Funny, how rapidly things become fashionable. “Everything comes around,” my mother tells me. Growing up and even now, I sometimes found myself being ridiculed for wearing anything gaming, comics, or “geek” related. This ridicule never bothered me. “Yeah, I spend my free time playing games and reading comics and I love it!” These were my feelings but others viewed my interests as “un-cool” or “weird.” My friends and I didn’t care as we felt this “lameness” separated us from everyone else. This is what made us different and in our own world cool. For in our world, we were judged not on the price of our clothes, but by our high score. We viewed each other not by our athletic achievements but our DPS and respective levels. Recently though, with the emergence of games and comics becoming more accessible and mainstream, either through TV shows or movies, “geek” apparel is seen everywhere. My school, for example, features such people dressed in Marvel shirts or other themed shirts found in Wal-mart and one has to wonder: “When did this become cool?”

Several years ago, wearing any thing of the sort was social suicide. Once I was older, my thoughts were once confused. I would ponder why I would be ridiculed for my displays of interest, but a friend of mine standing beside me would face no ramifications for his sports attire, save from rival fans. Soon it was explained to me. The differences dealt with what is perceived as “normal” or “cool” at the current time. Sports seem to be one of those universal “normal” hobbies which could call to one’s mind the “jocks” of Molly Ringwald’s time. Do humans have such a need to categorize things that they ridicule what is not their own? Some argue yes, some argue no. However, the recent surge of popularity has been noted as having positive effects on people, imbuing them with a sense of self-respect and confidence. Popular figures such as Jack Black in a way make the culture cool and gamers and geeks can feel proud of what they are. Some of the more devoted fans may view this trend as an effrontery on things they hold dear. A few have even created tests and quizzes with the intention of determining the “posers” from the legit. So what’s the cause of the discontent?

The problem might come from the fact that many following the “Geek chic” style site their sudden fandom of a series from a recent movie such as the Spider-man or X-men series. “The movie was awesome!” might be the defense given when questioned. This of course, offends fans further because of the misinterpretations normally presented in these movies. Spider-Man 3 and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen might come to mind as movies being geared more toward popular demand rather than fan expectations. Movies based on video games have the same effects. Similar to music fan’s viewpoints, certain franchises in the eyes of many, appear to with time “sell-out,” abandoning their original fan base for the casual or mainstream crowd. Nintendo for example, was once the pinnacle of gaming society, but with the recent development of “experiences” rather than games, everyone and anyone can now call themselves a gamer. This might cause some to feel as if they are no longer different, but rather just part of the crowd.
 
The fact still remains, that people are free to dress however they please. Gamers and fans will continue to be offended at the “mockery” and those doing it will probably continue to not care. As gaming culture is rapidly becoming more and more mainstream and the trends will most likely continue. Despite this, the true fans and the true gamers will continue to support their favorite characters or games faithfully. Fads, unlike the resolve of a subculture, will as they always do, slowly be replaced by the next big thing.