Chris Hardwick is an Evil Ken Doll (Or Why “The Big Bang Theory” is the Anti-Sitcom)
When I was a kid growing up, I got picked on a lot for being different. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. I was different, yes, but I tended to also avoid as many people as I could at all costs so to at least not have to hear their insults to my face. I was by no mean what you would consider to be a “jock” or “one of the cool kids” whilst at any point in my vast education, but rather I was always sort of the nerd who kept to himself and played with G.I. Joes long after it was socially acceptable for me to do so (That’s based on age because playing with G.I. Joes as a concept unto itself will never go out of style)
Then recently I was beginning to have a conversation with someone and I wanted to tell that I liked comic books “back before it was cool to do so”. I began thinking about how much times had changed. Okay, maybe they haven’t exactly changed that drastically, but at least now there is somewhat of a more united front amongst the subculture of those deemed to be less than popular.
Long story short: When I was a kid, and into my teens, playing video games, reading comic books, getting psyched over action figures and many other things that today seem “cool” to people would have gotten me beaten up on a daily basis had I not done such a good job of being invisible.
The first example that I really saw of this shift in paradigm was on the television show “The Big Bang Theory”. Though it is hilariously funny, to give you a brief idea about it the show focuses on four rather intelligent men who are, for lack of a better word, geeks and nerds in their own ways. A beautiful girl who wants to be an actress moves in next door to two of them and the show goes from there.
What struck me specifically about this show is not just the level of which it becomes smart but that it also seems to adhere to the standard bullying qualities made popular by society only in the reverse. As an example of this, next door neighbor girl (Penny) has an ex-boyfriend who is less than smart. He is actually written to be this culturally good looking guy with a brain the size of a pea. This, of course, becomes a subject of ridicule for the main characters- the three doctors and Howard.
But I ask you, what is the difference between these three so-called geniuses making fun of someone who is not as smart as they are and everyone whoever made fun of Steven Urkel or any other character equivalent to Urkel on a television show?
As this began to make me feel like I had woken up in Bizarro World, I then somehow found out that there is this website (or some sort of commodity) that is called “The Nerdist” and has Chris Hardwick playing a fairly large role in it.
Look, I’m all for Chris Hardwick being brutally mutilated in a Rob Zombie movie, but to think that I will take nerd advice from someone who once hosted an Mtv show called “Singled Out” (Which was basically a dating game that he only hosted alongside Jenny McCarthy because… Well, let’s just say it wasn’t for their intelligence or winning personalities) is an insult to my intelligence. Does anyone out there really think that I am naïve enough to fall for such a blatant ploy? Regardless, I know a lot of the mainstream masses are, so let me tell you why all of this is happening.
First off, things are now controlled- more or less- by the geeks and nerds of the world. Why is this? It’s simple: the internet. Sure, you can post pictures of you and your buddies building beer can pyramids on Facebook and you can accidentally tweet your junk to the entire internet, but you are still unable to reign supreme over decisions such as which shows should remain on television and which shows should be cancelled. The internet is the domain of the nerds and geeks, and thus things determined through such a medium are now praised or condemned by them. If you need an example of this, just look at the top grossing movie of recent time and I bet you it’s based on a comic book.
Now what does Chris Hardwick have to do with this plot, you ask? Well, here is a guy who is socially good looking but not at the same level as, say, Fabio or some other male model where no one would buy him as being anything other than all looks and no brains. So you have to give whoever came up with this idea credit because Hardwick is at least a somewhat believable nerd, even if my brain does remember him most still as an airheaded mimbo. So what society needed to regain balance was someone who would appeal to the “popular” people out there as well as the nerds and geeks.
The reason for this is simple: Capitalism. Consumerism. People are not nearly buying as much product as they used to but that’s because a lot of the products being bought are being done so by the nerds and geeks and thus they don’t have the same need for the pointless, frivolous crap that people of lesser intelligence once bought. But someone out there is trying to make it okay for people to buy this crap again and Chris Hardwick is their spokesperson.
Chris Hardwick is the first in a series of steps designed to shift the power back to the jocks and the popular kids. In due time, shows like “The Big Bang Theory” will no longer be popular and we’ll be back to mindless so-called entertainment involving Joe Rogan making UFC fighters eat live scorpions to see who gets the next title shot and who gets their throat amputated. Bullies will be back into full effect on television and the Steve Urkel-like characters will be back to being stuffed in trash cans as opposed to insulting their adversaries without their knowing it. Essentially, if you are buying into the idea of a nerd culture led by Chris Hardwick, you might as well save yourself some time and just self administer a wedgie.
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