Nerd Rage!

Nerd Rage! How I went from being overly critical about geek properties to a more laid-back, take it as it comes, fan.

I used to be pretty harsh on TV shows and Films that just didn’t get it “right”. You know, “Captain America” (1990), Thor in “The Incredible Hulk Returns”, “Batman and Robin” (1997), I could go on. These, and other movies / tv shows like them, would be targets for my unyielding hatred. OK, perhaps hatred is a bit too harsh, but I loved to hate on them. Nothing was good enough. Even films like “The Lord of the Rings”, as great as they were, would set me off as to not being accurate enough. This sort of childish behavior went on for years, alright… decades. Funny thing, RAGE… it’s addictive. Some folks are very content wallowing in negative behavior. If that is your thing, then move along, this isn’t the blog for you.

One day I wrote a scathing article on one of the first flops that I had ever watched, no it wasn’t “Legends of the Super-Heroes”, “Doctor Strange” starring Peter Hooten is 1978. I wrote it based on my memories, very old memories influenced by other nerds doing nothing but talking shit about it any time it was brought up in a conversation. After I grinned down on my published wit like the Grinch over Whoville I moved onto my next target. Months later I found a copy of the tv movie and watched it. What a jerk I had been! It wasn’t half bad for the time, budget and technological restrictions that they had to deal with. I actually liked it. I asked myself if I had been wrong about other shows from the past.

This had  been an awakening in my geek life.  Just because something wasn’t totally accurate didn’t mean that I couldn’t enjoy them for what they were. People today forget where we came from, how far we have come, and are extremely spoiled. I’m looking at you, “Nerd Rager” who is taking 100% shit about “Batman V Superman”, or “Fantastic Four”. Find something that you like about whatever you are watching and hold onto that. Or just skip the thing that you despise so much that you see red. You’ll thank yourself in the end.

Personally, I feel like I’ve attained some sort of +10 in Zen Geekness. I am happier and this attitude of non-entitlement has grown into other areas of my life. Plus this has opened me up to shows and films that I never would have considered watching before, which has also helped me to discover new comics and books to add to my interest list. While I can still be critical, at times, I like to think it out first and not over react yet I will always find something that I can take away from whatever I am watching/reading and smile.

Until next time, old chums…

Live Long, Prosper and May the Force Be With You.