was it the fallout of the most recent Star Wars trilogy?

a development of Internet culture in general?

The post about Eddie Murphy potentially not becoming a noteworthy comedian in the 21st century because his material isn't 'heady' or basically geek-friendly enough made me think about the 'bratty' nature of the tastes and criticisms of pop culture by geeks.

* end of four-lane sized generalization about people with geeky tastes here *

for every ?uestlove who has a high-level of knowledge not only of the medium but the creative process as well in the field he gives critiques of and offers a genuine sense of understanding and nuance and context, there are 'endless fields and fields' of clones who spout out really intense, hardened rants about what they think 'ought' to be the case without any sense of history or 'cleverness'.

my premise is that i think geeks have been a key force in introducing the notion of intricacy and detail in pop art, but geeks seem to have the subtlety and understanding of life of a 14 year old and undercut their zeal with rage at anyone who seems charismatic. ironic if only because geeks seemingly only because geeks because someone displayed rage at them for not displaying something they weren't comfortable with.

Geeks used the internet in the same way that wacko Republicans use the radio. It's their medium to spout their nonsense, bathe themselves in glory from their listeners, and then become shocked when they find out that not everyone agrees with them. Maybe you could say they are the gatekeepers of viral stars but even many of them don't go anywhere.

But, honestly, the internet hasn't shown that it has much more power than avid fans mail-in campaigns and it's never been a great way to predict financial success (It's take another five years to live down Snakes on a Plane.)

Remember when their voice was finally to be heard, and their culture would dominate the entertainment landscape with the release of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World?

*laughs*

>Remember when their voice was finally to be heard, and their
>culture would dominate the entertainment landscape with the
>release of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World?

__________________________________________________________________________________________
And at that moment, I realized some of you aren't doing this for the shits-n-giggles that you're claiming

If there would ever be an influential "geek" portal... Reddit would be that portal.

>Geeks used the internet in the same way that wacko
>Republicans use the radio.

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

i'm out.
_____________________
"WHOLESALE REUSABLE GROCERY BAGS!!"
@etfp

Most of the "geeks" in there vehemently disagree with that post.

he just doesn't like impressionists.

You're a gatekeeper so long as someone gives you keys. Anytime there are people who lend credence to your opinions and genuinely respect them enough to not only seek them out but do so because that opinion has weight when it comes time to make some sort of decision you're a gatekeeper.

People like Longo and Basa are gatekeepers, in their fashion. I've read posts where people say they'll wait until Longo reviews something before deciding if they'll go see it. People value his opinion. That doesn't mean everyone values his opinion on that level, but some do. Further, anytime your opinion holds ANY value to another person, whether or not that person actually agrees with said opinion, you're a gatekeeper.

If you've got one friend who hits you up for recommendations for anything, you're a gatekeeper.

The so-called "in" crowd fancy themselves gatekeepers just as any "nerd" does. I find it disingenuous at worst and short-sighted at best to cite any one group who fancies themselves as being the lone source of credible insight on a given subject when so many exist. Some groups or personality types stand out more than others depending on your sensibilities and exposure, but others still exist.

When we're on what amounts to an internet message board that exists largely for geeks of many types and levels and talking about geeks becoming gatekeepers, I'd say that's a little too meta to go very far. It's like the myth rappers like Kweli and 9th Wonder often point to when they don't like what people have to say about their music- the notion that before the internet, people didn't rip things apart like they do now. No, they always have, it's just the average person didn't have the means to do it so publicly.

What used to be a barber shop conversation or an impassioned debate between two friends that nobody heard can now be had with 40 other people with similar tastes from different parts of the world. The platform didn't exist and now it does, and that's a good thing, if for no other reason than it actually destroys the old guard where one person or entity has the opportunity to spin things their way. Professional writers from major publications or TV personalities are no longer hold the only copies of that gate key. It's only when one establishes a niche and a track record that their opinion has the power to influence others, and even then, that person is just one of many. "Nerds" might seem to be a vocal majority, but that says more about your own exposure than anything. You see it stand out because it exists in places you frequent.

and to be fair, alot of my issue with not liking the reviews or tastes of geeks in movies or music or pop culture in general stems from not giving enough of a care to actually find reviewers or critics I like and taking in his / her opinion. also, my post is more of a riff than me really having an informed sense of any change in the manner movies are reviewed from the past till now.

but my main beef with the impression 'geeks' give off in their reviews is the difference between someone proclaiming 'Movie A is great. I hope you like this.' and someone saying 'I'm right about this movie being good.' the first approach is conversational and the other is adversarial.

Whenever this became fashionable

http://oi40.tinypic.com/35inq05.jpg