In this episode of Geekstorians, Dave looks at the strange five-year window when geek culture stopped being something fans used to find each other, and became something companies used to find them.
Beginning in 2007, the episode follows the moment geek identity moved from comic shops, conventions, video rental shelves and school computer labs into the mainstream marketplace. The iPhone made technology aspirational. Comic-Con became an industry stage. Iron Man and The Dark Knight helped turn superheroes into serious blockbuster business. The Big Bang Theory brought geek references into prime-time sitcom culture. And by 2012, “geek chic” had reached the high street, where thick-framed glasses, superhero bags, science jokes and slogan T-shirts were being sold back to the people who had once used those signals to recognise each other.
But visibility is not the same as understanding.
The Geek Shall Inherit is about what happens when a subculture wins the room, and then discovers the room has buyers, brand managers, market research, and a rack of novelty T-shirts near the tills.
For more on this and plenty of other geeky things, head to Geektown.co.uk. And if you haven’t already, check out Geektown Radio, our weekly podcast covering the latest in TV, film, and gaming news.
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