Archetypes: Cultum Geekus

Geeks are technical people right? Usually when someone is referred to as a “geek” it’s in reference to the fact that they’re technologically inclined. The title “geek” also has a history of being used as a playground insult that carried weight all the way from elementary to high school up until only recently. Geek-hood recently has taken on a status somewhere between social norm and religion. Hence the title. If we take a look at Urban Dictionary’s second definition of geek, you can see that the term has come to mean more than just a strange awkward person. The term now encompasses more than just computers and programs. For everything that exists there can be someone who geeks out about it. Any fandom. Any TV series. Any game. Anything. 

            Let’s break that down shall we? The classic geek still exists. Where else do CIS majors come from? All jokes aside, I’ve worked with them. Computer geeks and techies make up the core of any software company and show an aptitude towards solving problems if given enough motivation. Deloy is right when saying money isn’t always the right motivator. I swear sometimes the problem itself is enough to motivate my friends Chris and Ed to work long hours over two lines of code. Another classic example is a band geek. I have less experience with bank geeks but typically its just a derogatory term for the kids in band at your school. However, some people end up so good at their instrument, typically percussion, brass, or wind, that they go on to do great things or even get scholarships at colleges based on how well they play. These are probably the two most common forms of geeks and definitely the most commonly portrayed and caricaturized in media. In shows like Glee or The Office. But there exist more types. I myself am a geek about music and musical equipment. I’m also a geek when it comes to games both in general and specifically. I’ve seen people geek out so hard about games that they fail classes and forsake all social interaction in order to master a game. It consumes them and it becomes their everything. This is where I’m coming from when I say that being a geek about something can become a religion. It’s not common but it still happens. Another example of this would be this Swedish guy who filed for disability benefits because of his obsession with “heavy metal”. Anything that somebody get really into can have geeks devoted to it. not just technology. 

            But how does this relate to archetypes? Well, all of these geeks fall under, lets say, about three similar archetypes whether they’re tech geeks or music geeks. First we have the geek that’s super knowledgeable about a great many things in their field but don’t really specialize in one area. think of a really good BestBuy “Blue Shirt”. They have approximate knowledge of everything in the store. Next we have the geek who is an expert in one or two things in their chosen field or fandom. For example, I used to be able to complete the game Metro Last Lightwithout killing a single human and all the while in perfect stealth. Something that took a while for me to master as it involves knowing almost all enemy placements and paths plus almost all secrets. But I can’t do that for the first game. And finally we have the devotee; someone who knows EVERYTHING about something. for example, if someone were to have read all the Star Wars books, watched all the movies, and played all the games, I would classify them as such. A super geek if you will. these vary from person to person but that’s why these are archetypes and not stereotypes.