The ‘Geek’ shall inherit the earth?
During the week Kevin Smith appeared on a panel with Jeannette Winterson (Oranges are not the Only Fruit) and Natlie Hynes, chaired by Kirsty Wark on BBC’s Newsnight. The episode also featured an interview with Mark Millar on ‘comics’, although this mainly served to promote his own book Kick-Ass, the subject of discussion for the panel and a soon to be released film.
The episode revolved around the statement repeated by Wark, and proclaimed by Millar, that the ‘geek has inherited the earth’. Kevin Smith even appeared in a bathrobe as homage to Douglas Adams. Here, he said, was proof positive of the geek reigning supreme – a fat, sweaty man on a panel discussion show wearing a robe.
Jeannette Winterson was having none of it though and argued that comics as a whole are misogynistic. Whereas her fellow panellists were more forgiving (Natalie Hynes compared season two of Buffy to the Aeneid; Kevin Smith’s stoutest rebuttal was ‘its comics :shrug:’), it was clear that two seperate discussions were playing out here. For all the talk of the mainstreaming of geek culture, here was a prize-winning author pointing out the uncomfortable fact that comics often leave a bad taste in the mouth. Yes team comics are quick to point out that there are ‘empowering’ books like Birds of Prey (cancelled), or strong heroines like Tulip from Preacher (finished nine years ago), and Winterson has obviously never read Alias, or Bone, or the work of the Hernandez clan.
She still has a point*. What’s more she represents something of an actual vanguard of culture, in that she is using reasoned argument, whereas ‘it’s comics!’ or ’she’s kick-ass’, smack of inarticulate message board postings. For too long geek culture has subsisted under the radar and criticism of its outpourings is more likely to be met with defensive, angry reactions.
Are comics mysogynistic? A lot of them are. Has the geek inherited the earth? No, he or she is just another ready source of revenue for studios and companies hawking franchises.
Oh and Grant Morrison said the geek has inherited the earth years ago Mark, stop being such an echo.
* Has anyone pointed out to Ms Winterson that her own novel featured in a parody by the Spaced team? I doubt it.
Tags: Alias, Birds of Prey, bleeding cool, Bone, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, comics are misogynistic, Gail Simone, Grant Morrison, Jeannette Winterson, Kevin Smith, Kick-Ass, Kirsty Wark, Mark Millar, Natalie Hynes, Newsnight, Preacher, The geek shall inherit the earth
October 12th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Just one minor point – Jeanette Winterson has written before about how much she enjoys Alison Bechdel’s work – I don’t think she was writing sequential art off totally as an art form – I suspect that what she was talking about – not unreasonably, given the set-up, was the world of superhero comics, and certainly the world created by “Kick Ass”, which is a parodic exaggeration of that (already highly exaggerated and stylised) world.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I’m not sure if anything Millar does can be claimed to be parodic, but he understands that to claim as much is the perfect defence.
Bechdel eh? See I would have preferred if the conversation had mentioned a greater variety of comic book artists and writers, beyond the cape brigade.