 WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO BLAME JOHN HUGHES. | We live in the Age of the Geek. I bet there’s not a pundit alive today who would disagree with that statement. But I would argue about its most pertinent meaning. The word geek is derived from the old English geek (meaning fool) and likely the German word geck (also fool). It is presumed to share some heritage with the Dutch and Afrikaans word gek (crazy). But when I think of a fool who might be a little crazy, I’m not usually picturing that slightly under-socialized, glasses-wearing computer whiz who keeps comic books in clear plastic sleeves. I think we might be able to blame John Hughes for appropriating the word geek so that he could add it to an insult list that included dweeb and nerd. The first American meaning for the word geek comes from the carney trade back in the 1800s, and that’s the meaning I like to geek out on. The carney boss had mouths to feed and equipment to haul as he moved his operation across state lines and into the meadows -- and, later, parking lots -- of rural America. If ticket sales were sluggish, he had profitability problems right away. So his first task, as they parked and started to set up in a new town, was to find the most popular tavern. He had already gotten finding local talent down to a science. Basically, he needed to find someone who was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, that was a given. On top of that, low self-regard was good, a total absence of self-respect even better. If he could find someone who also craved attention, he’d struck gold: he’d found his geek. In the vernacular of American carneys, the geek was the guy -- and every town had at least one -- who was willing (for fame and glory only, no pay) to stand before a crowd that had paid 25 cents apiece to watch, and bite the heads off live chickens. So I would put it to you that we do, indeed, live in the Age of the Geek. We live in the age when fools will do anything if there are cameras rolling and it might offer a fleeting moment of fame. The Age of the Geek has given us, among other things, reality TV shows like 'Who’s My Daddy?' 'Fear Factor' 'Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?' 'Bridalplasty' (I’m not making this up, I swear) 'The Littlest Groom' and 'Honey Boo-Boo.' So the next time someone wants to engage you in a discussion about geek culture, do me a favor and ask, “Which one?” |
