Geekness and Black Culture! Where Do They Meet?

"Sun, Moon, Stars, Quasars, !@#$% sound like Elroy Jetson!" Come on, which brother you know uses the word Quasars and isn't a geek? Doughboy, your cover is Blown!  And you watch Hanna Barbara.

I think that sometimes a person's inner geek clashes with the culture they grow up with.  And I think this is especially true with African Americans.  I feel that my black people sometimes fall for the beliefs that they should look and act a certain way, and that geeks and nerds act a certain other way. In their minds one rarely looks like the other.  And let's not talk about the PoC out there that don't even realize they are under-cover geeks and nerds.  Ever strike up a conversation with a brother or sister and find out he / she collected comics, knows all kinds of characters, watched The Matrix and all the Superhero flix, gets into arguments about Twilight Zone episodes and is a serious gamer?  But if you tell them that they sound like a geek they get all defensive "Man, I'm not a geek!  I just like stuff."  No dude, no sister, you're a geek.

I love addressing people about their geek-phobic ways.   Because when they start to accept their passions for things in the geek universe, they open up their imagination and find out it's okay to tell stories and dive into their own Scifi fantasy worlds.  It gives them opportunity to find even more content, more worlds to explore.  It's a lesson that says that being a geek and being black doesn't have to be a point of denial or inner conflict.

The terms geek and nerd don't have the same connotation they used to.  Many people of all backgrounds are calling themselves a 'this' geek or 'that' nerd.  Some of that acceptance is spilling over into the black community.  But the acceptance doesn't necessarily come with plaid shirts and pocket protectors. Their geek comes with Echo, cultural dialects, new dance moves and a tight haircut.  Black people are learning how to blend their inner geek and nerd into their outer culture so they don't have to clash with themselves or the people around them.

And the epitome of the mixing of geek and black culture are manifesting in examples like Afrofuturism and SteamFunk.  There are all kinds of sites, blogs, podcasts and youtubers that express themselves and their nerdy passions with cultural flavor and flare.

I'm hoping that not too long from now the face of geekdom won't be the stereotypical pimply faced young white guy, but a person of any shade, background and gender.  The more I connect with black geeks and nerds around the internet, the more that face looks more like mine.

Are There More Black Nerdy Guys or Girls?

2014 Black Comic Book Festival

A couple weeks ago I asked twitter if they thought there were more Black Nerdy Guys or Girls out there?  I guess my mind was wandering over thoughts of how some nerdy sisters said it took them a while to embrace their nerd side, but also that some brothers may not accept that they are nerds either.  I mean, there are a lot of Black guys that read comics, watch Scifi and play all kinds of video games, but they wouldn't label themselves a nerd or geek.  And there are plenty of sisters that have in fact embraced their nerd side.  I can attest to this by just looking at who I interact with on twitter.
Now one would commonly assume that there are in fact more Nerdy guys in general than nerdy girls.  Especially with the thoughts that girls might just be 'fake geek girls'.  You don't hear much of that where fellas are concerned.  But if you just look at gaming alone, the numbers are almost 50/50 across gender.  And I'm sure there are more Black girls than Black guys that are looking at nerdtastic shows like Sleepy Hollow, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead to name a few.
Another thought was that the world is still dealing with the oximoronic state of a Black Nerd's existence.  The world still has trouble with the stereotype of who a black person is and what a nerd is.  Erkle didn't help that much because he was so over the top.  Now take the stereotypical image of a Black Woman and you deviate even further from what a nerd is defined as.
Fellow twitter users gave me some great responses. Here are a few:

First, my man Ken C. gave his direct opinion in which there was no question that there are more Black Nerd Guys than Girls -

 

That would probably be a very popular response from most brothers and sisters, but then Mr. McDuck offers a possible reason for such conclusion -

 

I have to say that Perry's reasoning holds some weight. I've heard several sisters of Afro persuasion say that when they were younger they tried to fit in and pushed their Nerd side into the background.  Outspoken Diva asked if we were talking Black Girls that openly acknowledged their nerdiness, or just ones that hide it?  I clarified for the sake of the discusion that we should consider both as one group.  This was her response -

But then Tranette offered another perspective that goes back to what I was saying about the world and its propensity to stereotype back people - 

Black girls, and all girls for that matter, can be girly and nerdy.  But because of that the lines are blurred and one would wonder if they are nerds for real.  Male culture probably holds themselves up to a more rigid definition.  But that rigidity is mostly false because of the diversity of guys and their likes and loves of nerdom.  As a matter of fact, you have guys that are nerds, but love and play sports.  You also have plenty of girls that love sports as much as they love cosplay.

If I look at my twitter followers @GeekSoulBrother,  I would say from those numbers alone that there are actually 2 to 3 times more Black Girls that consider themselves Nerds than guys.  

Another aspect that intrudes on that perception is how the mainstream nerd culture interacts and includes female nerds into the ranks.  That was reflected by HellResidentNY in his tweets - 

 

Personal Conclusion: I think there are at least as many Black girls that are nerds as guys.  And I think that the sisters are becoming more comfortable with their nerdiness as nerd culture continues to be more mainstream.  But there is still a ways to go for the world to see them (and Black guy nerds for that matter) for who they are.  And also for Black girls to see themselves as nerds and not have to answer to the ignorant dictates of nerdom.  If you want to see the rest of the tweets you can see them HERE.

But what do you think? More guys or more girls?  Comment below.

From Magic Negro to Noble Negro!

WHAT IS A MAGIC NEGRO? (As if you didn't already Know)

Well, you know that wise person in a story that helps the hero achieve his quest?  You know the one. He's usually older, maybe has some magic or special knowledge. We don't know where he (or she) came from, but he imparts his wisdom onto the hero and fades back into the shadows when the quest is over and the dragon is dead.  Sometimes the wise man dies, or sometimes he just sits back and smiles at the hero for answering the call.  And when this wise character is black, he is called the Magic Negro.

(John Amos isn't the best example, but wasn't it awesome seeing James Evans rise from the grave and star in Beastmaster?)

To a writer or storyteller, this role is very respectable for a black person to play.  It's also a great way to diversify your cast of characters.  Age and Race - Check! And black people are just cooler and give off that spiritual mystique, right?  Just look at Morpheus in The Matrix. Too Cool.  Or look at Morgan Freeman in several films.  He's so commanding and authoritative.

SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT CHARACTER! SO WHAT'S WRONG?

The problem with black people playing these roles is that they play them more times than not.  If you look at the main archetypes in many written pieces - The Hero, The Villain, The Sage, The Trickster, and The Lover - you don't see black people (or other POC) cast across the board in equal amounts.   Most writers stray away from putting a black person in the hero role because they want white people to read or see their stories.  Even though black people watch and read stores with white protagonists all the time, somehow it's assumed that black heroes won't draw the mainstream audiences unless it's Will Smith or Washington.  I don't even think this is a conscious effort all the time.  It's just habit for most mainstream writers to start off with a white protagonist and go from there.  And those writers rarely want to cast a black person as a villain because "Why does the black guy have to be the bad guy?" backlash must be avoided.  Personally, I think villains who are black work great.   The Lover? Very Rare.  The Trickster?  Maybe for some comedy relief - Ruby Rod of Fifth Element.  But it seems in the typical writer's imagination, a black sage, teacher or wise man is a perfect role.

Unfortunately, besides being all too common, it paints the black image in a shallow light because of the lack of back story for them.  Just like when a woman always plays the 'lover' or damsel-in-distress.   The Sage character isn't fleshed out like the villain, and only serves as a tool to help the protagonist.  Keyword - tool.  It speaks consciously and subconsciously that the black character is there only to help the usually white, usually male character.

Don't get it twisted.  Seeing the black Sage is cool.  Actually it's really cool.  I can not think of many that I didn't like.  But seeing black actors play them all the time, and not the other roles, is tiring.

NOW A NEW NEGRO GRACES THE SCREEN

Now let me introduce you to a new character archetype that I've affectionately called - THE NOBLE NEGRO.  I came up with this term when I started noticing a shift in the storytelling paradigm several years ago.  I noticed this character showing up in stories who I would consider a second potential hero, equal to the hero or better in every way.  And I find that this role is given to black actors or actors of color more than the hero role also.

I define a Noble Negro as - a black character that is courageous, has a moral or righteous center, and/or has the potential to be the hero or lead the group.  In fact, he or she is more capable of being the hero than the chosen hero is.  He also wins the hearts of the audience early in the story.  And after a time, he's killed off while saving the not-so-ready white hero, or some other character, or even the whole group.  It gives the story a dramatic push, and a reason for the hero to step up and face the challenges. Here are some examples (spoiler warning):

• X-Men: First Class - Darwin (Edi Garthegi)


• Hunger Games - Rue (Amandla Stenberg)


• Chronicle - Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan)
  


• Event Horizon - Captain Miller (Lawrence Fishburne)


• This Is The End - Craig Robinson (Craig Robinson) -  Spoiler! Little bit of a cheat here because he sacrificed himself, but lived anyway!


• The Core - Dr. Ed 'Braz' Brazzleton (Delroy Lindo) - little magic/noble mix.


• The Walking Dead TV show - T-Dawg (IronE Singleton)

• The 100 TV show - Wells Jaha (Eli Goree) - Should have been the leader. Got shanked so a little girl could sleep better.

For the general audience, when a Noble Negro 'willingly' dies, it's a poignant moment.   And if you're part of the theatrical crowd, you hear in chorus one big 'Awwww Mannnn, I really liked him/her!'. With this Noble act of bravery the writers have made it clear that the hero has enough motivation to complete the quest.   But for the black audience, the emotional draw of the Noble Negro is more intimate.  We excitedly get to see ourselves possibly become a hero or share in the heroics, and then that image is abruptly and violently destroyed.  A feeling of acute unfairness arises.   Added to this is the idea that the weak hero now finds strength to move on where he/she didn't have it before.  So do they really deserve to be the hero?

And the genius of the writers (in their minds) that use this character archetype is that they say "Hey, he was a great courageous character! It wasn't racist or wrong that we killed him off.  He died a hero!"  So in their minds they have (1) increased diversity, (2) made the black guy a hero, and (3) killed a darling.  Oh, you don't know about the 'Must be willing to Kill your Darlings" theory of storytelling?  It's when you can't be afraid of killing your most beloved characters. George R.R. Martin does it all the time, black and white.

This isn't an opportunity to just bash writers for using black characters in what I feel is a cliché manner (maybe a little).  And it certainly isn't a mark of reproach or dishonor to the actors and actresses that have played in these roles.  As I mentioned, I love most of these characters.  This commentary is to address and question true diversity versus what is commonly accepted as diversity in story.  And bring to light the confining parameters that black actors and actresses have to deal with in pursuing their career.    There is no sound reason that a black actor (or any race) can't play any of the main archetypes in a fictional tale.  It just takes the courage of the writers, producers or studios to make the decisions not solely based on color (or gender or ethnicity for that matter).