 p.m. CST
Trim your wicks, virgins!
by THE_CHOPPAH
I'm in the thorn tree. Just try kicking against my prick.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:21 p.m. CST
geeks may be geeky
by HadWoodenTeethChasedMobyDick
but the ones who hold onto all there childish angst and anger toward life and society by getting hundreds of tattoos and peircings are the real losers
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:26 p.m. CST
The 80's was far from boring.
by Stalkeye
Sure the technology to play high res movies wasn't available nor did we play videogames online or watch videos from a handheld device, but there was still some cool shit that came from the aforementioned decade:Terminator, Aliens, Predator, GI-fucking-Joe, Transformers,Escape from New York, JC's The Thing,Robotech,Superman 2,Miami Vice,and so forth. I guess you really missed out during that time, but I saw and experienced plenty of great things throughout the 80's:Be it Movies,Music or the chicks I dated at the time. (Ah, good times, man good times.) Yup, Let it be known, I love the 80's.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:28 p.m. CST
geeks are those people
by seabiscuits
who bite the head off of chickens
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:32 p.m. CST
I didn't say the 80's were boring
by schadenfreudian
don't get me wrong, there are parts of the 80's that I loved. But anytime someone starts talking about the Good Old Days, they morph into my grandpa telling me how a candy bar cost a nickel when he was growing up. There are pros and cons to every decade, but nostalgia can paint everything with a wide sepia toned brush that leaves little room for the details of what ACTUALLY happened.
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:40 p.m. CST
snake foreskin, may I co-sign your post/question?
by FlickaPoo
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:57 p.m. CST
From the Wikipedia entry for Harry Knowles:
by Klytus_I.m_Bored
"In 1994, Knowles fell while pushing a cart up a ramp at a convention, and was subsequently run over by the cart with its 1200 pound load of memorabilia. " Is true or is supposed to be a joke?
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:02 p.m. CST
I mean to say
by Klytus_I.m_Bored
Is THIS true or is THIS supposed to be a joke? I didn't mean to sound like the guy taking your order at a Chinese restaurant.
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:25 p.m. CST
hadwoodenteethchasedmobydick -- exactly
by 1997-2011
i hate these losers, and they dont mind making it obvious they are losers.
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:35 p.m. CST
Battle Royal with Cheese, I wasn't refering to you..
by Stalkeye
In fact, I was responding to mst3kpimp's post since he had mentioned how "kinda" boring the 80's were. I should have just addressed him directly in my previous post. Oh wellz, it's all good.
Dec. 30, 2010, 1:49 p.m. CST
that's cool, Stalkeye
by schadenfreudian
The proximity of your post to mine made me think you were talkin' to me.
Dec. 30, 2010, 2:12 p.m. CST
Wait. People Are Actually Arguing About Geek Authenticity Now?
by NeonFrisbee
You have got to be fucking kidding me. Culture has hit a new low when this is even a topic of discussion. If you honestly care about this, about geek authenticity, then you are worse than a geek, worse than a nerd, worse than an idiot; you're a fucking douchebag. A douchebag with WAY too much time on their hands. End of motherfucking line.
Dec. 30, 2010, 2:30 p.m. CST
It's sad
by STLost
that this is the hottest topic, and there are no flame wars, personal attacks, or AsimovLives. Just coherent thoughts about the decline of AICN.
Dec. 30, 2010, 3:10 p.m. CST
Nice post Harry...
by workshed
Two things... a, Scott Pilgerm was the most disappointing film of the year for me. I had such high expectations from Ed and it just, well, it didn't have the heart of Spaced, SotD or HF. b, Anyone named after an asshole like Patton must be a bit of a nob. Sorry, three things... c, 'Brits'. I hate how we're all lumped in together. I'm from Yorkshire and we'll always be a billion times cooler than anyone from Essex.
Dec. 30, 2010, 3:49 p.m. CST
Geeks arguing about geeks arguing about geeks ...
by THE_CHOPPAH
This thread has turned into Harry's animation.
Dec. 30, 2010, 3:59 p.m. CST
By the way, I've been in touch with AsimovLives.
by THE_CHOPPAH
He asked me to relay this message: Hello fallow taklbakcers! Id be their with you celebratng and possilby laminating the downfall of our belooved AICN, but Ive decided its time to move off and get my merda toeghter. Dont worry Im still having a rage hardonn over Jar Jar Abrams SHIT (Brewery) TREK, still truely the wurst peace of SHIT ever to TERK to cinema sceeens, but Ive decideed to insted write a bookk that will hopfeully get published in english oneday. Its all about how Jar Jar Abraham's RETADR TREK has asolutely and ireversbly DESTROYED geekness. Youll love it im sure although I belive many of the AICN trol assclowns will have a field trip getting there jolies ripping onn it. Goodbuy for now. Love, Asimov
Dec. 30, 2010, 4 p.m. CST
hahaha @ the_choppah. Thats totally Asi
by 1997-2011
Dec. 30, 2010, 4:03 p.m. CST
One note TBers are the juice of AICN
by 1997-2011
without them this wouldve been a boring place. someone do Media Messiah or that other guy
Dec. 30, 2010, 4:27 p.m. CST
For the record, I love Asimov.
by THE_CHOPPAH
That dude was always down to party.
Dec. 30, 2010, 4:36 p.m. CST
i used to collect those pokemon things
by 1997-2011
im so ashamed
Dec. 30, 2010, 4:37 p.m. CST
Asi never turned down an argument for sure
by 1997-2011
and he would pop out of nowhere anytime JJ was mentioned.
Dec. 30, 2010, 4:39 p.m. CST
What about the Futurians?
by foreverguardian
Correct me if I'm wrong, but what about the influence of a small group of young science fiction fans that got together on a regular basis, and those people grew, they founded the world science fiction convention and between them wrote some of the benchmarks by which the things we hold dear are often measured? Read up on the Futurians (including gents with the surnames Asimov, Pohl, Blish, Kornbluth and many others). Let's not forget about them eh? ;)
Dec. 30, 2010, 4:45 p.m. CST
I realize what an elitist I sound like in that last post... ooops
by foreverguardian
Sorry about that. Tone is often lost in text. That was intended as a genuine conbtribution rather than a snipe. Just sayin' :)
Dec. 30, 2010, 4:50 p.m. CST
Oswald and aicn becoming relics
by crimsoncinder
the dirty rat Patton really has nothing worth saying and the fact that Harry comes to the party with less theses days shows this site has lost it's way. time to move on Harry and become a once in a while writer. do it with 110% Passion or go home. Get someone to write who can keep our attention and our excitement for coming here.
Dec. 30, 2010, 5:27 p.m. CST
You can't be a geek if you use drugs?
by Nerd Rage
What a moron. That's like saying you can't be a sports fan if you drink beer.
Dec. 30, 2010, 5:32 p.m. CST
Either I read it wrong or Harry did
by bah
As I read it, Harry, you just completely validated Oswalt's point, not countered it. He's saying that rather than "geek culture", we instead have the rehashing of old geek cultures. And your counterpoint is, "No, no, we haven't even begun mining Lovecraft!" Now, I'm not sure Oswalt is correct. He is right that we are rehashing everything. What do my kids like? Mario, Star Wars, Hello Kitty and My Little Pony. But he's wrong in thinking no geek cultures exist. Take Twi-hards, for example. Oh, scoff all you want, but that fan base is exactly what you looked like in middle school. "Lost" is another example -- does it get any geekier?
Dec. 30, 2010, 5:37 p.m. CST
You're not a geek if you haven't read Harry Potter?
by Nerd Rage
You can attack Harry for alot of reasons but saying he's not a geek because he hasn't read Harry Potter? Harry was probably in his twenties when Harry Potter came out. Fucking Generation Y. You and your pokemons and your power rangers. None of that shit will ever be cool.
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:09 p.m. CST
Just another cog in the machine...
by halsolo
AICN did introduce me to some awesome things I'd never have known about through the years, but it is the epitome of the geek sites' evolution into little more than free publicity for the corporate machine. There are seldom articles that wish to discuss anything on an intellectual level, just superficially (usually either a personal or nostalgic account at that). Everything is always awesome, all the time, and the best thing ever just keeps getting made and criticism has no place any longer in popular culture (I'd say politics and empathy have also been culled in the process). There is no self-reflection to Geek culture, and while this may have been the geekiest year ever (at least to Harry) most of the output was pretty damn weak and worst of all, boring and familiar.
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:13 p.m. CST
Oswalt wants the modern equivalent of the destruction of the Library of Alexandria.
by Stereotypical Evil Archer
A geeky Dark Ages? Grab your Highlander replica sword and KILL, KILL, KILL!
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:18 p.m. CST
nerd rage, your right. Geeks used to do drugs; they still do, but they used to too.
by Stereotypical Evil Archer
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:19 p.m. CST
I hate it when I use "your" instead of "you're" A KINGDOM FOR AN EDIT BUTTON!
by Stereotypical Evil Archer
Dec. 30, 2010, 6:36 p.m. CST
Hat's off to brother Xiphos for telling the shit as it is.
by Stuntcock Mike
OBITUARY AIN'T IT COOL NEWS <p> I got turned onto AICN sometime in early December of 1996 by my lab partner in physics class. (Thanks Marco, if you read this somehow, you were a great lab partner and thanks again for all the math help brah. Having a math major as a lab partner was a blessing.) When I first started reading AICN it was still a newsgroup listing before the first website with the King Kong background. I didn't have a lot of time to do much with AICN in those days. I would scan it at the library while doing research or writing papers. It was an interesting diversion with some truly odd but interesting people that liked to talk about movies in development or being filmed. I didn't participate much, just lurked for the most part. <p> Flash forward a few years and I find myself in the Marines after spending the three most miserable years of my life (including the blown up years) as a POW at a major American university. I'm on an assault ship doing my first and only float. The boat I was on was among the first computer labs the Navy opened with access to the fledgling internet aboard it. Added bonus, there was a hot Navy IT female sailor (hot for being in the Navy and for us being at sea. Completely average on Terra Firma) that worked there so of course everybody became interested in "learning" about this newfangled Internet business. We were wandering around the Orient and due to one of my jobs I ended up coming off my duty shift a lot on the late watch. That worked out to around midday in Austin, Texas so I began participating in the free-for-all that was the fun and interesting AICN of those days. I cut my teeth in the X Men wars of the late 90′s. Those were some brutal TBs. It got so bad I would get emailed death threats over posts. Good times. Those years were fun on AICN. Total wackos but mostly cool wackos that could write and defend their positions. It was a politics free zone which was nice and it was a goofy community of likable goobers. Then September 11th happened and I mostly checked out of AICN until I found myself hospitalized with a shit load of free time to fill up so back to AICN I went in early '07. I would like to thank AICN for being there to fill up a lot of dark days and nights. <p> For most of '07 I just abused anybody and everybody and trolled like a motherfucker and got banned repeatedly. It was fun and I had a good time and I needed it. It kept me entertained while the croakers were cutting on me and I was enduring the rehab. Jump forward to late September of 2007. I was going through another round of surgery and was back in the hospital. Two things happened then. First, the show Journeyman debuted and I started hanging in that TB. Secondly, I noticed another dude hung out in Journeyman and at most of the other TBs I visited. That dude was the bastard of the Internets, Just Pillow Talk (not really, actually Pillow is probably the nicest person ever to inhabit the Internet.) I got to talking to him instead of attacking. From there it seemed like Kloipy and Abominable Snowcone showed up since we were all posting in the same places at the same time. Then there were Jarv, DocP and Orcus, we were all posting in the same TBs and talking more and more directly. I think it was when that asshat ZachBraff started being a double douche where we sort of became a "group". From that asshole, the infamous March of '08 TB happened where the Church of Chang was born. It all began innocently enough in a dead end TB discussing Tremors and who was more cool, Burt "The Stache " Gummer or Fred "Gorilla Arms" Ward. <p> From there things picked up steam. Marva, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(Both MIA) and D.Vader started to join in. So did Toad Killer Dog, TomBodet/Tom Bando, Danny and Jonah. I deployed to Africa and was away from the Internet for a while and that's when The Twitch TB started. That brought together Therewolf, ContinentalOp, Morbius, Menstrual Blitz, Droid, Franklin T. Marmoset Esq and disappearance artist, Spud McSpud, Col. Tigh_Fighter(one of the more clever handles ever at AICN), Zeddemore whatever Lord Bronco's name was on AICN (sorry man, I don't remember exactly what it was) Milf Lover, Fred's_Balls_in_ A_Mason_Jar (sadly MIA) and StuntCock_Mike. Barfy and RedFishBlueFish mostly lurked but participated some (I knew them from the Lost TB). The Twitch TB was the foundation that has become Werewolves on the Moon. <p> So why did I go through a very Harry Knowlsian like opening ramble in order to talk about the death of AICN? Well I suppose it was because I wanted to get my bona fides concerning my time at AICN on the record when I call the time of death for AICN. Also I wanted to review some history because its the end of the year and that's what people do at the end of the year, take stock. Plus this is about AICN so I went with the rambling personal intro instead of some sick juvenile extended sexual metaphor. You should be happy I went the rambling route instead of the other way. It is Christmas day and all. <p> As we all know, AICN has been circling the bowl hard for at least the last year or so. Not a lot of updates, pipe job reviews for studios or directors, contributors moving on to other venues, an influx of unfunny and uninteresting talk backers with agendas or a level of stupid arrogance and a complete lack of command of the basics of English, although going from goat speak to English is difficult and hard to learn. The death of the Twitch TB is due to nothing more then neglect on the part of the site's administrators. All this made AICN stink like corrupting flesh left rotting in the hot sun. <p> Even though AICN was both sucking and blowing and losing readership and hits everyday, it still managed to be at least somewhat entertaining as an occasional diversion. But on 3 December 2010, AICN began spiraling down towards the sweet embrace of death. At first it just seemed like its early 2000 level of software was finally breaking down, which really wasn't a surprise, but it was no big deal. Websites have performance issues once in awhile, its the nature of the beast. Around the 7th the computer folk realized they were under attack and user info could have been compromised. <p> Instead of telling anybody anything, Harry and his band of miscreants decided to press into service early new software they had been building in order to blunt the hacker attack. (I don't believe they were building new software but at this point who cares?) This plan was an unmitigated disaster on many fronts. You couldn't log on, you couldn't read anything, TBs were out of place and out of order, AICN looked like complete jerks and didn't tell anybody anything about what was going on until 16 December. It might have been cool to let people know their personal info, if you were dumb enough to use your personal info, was compromised. It would also have been prudent to let the talk backers know what's going on because in the three weeks since the attacks began, it looks like almost all old line regulars left and the bulk of the usual TBers have fled AICN at least temporarily. The numbers on Talk Backs, the only reason left to visit AICN, are dismal. The post about what happened hasn't as yet even broke 500 posts. Think about that. Less than 500 people have commented about the "new" AICN. Hell a year ago that TB would have probably hit 5000 by now 9 days later. Other talk backs about what should be important subjects to nerds barely register any posts. <p> I am going to call the time of death of AICN. It was on 16 December 2010 at 1411 hours when Hairy finally got around to telling people what was going on. Nice job fat boy, you managed to kill your golden goose through stupidity and laziness even though stupidity, ego and laziness were already slowly throttling AICN. <p> It's not that anybody really cares about AICN anymore. I just thought I would write up an obituary for it since it was once a somewhat well liked website and it has a certain amount of sentential value for me. <p> RIP AICN 1996-2010. It was a decent run for 12 of it's 14 years but the race is over now and the spirit of what AICN once was is a bloated mouldering corpse. The memory of the good times might last a bit. <p> Merry Crunkmas y'all, gots to keep it real and crunking into 2011. <p> Xiphos UPDATE 1630hrs 25 December: I took a look at Fat Town and Harry's update article has finally crossed the 500 post mark. It only TOOK 9 days. Game over man. <p> UPDATE 2: 2011hrs 27 December. Throw Hawaiian Organ Doner into the Twitch list above. Sorry man if you read this.
Dec. 30, 2010, 7 p.m. CST
by 1997-2011
those were good times man, AICN was really rocking back then because of TBers not Harry or his dumb articles. I even liked the trolls, they were in their own way insightful and opened my eyes to new things. Hopefully 10 years later we can all come back here and have a reunion of some sort.
Dec. 30, 2010, 7:04 p.m. CST
Geekdom and other conceits...
by Professor.Heinrich.Von.Squawkencluck
Wow. I'm a geek, and I'm geekier than you Honest.. Its because I say so, I dressed as Han Solo and can name every extra in every Star Wars film ever. To proclaim the death of "Geek" is asinine.. to declare "Geek" alive because one is an UltimateEverlastingShiningGeek is just truly silly. In any form of human appreciation of anothers endeavour, there are those amongst us who feel the need to show our devotion to the silly by proving our utter dedication is somehow better than the casual obsession. My geek, my freak is somewhat geekier and freakier than yours. Truly bloody stupid imo.
Dec. 30, 2010, 7:13 p.m. CST
by phifty2
"We haven't gotten a good Fantastic Four movie yet. You see that as evidence that Geekdom is fine. Yet you neglect the REAL evidence that geekdom is being reappropriated and exploited for money. We havent gotten a good F4 movie because geekdom is being controlled by non-geeks and moneymen." <p> In four sentences you summed up exactly how Harry totally misinterprets the situation. <p> The fact that we haven't gotten a good F4 movie is a sign that "geek culture" is going strong? No. It's a sign that the big movie biz has continuously failed to understand why and what we love about these characters.
Dec. 30, 2010, 7:22 p.m. CST
However, Patton being pissed and getting all...
by phifty2
...douchey about some guy at the gym wearing a Boba Fett T-shirt...what a dickhead(Patton, not the gym guy or Boba Fett). <p> So if you work out, go to bars, are comfortable around pretty girls; these things mean you can't like Star Wars? The only thing that is going to destroy the culture is the geeks themselves. <p> In fact, I don't even know what "geek culture" is?
Dec. 30, 2010, 7:40 p.m. CST
The existence and use of the phrase "geek culture"...
by FlickaPoo
...is the only thing that threatens the future of Geekdom.
Dec. 30, 2010, 8:30 p.m. CST
Amen, halsolo
by Timmy Chicago
Couldn't agree more.
Dec. 30, 2010, 8:32 p.m. CST
Really? I thought zzjjj88 summed it up best.
by THE_CHOPPAH
Dec. 30, 2010, 9:55 p.m. CST
They made John Carter...it was called Avatar.
by Batutta
Or am I the only one who noticed?
Dec. 30, 2010, 10:45 p.m. CST
eww gross Harry
by girl
sorry, I was a long time reader, haven't posted much, but I am sorry I just can't return to this site until that flash cartoon has been properly replaced ;) :) xoxo
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:13 p.m. CST
The 80's were pretty boring...
by MST3KPIMP
The 80' are actually more interesting now in a curious sense as we laugh at the haircuts or indulge in the music ect. Current culture presents the 80's like a sureal time where everyone wore a headband & life played-out like a John Hughes movie. Now don't get it twisted as breakdancing, Manimal and Transformers were fun but these things came about sloowwly & you were either aware or at best a casual participant. After you digested it you moved on as you were anticipating the next great thing which often never materialized so you were left frustrated. Pop culture failed many in the 80's and this largely set the stage for the "alternative revolution" as so many youth had endured enough. Of course this created a generation of complainers so I'm not sure that solved anything. Of course nolstalgia will play a trick on todays kids and Avatar will be theyre Star Wars in 30 years. The 80's look fantastic when reflected in summary but to be there and actually wait around for the good parts... not so much. I can only assume this true for any decade.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:32 p.m. CST
by BringingSexyBack
Agree, great obit - but I found Xi's personal history even more compelling. Had no idea you were here that long. Very sad what has become of this site. They drained every bit of fun out of here.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:41 p.m. CST
by BringingSexyBack
I suspect that Gabriel Gray's attacks forced their hand. But you know what? All they had to do was listen to the readership and keep that asslick Devin away and everything would've been fine. But no. Fucking Beaks did everything he could to bring his buddy over, thinking they could take over the site, and then along with banning D.Vader, instead brought about the demise of the site.
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:45 p.m. CST
So there
by _Venkman
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:46 p.m. CST
by _Venkman
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:46 p.m. CST
So there's AICN terrorists now?
by _Venkman
Harry you must prepare for an AICN 9-11
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:46 p.m. CST
by BringingSexyBack
Dec. 30, 2010, 11:56 p.m. CST
I was banned for 90 days for defending D.Vader...
by Stereotypical Evil Archer
And I come back to this mess. Wow. Remember in the days AICN actually had spy reports? Or when pussy juice was a distasteful movie review meme? And Patton Oswalt was Neil Cumpston? And the funniest shit you read for the day was a brilliant post in the talkbacks? It seems that Oswalt's Geekageddon has begun.
Dec. 31, 2010, 12:47 a.m. CST
this is an old argument
by Jeff
How long were the strokes cool? Until everyone else became aware of them.
Dec. 31, 2010, 12:50 a.m. CST
SNL was cool when
by Jeff
They were doing (insert sketch here) when I was (insert adolescent age here) but now it totally sucks.
Dec. 31, 2010, 12:52 a.m. CST
by BringingSexyBack
I remember your psychoanalysis ... I saw it as a case of tough love but apparently Harry felt differently. I think your current name is the best incarnation of CTM yet. As for Gabriel Gray ... he spammed the living shit out of this place when they ran Devin's articles, slowing the site down. Suffice to say he didn't like Devin and his hatred for the guy runs deep. That feeling was shared by nearly everyone here, so even if I don't agree with his method of protest it was obvious Devin should never have been pushed on us. Now the whole debacle has brought this site to its knees.
Dec. 31, 2010, 1:46 a.m. CST
Geeks are self-defined
by Adam13
Someone suggested that geeks are defined by the mainstream. This is geek wish fulfillment. The idea that people who don't like what you like care enough about that fact to bestow upon you a special status is egotism of a fairly high order. After reading the posts above , I think that any definition of "geek" must involve the need for geeks to name, define and segregate themselves. I don't think of myself as a geek, but by most of the criteria the contributors to this talk-back have offered, I qualify--not at the highest levels of obsession perhaps--but firmly in the mid-range. I read virtually every comic published by DC and Marvel between 1975 and 1979, and can still discuss them in detail. Not only that, but within that "geeky" superstructure, my favorite comics/characters were oddball second-tier characters like The Spectre, The Creeper, Metamorpho, The Demon, Shade the Changing Man, Ragman--and that's just DC. I know much more than the average Joe about movies. I read SF almost exclusively for about 5 years. I have my G.I. Joes posed in some very cool combat positions in my office window. l love film noir--and know a lot about it. And yeah, I love Star Trek. Star Wars? Meh. I dismissed it because it didn't seem like SF to me. It didn't revolve around a concept. Could just as easily have been a western of a samurai flick (and aren't these kind of "geeky" things to have spent any time at all thinking about?) But I never felt like any of this defined me. More importantly, I didn't need it to. I liked comics because I REALLY LIKED them. I thought they were the pinnacle, not only of cool, but of accomplishment. When I turned fifteen and didn't think they were quite so awesome any more, I moved on to other interests--in film and literature--that fulfilled the same interests and desires in different ways. But it was all part of continuum. I liked these things because I really believed they were good. I love 70's Batman comics drawn by Marshall Goldman (awesome Joker). And I love Dickens and Wallace Stevens. I know that for some people, the Batman thing, the SF, doesn't make sense, but if they ask, I can explain, and if they don't, who cares? But this is where this debate becomes interesting to me. My experience must be fairly common. My interests are "geeky," but nobody, including myself, would describe me in those terms. At one point, I guess I tried to become a geek. At least I sought out the companionship of people whom I believed were like-minded by joining a science fiction club and briefly participating in an amateur press association. Utterly depressing and defeating experiences. The majority of members, while admittedly being insanely knowledgeable about the minutiae of their cloistered interest areas--were mainly concerned with what they imagined to be the rogue politics of their mostly self-fashioned ostracism. Discussion of source material--the actual books, movies, comics, whatever--consisted mostly of how cool it all was, not on themes, style, etc. Talk centered largely on how "different" we were from the "normals." Except I didn't really feel different. This was, truly, a club for social misfits. There's nothing wrong with that, but the false advertising, the facade of genuine, serious interest in the material they claimed to love, galled me. Apparently, misfits tend to like art that lies outside the mainstream, but it doesn't logically follow that such preferences make one a misfit. I was, in the end, put off by the kind of interaction that these gatherings engendered. It was mostly paranoid, defensive, posturing--often semi-deranged--in my opinion denigrating, marginalizing and reducing, rather than appreciating, a ridiculously broad range of creative endeavour. Has anyone else found that enjoying the geeky aspects of your life necessitates actually avoiding so-called "geek culture" like the plague? I think Patton Oswalt is on the money when he suggests that current geek culture is threatened with extinction. But it's only in danger because the criteria of exclusivity geeks use to define themselves no longer hold up. Mainstream culture can now so easily access, assimilate and commodify any movement via the multi-mediaverse that artistic fringe culture turnover will be rapid and frequent. New fringe cultures will come along, of course, but they won't be geek culture. We're not seeing the end of fringe artistic culture; we're seeing the end of the specific fringe pop-art moment that geeks call "geek," the one that spawned Harry and Oswalt--and myself and many of you. Similar moments will continue to be generated as long as people continue to create, but turnover will be rapid. If you proudly call yourself a geek now, embrace it. Because you won't be able to keep it to yourself for long.
Dec. 31, 2010, 3 a.m. CST
by Xiphos_2
Thanks glad you liked and thanks to Stuntcock_Mike for re-posting it here where it was published originally. Yep I have be around here in one form or another for a very long time to long actually when I stop to think about it.
Dec. 31, 2010, 3:12 a.m. CST
If the real geeks are awake then please geek up and make something new.
by Doctor_Strangepork
No more parody songs of parody songs or youtube videos of you playing with lightsabers. I mean something awesome. Something better than all the Avatars and Inceptions you're always grousing about. Remember the good shit? Can you score me some of the good shit, dear geeks? Can someone please make me the next Jaws? Or the next Back to the Future? Or this huge leap of "next shit" that you've got brewing in your mind for years that none of us has even thought of yet? Please take that leap. I will gladly give my 10 bucks to you guys rather than to Pirates of the Caribbean 4 or Alvin and the Chipmunks 3.
Dec. 31, 2010, 3:14 a.m. CST
That should have read
by Xiphos_2
thanks to Stuntcock_Mike for re-posting it here FROM where it was published originally. Fuck its 0400hrs.
Dec. 31, 2010, 7:19 a.m. CST
Plinkett Episode 3 review is up.
by Deathpool
Now that's something for geeks to be thankful for.
Dec. 31, 2010, 7:41 a.m. CST
Ha! Drain said "suquel"...
by fettitular
Freudian slip much??
Dec. 31, 2010, 9:35 a.m. CST
Dang, I gotta agree with creepycarlthorthinpervertpaedomuthafucka
by Dirk_The_Amoeba
It really is just the elitists bitching about losing what they thought made them speshul -because they have nothing else that makes them feel that way. To all who agree with oswalt - and I swear the the great potato bug I did not know who he was/is until this TB, look in the mirror and wake up. You can call yourself whatever you like -and I guarantee others will call you what they like as well.
Dec. 31, 2010, 9:41 a.m. CST
Xiphos - I saw Toadkillerdog!
by Dirk_The_Amoeba
He made a cameo a few weeks ago. Dude disappeared for over a year. I waved but he did not wave back.
Dec. 31, 2010, 10:39 a.m. CST
So where will all the talkbackers be moving to...
by DrBrianOblivion
... Will there be some kind of great migration to a new site, or will people sort of just dissipate and go there own ways?...
Dec. 31, 2010, 11:03 a.m. CST
nice to see some old handles on here
by STLost
Lurked most of the time between 1996 - 2008, then slowly posted more often. ILoved Xiphos' obit for AICN.
Dec. 31, 2010, 11:08 a.m. CST
10 Thoughts
by yourSTEPDADDY
1. I always considered myself a geek, but after reading geek personality traits and/or habbits in this TB, I realized I am just a guy who likes many things in many areas. 2. People always are talking about how AICN has died but yet people are still coming here? I admit, I felt angered by my banning during the DVade Day debacle and occasionally came back, but its still suprising to see that same train of thought is still going on with no lasting results. 3. BrainDrain is still a total fucking idiot. I would imagine if he had twitter, he would have about -167 followers. I also imagine he is the loser kid from the Tron episode of South Park...except 30 years older. You truly are the dumbest person Ive ever encountered on the net. Cuntgrats. 4. Harry, you suck. 5. Harry, you fuckin suck. 6. Happy Early New Years to those who are cool, to others like BrainDrain, kill yourself at midnight please.
Dec. 31, 2010, 11:11 a.m. CST
PS: The last 4 thoughts are hidden...
by yourSTEPDADDY
So hidden in fact, that I didnt type it down and never changed the post title...
Dec. 31, 2010, 11:24 a.m. CST
Yoooo, YouStepdaddy!
by D.Vader
How's it hanging brother? Yeah I think a lot of people DID leave and have only come back now to lament the AICN death throes. There have been lasting results.
Dec. 31, 2010, 11:52 a.m. CST
Stepdaddy, my son.
by THE_CHOPPAH
Only a true CHOPling would promise a Top 10 and only deliver a Top 6. It's been an honor CHOPPING with you.
Dec. 31, 2010, 11:56 a.m. CST
Step, My Afro Samurai brotha what's good?
by Stalkeye
I could have sworn I saw a gamertag with your user id while playing Black Ops. (Great Multiplayer BTW and yes, better than REACH.) anyways, great Post. You have a happy as well.
Dec. 31, 2010, 12:20 p.m. CST
Its like the ending to LOST. Or the apocalypse.
by D.Vader
ALL our fallen comrades, those who died and disappeared, are coming back out of the woodwork for one final goodbye! ITS THE END OF ALL THINGS!
Dec. 31, 2010, 1:12 p.m. CST
So motherfuckers....Where is the Wake?
by conspiracy
I for one loved Harry & Co. being on the take...made for GREAT Talkback fuel. Hard to say for sure when the decline started...but it has been going on for awhile. Whatever it is...it just isn't the same...even from 6 months ago. As I posted elsewhere....I'll still visit...just to see if this fucker reanimates. However, knowing that most of the old guard has moved on...and that Harry has basically put what little energy he has into his new venture; essentially betting the farm that it will finally allow him to actually be part of the industry and not just talk about it, it just won't be the same.
Dec. 31, 2010, 1:38 p.m. CST
Scott Pilgrim sucked!
by hallmitchell
Ringing phones. Everyone trying to be cool. It flopped and deserved it.
Dec. 31, 2010, 1:53 p.m. CST
The problem with geek culture.
by hallmitchell
Is too many geeks are consuming. Not creating. Spending too much time on video games and watching DVD's. And not creating the next Star Wars or Six million dollar man.
Dec. 31, 2010, 1:58 p.m. CST
Geek: an over-used, abused, and nearly meaningless term
by lv_426
I'm sick of being labeled this or that or the other thing. Back when I was a wee lad, being a geek meant you got your ass kicked, got picked last in gym class, and never got invited to parties or anything fun. The geeks are only now looked at in a more positive light now because they are a huge profitable demographic. So being a geek now, is not the same as being a geek was 10, 20, or 30 years ago. The money gods have just co-opted the word "geek" to use as a lure. Of course, the people that obsess over sports are no better nor worse than the geeks that fawn over the so-called "geeky things" like sci-fi, fantasy, superheroes, anime, etc... I never understood why the jocks were or still are considered well adjusted normal people, and geeks are always the embarrassing outsiders. If there was some great underground geek culture back in the day, then it has gone the way of punk rock by now. Nothing that has any value to any group, no matter how small, can be kept in a realm of purity or authenticity for long if there is the slightest whiff of potential profit to be made by exploiting it. Now, this might not be all bad for some people. Personally, I like science fiction and fantasy literature and cinema. More of that is being produced these days (although, the 80's was when it really started to kick off). The downside is all the remakes and rehashes, but it is better than Hollywood making a hundred cliched westerns or musicals every year like they did before the 70's. With cinema today, we have easier access and more variety, but also a lot more junk to sift through to get to the good stuff. All these terms: jocks, yuppies, geeks, hipsters, goths, emo kids, republican, democrat, gay, lesbian, etc... are just there to keep the peasant population fighting amongst themselves while the fat cats get richer and richer. If we are constantly trying to redefine and claim some sort of acceptable identity for ourselves, then we don't have as much time or mental reserve left to notice how horrendously exploited we are by those in power.
Dec. 31, 2010, 2:22 p.m. CST
How I hate those Harry animations.
by Dollar Bird
After reading Patton's actual article, I once again am struck by how narrow-visioned Harry can be. He revealed it in spades during his Toy Story 3 review, and has done so again here. Quite frankly, the man can't see the forest for the trees. I've been here a long time. Ever since 97 or so when Harry started to post potential names of characters from The Phantom Menace. The site's gone through some changes in quality and mood during those dozenish years, but lately it's been taking a weird shift into this defensive place. I don't know if it's because Harry's feeling older or what, but it's there. Thankfully, the talkbacks have stayed consistent, though the names and faces here have come and gone. (Some, I am glad to note have disappeared. Others I wish showed up again. And plenty more I don't even remember. Kind of like how you feel about me.) But, cripes, Harry. Your huge missive is totally misplaced. Patton wrote a pretty humorous article about the easy-access of over-abundant information and how he's annoyed that you no longer have to work for it. Patton's right. You don't have to go through the piles of issues of Cinefantastique at the second-hand bookstore. And you don't have to wait up late to see Yongary on cable anymore either. All of that is at your fingertips now. Is it good or bad? I dunno. I'll miss the romantic aspect of hunting down Edgar Rice Burroughs books or listening to the hiss-laden end credits music to The Last Starfighter I recorded off of teevee with a walkman. But whatever. Patton decided in his article to destroy all ephemera in what I thought was a pretty amusing end to his article, but I doubt he was serious. You're like any fringe person, Harry. When someone says something that goes against something you adore unconditionally, you fall into knee-jerk defense mode. "Give away my toys? No way! I'll never grow up!" "What? A culture over-laden with information makes learning less fun? We're not over-laden! Have you ever heard of this obscure movie? Ha! There's still stuff to find!" You're right, Harry. There will always be stuff to find. There will always be people who are obsessive with minutiae. I'm sure, back in ancient Mesopotamia, there were some kids who played Gilgamesh in the backyard or drew charcoal pictures of Tiamet on bark and traded curious items with each other, be they shells or carvings or whatever. And so on through the ages... There will always be geeks just as sure as there will always be porn. (Not that the two are related, but you know what I mean...) I don't want to end on that note, but I will.
Dec. 31, 2010, 2:31 p.m. CST
"There will always be geeks just as sure as there will always be porn."
by lv_426
But back in the ancient world, their porn was actual prostitution. Now we have porn, where we can only look, as brothels are obviously frowned upon these days. So score one for the ancient world. Of course, they might have had brutal reptilian alien overlords as well. So maybe in the end it we are better off in the present day?
Dec. 31, 2010, 3:19 p.m. CST
Yoo DVade, Stalk, and Choppah!
by yourSTEPDADDY
DVade, only you would compare AICN to LOST, and only you could make that analogy work... maybe this site is like that show, and that all along we thought AICN was all about movies, reviews, spoilers, but really in the end, its about the relationships you create with each other (that and a very obese guy is in charge, most likely masturbating in a sock)... Stalk, naw that wasnt me. I loved Modern Warfare 2 but never got around to gettin BO... plus, me playing online games equals droppin the f bomb alot... its nothin like calling someone a fag because they tried to steal your UAV... Choppah, you know what it is. We gotta chop til we get to the top! Choppah style, chop-chop-choppa style!
Dec. 31, 2010, 4:15 p.m. CST
by Xiphos_2
Good to see you if you are still in contact with Fred tell him hi. TKD has resurfaced at the place where I published that Obit. It has been a while for him.
Dec. 31, 2010, 5:20 p.m. CST
ah snitchy a.k.a Braindrain a.k.a Lockesbroken leg
by Xiphos_2
still the massive cunt aren't you little fuck boy? Go run off now an report me you you worthless little bitch.
Dec. 31, 2010, 7:02 p.m. CST
by Marduk
Ryan--your meds are not poison. Don't make me come down there.
Dec. 31, 2010, 7:47 p.m. CST
by Marduk
Twats are sweet like butter. I'm not surprised you didn't know that.
Dec. 31, 2010, 8:31 p.m. CST
by benlinus
Im certainly no fan of Harry, but that right there is a little harsh...
Dec. 31, 2010, 9:21 p.m. CST
Harry, are you still fat?
by GimpInMyPants
About a year ago you had some major surgery because you were so damn fat. You made a declaration that you'd lose weight. Well, how did that go? You a baggy sack of skin or still a swollen fat piece of shit?
Jan. 1, 2011, 7:58 a.m. CST
Life will return to normal when athletes dominate again
by kirttrik
Once athletes start beating the living shit out of nerds again things will return to there proper order. As for now, society sees the productivity and wealth that nerds have produced over the last twenty to thirty years. This success is due to the overwhelming influence of the computer and internet industries. A category of society that was deemed nerd i.e. bad/unsocial/weak, are now seen as good/wealthy/strong. Apple, Microsoft, Myspace, Facebook, Google, etc. were all founded by the geek/nerd and employ geeks & nerds. These are the richest men and women in the world, therefore they are great; our heroes of capitalist society. If we collectively travel back a generation prior to this distortion of normality these people would have been accountants or stuffy head research scientists, with either a poorly paid research position at a local university or finishing a post doctorate degree at an Ivy league. Even though said research could lead to great discoveries, it was the business managers and executives that would take said discovery and produce profit from it somehow. This would be done by networking and bullying, things only someone who grew up athletic and popular in high school can do. I don't actually know how one makes a profit on this stuff because, well, I'm a passive nerd, but somehow it is done. Since the dominant figures in human society are computer nerds, society in mass is trying to mimic nerd qualities. This is done out of innate survivalist instinct. That is why people that would have been perfectly happy with Dirty Dancing/Footloose are now actually mentioning their love for Watchmen/Star Trek. Maybe, they think, if I habituate myself in geek culture I might understand how a geek thinks and then make money. The sad distinction that most miss is the wide financial gap between, say, a comic book geek and a computer geek. Where there is overlap and cohabitation between these two species, the earning potential and life-styles of these beings are quite different. Mainly, a comic book geek, in general, won't make any money, pretty much ever, from their fascination. A computer geek will make money, and will be able to purchase everything a comic book geek would ever hope to purchase but can't. This is the foundation of the relationship between these geek prototypes. It is akin to bottom feeders feeding off the backs of blue whales, there is no difference. Once athletes retake there proper place as alpha-males, the mainstream culture will be able to return to bruce springsteen/cock rock, and terrible eighties crime dramas where no one dies ever. This will allow geek culture to return to its role as a secret society for the socially shamed. Right now, we have a quiet reprieve from mockery and abuse, so lets not squander this historic opportunity, let's go have sex with lots of women, or men, which ever.
Jan. 1, 2011, 9:46 a.m. CST
by Dirk_The_Amoeba
I have not encountered that bundle of goodness known as the Fredness for quite a while - I sorta appropriated one of his creations in honor of him. Ah, The Canine Toad Killer has resurfaced amongst the moonwolves. I have lurked once or twice
Jan. 1, 2011, 12:54 p.m. CST
I know fuck all about creating web sites but...
by phifty2
... It would be great if some of the tb'ers here (Ape, Vader, Sexy, stepdaddy, choppah, thinman, 426, and all you other guys who speak your mind and seem to possess wit, original thought and the ability to think objectively) created a simply place we could post and talk about films or anything with no threat of banning. I'm being serious. I think we all know it's the talkbacks that are the lifeblood of this site. So anybody up for this? Just remember to invite me.
Jan. 1, 2011, 3:27 p.m. CST
I was with you all the way through "infra man"...
by REMcycle
... but once you hit "It's actually getting kinda scary here in Austin", you lost me. That's because, as stated above, most geeks don't produce or create. They sit on their asses and talk a bunch of shit; usually rendering themselves completely incompetent on the topic they're trying to discuss. And Austin is positively bursting at the seams with this flavor of douchebag. They also could really care less for real geek-worthy film, as evidenced by Pedazo Chunk's failure. In a town like Austin, where the Drafthouse assrapes hipsters for admission at multiple locations day-in-and-day-out, there was absolutely NO REASON for that place to go under...but then again most Austin geeks don't give a shit about anything other than themselves, their elitist opinions and their Level 64 WoW rosie-thumb-fucking Dwarf. Hell, the last Austin geek to produce anything remotely noteworthy was Paul Alvarado Dykstra with "Termination", but even he subsequently joined the ATX d-bag crew by trying to push that ridiculously elitist "Villa Muse" joke...as if Austin Film would ever be THAT important. Harry, really, we all know that Geek Culture is alive and well, but it's the Austin brand of Geek Culture we could all use a lot less of.
Jan. 1, 2011, 4:16 p.m. CST
Geek Culture is over?
by Subtitles_Off
Make it so! I doubt it, though. That would require an entire generation suddenly developed taste and an interest in something other than their toy-boxes. It's as likely as... INCEPTION winning a Best Picture Oscar. (HA!) Stuntcock Mike coming on AICN and proclaiming the death of Bale fetishism. Pixar actually delivering on the promise of the first reel in the third reel. George Lucas coming up with a third idea. 3D changing the game. The Cowboys playing in The Super Bowl.
Jan. 1, 2011, 5:06 p.m. CST
by Aquanaut
yes, star wars is as mainstream as it gets, but geeks knew where vader got his scars and what a dark lord of the sith was well before mainstream audiences. geeks knew what took place between empire and jedi. star trek is mainstream, but geeks are out there learning klingon and know that data eventually becomes captain of the enterprise and how that ties into the latest trek movie. marvel is mainstream, but geeks know the difference between green hulk and grey hulk. batman is mainstream, but geeks know that ra's al ghul has a daughter named talia and that she and bruce have a son named damian...and that he bacame robin.LOTR is mainstream, but geeks know who Eru is.<p>this trivial knowledge goes hand in hand with the social and physical ineptitude. these worlds provide a means of escape from that which is lacking, so geeks immerse themselves in them. "liking" or "enjoying" something does not alone make one a geek. what geeks need is more self awareness...instead of merely wearing batman t-shirts, how about taking a few cues from the character and work out, study hard and find a mission in life. would luke skywalker have become a hero if he stayed with his aunt and uncle and played roleplaying games with his friends? no.<p>as far as female geeks go...they're really no different from their male counterparts. if a non-geek woman likes a movie typically loved by geeks, it's because an actor they find hot is in it, or they can excuse it as an action movie, which are universally ok for all to love. the movies that you mentioned are rarely heard of by women under 25, and even those over that age that love those movies are in the minority...most of their peers are waiting for the next jennifer aniston movie. and besides, i will say again that these women liking those movies does not alone make them geeks. finally i would just say that kevin smith is married to a fairly attractive woman and they have a kid..oswalt..also married with a kid...i can't speak for joss whedon.
Jan. 1, 2011, 5:30 p.m. CST
Say what?
by Teddy Artery
You don't like Infra Man? Whatsa matter wid you? If you love Godzilla, you should love Infra Man. If you love Japanese culture, you should love Infra Man. If you really understand the zen of "man in suit", you should love Infra Man.
Jan. 1, 2011, 6:31 p.m. CST
by yourSTEPDADDY
The thing is, when DVADE DAY happened, there was a little initiative to start a site or blog where hopeful regulars would come to visit. It worked for a while, but I guess its actually harder than seems to create a place online where people will flock to. We tried our best, tryin to get the AICN regulars over there and we even succeeded with having Beaks (under his William Faulkner disguise) come over daily, talking about how we would fail and how we never take over AICN. Sadly he was right. The thing is, we do not want a site where fellow film lovers and AICN buddies can come to chat. Thats not fun. How much can you chat about your love of Inception or your shared hatred for Harry? AICN is great because theres many cool people here. Also because there are so many dumb ass, idiotic losers. Ex: BrainDrain So, in short, I doubt a AICN-like site will ever succeed unless you get both spectrums... the cool guys you wanna chat with and the losers who you will end up havin a flamewar with... and sadly, flamewars are much funner to have than a decent convo (not sayin conversations or discussions are bad, you just dont have the same tenacity to post if your not insulted). That concludes yourSTEPDADDY's analysis of something or another. PS: I FUCKIN HATE YOU BRAINDRAIN (and all the other guys I hate but are disguised under new pseudonyms)
Jan. 1, 2011, 6:34 p.m. CST
diox, Power Rangers is the shit
by yourSTEPDADDY
Im 26 but I still have love for the PR. I might not watch any of the new series, but to me, it was intrical to my childhood like SW is for the old fucks (I say that with the utmost of love). Plus, Im half Japanese and its in my DNA (my aunt actually played a pink ranger in one of the early sentai shows). In closing, one of my favorite movies ever (if only for nolstagia factor) is Power Rangers the Movie. And in the great words of Adam... "Im a frog"
Jan. 1, 2011, 11:29 p.m. CST
by yourSTEPDADDY
Thanks for the compliment :)
Jan. 2, 2011, 12:07 a.m. CST
by phifty2
Yeah I thought about it after I posted. It wouldn't be the same. For better or worse, we're hear to stay.
Jan. 2, 2011, 12:08 a.m. CST
fucking here. E D I T button
by phifty2
but hey, if the staff on this site don't get one why should we?
Jan. 2, 2011, 5:55 a.m. CST
disney is killing geekdom
by Potatino
In my opinion geeky things being taken over by a soulless entity like Disney and becoming just another thing for them to market to death regardless of quality is what is killing geekdom. When something becomes more about marketing and money than anything else it starts to die. It doesn't matter about whether I'm talking about punk rock or comic books, once the marketing types take over a subculture it has a very real possibility of losing its soul or the thing that made it cool in the first place and starting to suck. Anyway that's my opinion of what I see happening. Its the disneyfication of geek culture that I find really offensive. I mean U2 singing songs in a spiderman music play on broadway. Really?? That's just repulsive.
Jan. 2, 2011, 2:31 p.m. CST
"Critics like Red Letter Media are killing movies that are actually good."
by Subtitles_Off
You mean like the Star Wars prequels? There's going to be a real uptick in padded toilet seat sales for the New Year, dude, because you just made everybody laugh themselves assless. Does Plinkett swear too much? Kinda. Is he a little too familiar with the color of the inside of his own colon? Yep. Is he wrong about George Lucas and Revenge of the Sith? Oh, HELL NO. His remarks on that film are incontrovertible. Shot. Reaction shot. Something that doesn't make sense. Reaction shot. Animated movement of funny-looking things. Sit on a couch in front of a big window. Shot. reaction shot. If you call any one of the prequels a good movie, you just simply don't know what a good movie is. Same goes for AVATAR, TRANSFORMERS, TWILIGHT, and INCEPTION.
Jan. 2, 2011, 3:01 p.m. CST
by kirttrik
this is kind of intimidating, you know I'm responding to your comment, it's a little too direct. I'm going to seat over in the corner.
Jan. 2, 2011, 3:02 p.m. CST
Oh, that sucks.
by kirttrik
I guess it doesn't post my comment under your comment, I was agreeing with Disney-fication killing humanity.
Jan. 2, 2011, 3:03 p.m. CST
Stargate SG-1 is sci-fi for Republicans.
by kirttrik
Not saying that's a bad thing, it is just the way it is.
Jan. 2, 2011, 6:47 p.m. CST
Disney can't kill humanity.
by Subtitles_Off
Ronald Reagan, Spielberg, Lucas, Zemeckis, Cameron and MTV already did that. Worst Disney can do is fukk humanity's corpse.
Jan. 2, 2011, 7:24 p.m. CST
Oswalt is partially right
by captzeep
I read once Leonard Maltin talking about how he'd set his alarm for 3 AM to wake up and see some old movie he really wanted to see. You kids don't remember that back in the old days there weren't even any VCRs. A movie was in the theaters for a while then gone, maybe on TV in a few years if you were lucky. If you wanted to see anything at all out of the mainstream you had to go to what we called an "art theater", if you were even lucky enough to live in a major metropolitan area that had one. It of course had limited schedules and selection. I would go to school and kids talked about the TV shows they had seen the night before- the same 2 usually, considering there were 3 networks and some of the programs were for adults. Adults I suppose talked about another 2. *Everybody watched the same very limited amount of stuff.* Society was very homogenized. In the 80's everybody watched the Cosby show. *Everybody.* I don't remember it except in reruns but in the 60's everybody watched the Beverly Hillbillies. *Everybody.* Oswalt was born in 1969 so he remembers those times, although he was on the tail end of them. Now there's 500 channels of cable, DVRs, streaming video, Netflix- I was going to say video stores but that's a technology that has come, revolutionized viewing, and gone obsolete in the 30 year time period I'm talking about. Now you can see almost anything you want, whenever you want. I wouldn't go so far to say geek culture is dead; that's hyperbole. I wouldn't even say everybody is a geek now, although that's true in a way. Everybody now watches what they personally like and enjoy, which is a big societal change.
Jan. 3, 2011, 3:03 a.m. CST
by Aquanaut
"If you call any one of the prequels a good movie, you just simply don't know what a good movie is. Same goes for AVATAR, TRANSFORMERS, TWILIGHT, and INCEPTION. " I took you to be above thought-terminating clichés like this.
Jan. 3, 2011, 9:42 a.m. CST
by chiahead
But was Harry positing that Oswalt was not sincere when he wrote that article, or that Oswalt, being more a comedian than anything else, is incapable of making a qualified statement about geekdom in a serious way? In either case, I kind of disagree. That said, I kind of disagreed with Oswalt's assessment and suggested strategy too. Frankly, the thing that has always qualified me as geek is an interest in the things I'm interested in, and exactly zero regard for anyone who would judge me for it. I don't think that's ever going to change for anyone who is already inclined that way...
Jan. 4, 2011, 2:20 a.m. CST
To sum up Oswalt article and my response:
by NoCalFlicks
I know, I'm way late to the convo. Sorry. So basically what I got from the original article or at least the biggest point/recurring theme, is that Oswalt is a bit annoyed that the same things he has had to spend years of his life overturning ever pebble and grain of sand to enjoy, learn about, collect, watch etc etc, is now freely and easily available to anyone with a passing casual interest in said subject material because of the internet. You or I may have a big passion for something, however anyone that knows how to use the internet can go google just whatever it is we are talking a bout and become an "overnight genius" on the same stuff. That is probably an oversimplification, but I am not trying to breakdown every point in the article. While I agree partly with the premise above, I will say that to me the more information out there available, the better. Why should Spiderman or Incredible Hulk or whatever your geek obsession is, be anymore exclusive to YOU than say, sports or racecars or whatever....is to THEM? Nothing should be exclusive. Not everyone has to be a die-hard or a die-hard fanatic about something, in order to appreciate it. Star Wars is probably the best example of this. There are plenty of people that watched the movies, loved them and then moved on with life onto other movies and stuff....should their opinions be less valid because they don't necessarily "geek out" over Star Wars? Or should that world be open for everyone?
Jan. 4, 2011, 2:23 a.m. CST
Ermm...I forgot to say one more thing....
by NoCalFlicks
Basically, Mr. Oswalt, there should be no Litmus test when it comes to stuff like people's enjoyment of things in life. People should be free to enjoy something, even absence a PASSION for it.
Jan. 4, 2011, 2:26 a.m. CST
Ermm...I forgot to say one more thing....
by NoCalFlicks
Basically, Mr. Oswalt, there should be no Litmus test when it comes to stuff like people's enjoyment of things in life. People should be free to enjoy something, even absence a PASSION for it.
Jan. 4, 2011, 11:06 p.m. CST
geekery is not dead!
by LustHog
http://www.amazon.com/Geektionary-Anime-Zettabyte-Guide-Things/dp/1440511144/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294203917&sr=8-1 check this book out - i just got it, its good - geekery is not dead!
Jan. 5, 2011, 7:30 p.m. CST
Varying levels of geekness...
by 77AD
We all know there are varying levels of geekness. These levels vary from hardcore trekkies and larps to the guy who occasionally starts a new comic series that appeals to him. From the geek that catches all the comic based midnight films without knowing the entire back story yet is still intrigued. The guy who plays WOW 8 hours a day, to the guy who gets in 2 hours of COD a week. Geekery is spreading, branching out and infecting all of us on varying levels, and touches us in our own special way. P Oz thinks he's an O.G. (original geek) He's upset geek is becoming more mainstream and pop. Just like the Indy kids who dis there favorite indy band that signs to a major label. You get an attachment to your favorite character, fav comic, fav video game, fav movie, and once the common douchebag claims he likes it too, you get offended, because you don't feel like they connect with it the same way you do. Chill geeks, like what you like, love what you love, who cares if it gets popular, just remember how it makes you feel. And by the way you will always know a true geek after having a conversation with them, and test their true geekness.
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