DR. NERD-RAGE, OR … HOW I LEARNED TO WORRYING ABOUT TROLLS AND STOP HATIN’ THE HATERS
By Jeff Michael Vice
Folks, I hate to be the one to bring it to you (no, I don’t), but bad internet behavior isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
As long as “The Internet” exists, and through its existence, various forms of social media, blogging sites, chat rooms, message boards and … perhaps the most insidious of all … “mommy blogs,” there will be forums for all sorts of “trolling” and “raging.” This includes the newest and most contentious of these behaviors: “nerd rage.”
(For those who are somehow unfamiliar with these terms of affectionate derision, the so-called “trolls” post comments and other content online to deliberately start virtual “fights,” while “nerd rage” is a perceived as being an “overreaction” to some piece of geek news, in a strictly negative sense.)
And such online “trolling” behavior seems to be at an all-time frenzy, thanks to several recent, geek-related news from the world of comics, movies and toys (much of the latter coming from the recent New York Toy Fair).
First up was the full-length trailer for “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy,” a science-fiction adventure/comedy based on the semi-popular (well, cultily adored at least) characters and concepts. The trailer, which you can view (and read our story) here, garnered all sorts of reactions, from outright raves (such as “Wow, that looks awesome!”) to the expected, inevitable hate (“Wow, that looks stupid!”) to the downright ridiculous (“A raccoon? Seriously? Lame.”).
Then there was the announced casting for “Fantastic Four,” the latest movie based on the Marvel Comics characters (you can read our story here). This new version is being directed by Josh Trank, who wowed a lot of audiences with the “found-footage,” 2012 super hero movie “Chronicle.” A lot of the early criticism is coming from the casting African-American actor Michael B. Jordan (“Chronicle,” “Fruitvale Station”) as a character depicted traditionally as Caucasian in the comics, Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch).
I won’t get into the pseudo-racist implications of those criticisms here (instead, read this). I will, however, point out two far more troubling pieces of “Fantastic Four” news: The casting of skinny-fat doofus actor Miles Teller (“Project X,” “That Awkward Moment”) as Reed Richards, the Fantastic Four’s super-stretchy resident genius, and the announcement that the script is currently being re-written by hack screenwriter Simon Kinberg (“Jumper,” “X-Men: The Last Stand”). But I digress.
Also raising geek hackles were the first images of the design for the Green Goblin character in this summer’s unimaginatively titled, super hero sequel, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” The photos (both of a toy/statue design, as well as an actual press picture) reveal the Goblin will be Harry Osborn, the son of industrialist Norman Osborn (Chris Cooper). The younger Osborn will be played by actor Dane DeHaan (another “Chronicle” star … hmmm).
Rather than sporting the comics costume … or the much-criticized “Power Rangers” armor from the 2002 blockbuster “Spider-Man,” this Goblin’s appearance is apparently the result of a physical transformation. Judging from the photos, he has spiky hair, pointy nose, ears and chin, and has body armor. It’s as if the Goblin King, from the movie “Labyrinth,” donned the Goblin armor and glider from the much-hated-upon, 2007 “three-quel,” “Spider-Man 3.”
Getting back to the point at hand, complaints about nerd rage are every bit as silly, tiresome, counterproductive and useless as the behavior that caused that response. In other words: Whining, complaining and kvetching about nerd rage have become the new nerd rage. So congratulations, if you’re responding to nerd rage, you’re now part of the problem.
What people seem to forget, conveniently, is that everyone is entitled to an opinion. And there is no such thing as a “right” or “wrong” opinion. They can be informed, well-thought-out, considered and brilliant, or they can be every bit as knee-jerk, asshole-ish, sexist, racist, homophobic or whatever. In the end, they’re just opinions. Or, as Confucius said: “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.” Or was that William Shakespeare? I forget.
(Another quick digression: In my “professional capacity” for another employer, I kept getting emails from a reader who complained that my reviews were “biased,” and didn’t seem to understand my explanations that reviews were by definition “biased.” I also tried to point out that they were simply one person’s opinion – a person who didn’t mind if others disagreed with said opinion. This went on for quite a while, until I finally stopped responding. You can only beat your head against a wall for so long.)
Anyway, just try to keep all of this in mind. Don’t get too up in arms when you see trolling and nerd rage, just realize what it is and move on. As I like to say, “If you can’t spot the troll in a chat room/message board, the troll is you.”
One more piece of advice about trolling, which I’ve learned from years of doing the opposite and getting frustrated: Just ignore it. And them. Trolls and “nerd ragers” are on the World Wide Web to garner reactions. If they don’t get them, they’ll stop. Eventually.
Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast, as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off .