Close
About
FAQ
Home
Collections
Login
USC Login
Register
0
Selected
Invert selection
Deselect all
Deselect all
Click here to refresh results
Click here to refresh results
USC
/
Digital Library
/
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
/
G33K Out: www.angiefsutton.com/g33kout/
(USC Thesis Other)
G33K Out: www.angiefsutton.com/g33kout/
PDF
Download
Share
Open document
Flip pages
Contact Us
Contact Us
Copy asset link
Request this asset
Transcript (if available)
Content
G33K OUT
www.angiefsutton.com/g33kout/
Angie Fiedler Sutton
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM – THE ARTS)
June 2014
Copyright 2014 Angie Fiedler Sutton
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many thanks to Erna Smith for introducing me to Mary Murphy and Henry Jenkins, as well as
for the support and encouragement for this thesis and program. I also want to thank my husband,
Rich Sutton, my personal 'conductor of light,' for giving me feedback and inspiration on my
writing time and time again.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 3
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 2
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Post Sample 1: The Rise of Web Series .......................................................................................... 8
Post Sample 2: A Love Letter to The Doctor ................................................................................ 14
Post Sample 3: Behind the Scenes of ‘Welcome to Night Vale' ................................................... 18
Post Sample 4: RiffTrax Live: An Interview with Mike Nelson .................................................. 24
Post Sample 5: Why I Hesitate to Call Myself a Fangirl .............................................................. 34
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 44
Works Cited ................................................................................................................................... 46
Appendix: Screen Shots of G33K Out .......................................................................................... 49
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 4
ABSTRACT
G33K Out (www.angiefsutton.com/g33kout/) is a blog focused on the culture of geek media,
e.g., comics, television shows, movies, video games, online media, science, etc. It includes
original critical analysis of geek works, interviews, trends, and feature stories on the creative
process. This thesis is written content from the blog G33K Out, including reviews, interviews
and trends in the geek media world.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 5
INTRODUCTION
The word ‘geek’ has gone through a major transition in the last few decades. In the 1980s, the
stereotype of the geek was of a loser who was too smart for social interaction except with other
geeks, who lived at home in the basement and who was always getting beaten up by the ‘jocks.’
However, in recent decades, something happened. It started becoming okay - and even cool - to
call yourself a geek. The rise of the Internet and the popularity of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates as
business leaders started the rise in status of those who called themselves geek (Hu 2012), and it
suddenly became chic to be geek. Popular people were admitting to being geeks. Action movie
tough guy Vin Diesel stated he liked "Dungeons & Dragons" and other tabletop games
(Moviefone 2010). Nicolas Cage named his child Kal-El (Superman's birth name) (Moviefone
2010). Barack Obama acknowledged getting a private screening of the Star Trek reboot (Clark
2012). And Meagan Fox from the Transformers movies admitted to being a fan of the Lord of
the Rings books and movies (Moviefone 2010). Geeks no longer need to be ashamed – in fact,
geekdom may be a source of pride. It's never been a better time to be a geek.
As a result of this sudden popularity, websites have begun to cover geeky topics and media,
including Den of Geek, Nerdist Industries and io9. There are even specialized sites, such as The
Mary Sue (focusing on geek culture from a female point of view) and blogs covering the news of
geek icon Joss Whedon and the television show Doctor Who.
However, it has been my observation that almost all websites devoted to geek media present
news that is curated content of other media outlets (for example, The Mary Sue referencing a
story from Variety or The Hollywood Reporter) or frequently feature short sound bites covering
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 6
bare facts but rarely offer in-depth analysis. Original content is rare. Original content which
explores, examines and analyzes the impact of geek topics and culture on the bigger world is
even rarer.
Long form journalism is making a comeback (Bennet 2012; Junod 2013), and in-depth analysis
and interviews are becoming an increasingly commercially viable option. In addition, behind-
the-scenes content on DVDs, Q&A panels at conventions, and the rise of web channels such as
The Nerdist and Geek & Sundry show that fans are clamoring for more content, going into more
detail than typically reported. While some of these news outlets do have the occasional long-
form piece, such as Den of Geek's article "Why does female-leaning fandom come in for such
criticism?", this format is far from widespread.
In contrast, G33K Out aims to cover geek media in the style of arts journalism. It seeks to offer a
critical analysis to all things geek through detailed interviews, articles and reviews. Geek topics
include science fiction and fantasy media (books, movies and television shows), science and
technology, comic books and computers and gaming.
It will also venture into the occasional items which wouldn't normally be considered geeky, but
land there for one reason or another. One example would be the television show Sherlock. On the
surface, Sherlock isn't something which would normally be categorized as geeky. However, since
co-creator Steven Moffat is also the show runner on Doctor Who, and stars Benedict
Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are involved in other geeky items (they both are involved in
The Hobbit movie trilogy, Freeman was in the American movie version of The Hitchhiker’s
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 7
Guide to the Galaxy and Cumberbatch was the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness), the show has
acquired a geek following.
G33K Out's name is derived from what is known as “l33t speak,” a language used by hackers
and early adopters of the Internet whereby certain letters of the alphabet are replaced by numbers
or other symbols. The voice of G33K Out is casual with a little bit of snark; the goal is for the
audience to perceive the blog as a friend they can talk to, rather than a teacher explaining and
lecturing. This website seeks to start and continue the conversation about our geeky obsessions,
rather than dictate what's being said.
Content from the blog G33K Out serves as my thesis. Text reproduced from the posts is exactly
as it appears in the published version online, with citations substituted for links from the online
version.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 8
POST SAMPLE 1: THE RISE OF WEB SERIES
Posted on G33K Out on January 12, 2014
I've been watching a series that's co-created and written by Jane Espenson called Husbands. If
you recognize her name at all, it's most likely from her writing and being show runner on a
number of sci fi/fantasy genre shows: most notably Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Once Upon a
Time. Guest stars of this series have included Jon Cryer, John Hodgman and Tricia Helfer. The
channel it's on? YouTube.
When television was first invented, it redefined media. Radio, up until then a home for comedy
and drama series, started to transition to what it is today - a place for news and music. Movies
had to become bigger and broader to compete for the audience's attention.
When the Internet was first invented, it also redefined media. But it's really only been in the last
10 years that the idea of web series really started taking off, redefining what we call television.
"It used to be the definition of the device," said Dan Bucatinsky, co-creator of the web series
Web Therapy, now on Showtime (Bucatinsky 2013). "It's now the genre - it describes the content
itself. You sort of watch television on your phone, on your laptop."
But what exactly is a web series, and how is it different from other web content?
A web series is a series of scripted videos generally in episodic form released on the Internet.
Mike Farah, president of production at Funny or Die, says that a web series is more than just a
one-off web video (Farah 2013). Most web series episodes are between 5 and 10 minutes long,
making a whole season about the same length as one episode of television.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 9
Web series also tends to be programming that is a little more original or unusual than standard
network fare. For example, Red Vs. Blue, a series that's been around since 2003 and is still going
strong, uses machinima (the concept of syncing video footage from a video game to pre-recorded
dialogue and other audio) to create the ongoing story of a parody of first-person shooter games
and the military. There's a web series out there designed like a Choose Your Own Adventure
book where at the end of each episode you choose which way the story goes by clicking on one
of two videos. And then there's Chad Vadar: Day Shift Manager, which follows Darth Vadar's
brother as he manages Empire Market.
While the first web series appeared in 1995 (Christian n.d., 3), it wasn't until broadband became
readily available and the costs of technology lowered that the Internet became a viable place for
telling stories.
In the past few years, YouTube - stereotyped as the home of cat videos and Rickrolling - opened
up the ability to upload higher quality videos to their website. In October 2011, YouTube created
100 commercial channels, each with their own line of programming, and each to be rolled out at
a different time. Channels included The Onion (a plethora of mock shows), The Comedy Shaq
Network (urban comedy hosted by Shaquille O'Neal), Nerdist ("a place where we nerds come
together and share the nerdery that we find"), and Geek & Sundry (home of the web series The
Guild, as well as other programming such as Tabletop, described as Celebrity Poker but with
board games).
"The reason that web series are so important is that the barrier for entry is so low," says Travis
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 10
Richey, co-creator and star of Untitled Web Series About a Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel
Through Time (Richey 2013). "There is zero reason why you can't as an actor or a writer or a
director make content for yourself. If you need to act, then act. And if you need to write and you
need to get yourself seen, produce it yourself because you can do it for relativity cheap. Creative
people need to be creative. If you wait for a studio to buy your script or a TV show to green light
your project or a network to put you on the air, you'll be waiting for the rest of your life."
But the idea of web content isn't exactly new. Many television shows, from Battlestar Galactica
to Warehouse 13, and many movies like Cloverfield and Star Trek (reboot) used specific content
created for the web in order to better engage the audience into the overall mythos of the item in
question. But Bucatinsky thinks this is actually where networks need to go even further. "Each of
these networks that are creating web series on their own that are supplemental content to their
existing shows: I think they should create original content. The amount of money that is wasted
every year by networks making pilots: there is such a better way to test out characters, writing
and content. Use the web as a way to test out content. The landscape is going to get wider and
wider. It's like the days of air travel: in the beginning, people could only go to certain places. Cut
to now, and the world is a smaller place."
Richey also agrees that web series are a way to test content. "If you want your show to be on TV,
it's a lot easier to bring them a product and say 'This is what it's going to look like' or 'This is
what it is' and have them say 'Oh! Yes! I get that!' and then they will work with you on it."
Farah agrees. "The main benefit is anyone can do it and you can put this content anywhere. The
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 11
vast majority is cheap to make: it all depends on your expectations for what you're making.
There's also a downside. There's no guarantee that anyone's going to see it."
But as with all online content, the main issue is how to monetize it. True, being on the Internet
means the costs are cheaper than producing a television series or movie, but there still are costs.
As Richey says, "If you look at television now, a lot of times there is bad TV on the air, and
there is no obvious explanation for it. You sit there and go, 'Well I know a guy who writes better
than that! Why isn't he on?' Well, now that guy can have his own show: it's on the Internet and
these companies are starting to realize that original scripted content is less expensive. It's not
terribly expensive to do."
Yet there is still a need to make money at the endeavor, if for anything else to cover the costs of
production. Richey says that the first season of Untitled cost approximately $22,500. "You are
producing something that you are going to give away for free," Richey says. "How do you pre-
sell that? You can't pre-sell free. What you have to do is come up with other things, other
incentives to give people and so that is a difficult thing for web series to do."
Bucatinsky agrees. "Ultimately, it's not a lucrative model," he says, "but the ability to monetize it
over time is still the biggest area of question for everyone. You really want to exploit multiple
platforms when you create content. As of right now, we're at a model where TV still feels like
the Promised Land. You want to find a platform that will pay you, but the revenue is not so high
for it to sustain itself."
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 12
One way some series are monetizing is via advertising, such as allowing ads to play before the
video on YouTube. Another way is by getting a company to sponsor or advertise through the
show. Web Therapy was sponsored by Lexus, and Bucatinsky is quick to indicate that the
company's involvement is less about advertising and more about brand recognition. "They
weren't looking to make money. They were wanting to have Lisa [Kudrow] affiliated with their
brand in a unique way. The brand itself is spending its advertising dollar because they believe in
the content. They back their product and they create a model for it." Richey, meanwhile, used
Kickstarter to help fund a prequel for a second season (Richey 2013b) with the hopes of creating
a subscription model for supporters.
Farah's recommendation is to look at the brands first, and devise content that would appeal to
certain brands. "The top percentage probably make a ton of money, but most people don't. Make
something that leverages that branded entertainment. Brands care about brands: they don't care
about web series. You have to kind of make custom things that speak to brands tangentially."
So, what's next for web series? The rise of online-only series such as House of Cards via Netflix,
Alpha House on Amazon, and Misfits on Hulu is partially thanks to the increase in the amount of
screens in our lives, from smart phones to iPads. But it's also thanks to the increase in online web
series. Farah thinks this is only going to continue. "I think that you're going to get to a place
where people can be beyond on-demand. Your phone can be whatever you want. You can make
the experience what you want. There will be some brand loyalty because people are people and
stories are stories, but it won't matter what device is doing what, because it will all be one
device."
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 13
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 14
POST SAMPLE 2: A LOVE LETTER TO THE DOCTOR
posted to G33K Out on November 26, 2013
On Saturday, November 23, millions of people came together to celebrate a British cultural icon
(Edgar 2013). No, not One Direction. I'm talking Doctor Who, celebrating its 50th anniversary.
First broadcast November 23, 1963, Doctor Who is a science fiction show produced by the BBC
about an alien who can travel through space and time. The original series (known by fans as
"Classic Who") ran until 1989, where it was put on unspecified hiatus. Due to low ratings and
rising costs, the show went away ... seemingly forever.
In 1996, there was an attempt at a revival with a TV movie produced by Fox that was intended to
be a backdoor pilot, but nothing really came of it. There were novels and audio radio plays and
comics, but interest in an actual television show seemed like a far-fetched idea. That is, until
2005, when Russell T. Davies, then known best for the British version of Queer as Folk, was
able to re-launch the series (known by fans as "NuWho"), and it's been running ever since.
Part of the reason the show has been as successful as it is, and why it's been able to survive 50
years, is that the main character known only as the Doctor has the ability to change his
appearance and personality in a process called regeneration. Matt Smith, the latest Doctor, will
be regenerating into Peter Capaldi in December, for example (Masters 2013). I'd give you the
number of regenerations, but that's actually a bit of an issue/spoiler for the 50th anniversary
special broadcast on Saturday, "The Day of the Doctor." But, like with James Bonds, there are
fan arguments as to who the best Doctor is and everyone has their favorite.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 15
I first got into Doctor Who when I was around 12 or 13, which was the mid-1980s. I grew up in a
small town about an hour southwest of St. Louis, and the PBS station broadcast repeated
episodes of Doctor Who on Sunday evenings. I remember coming in to ask my mom something,
and she was watching this odd show. I waited for a break in dialogue, and the show hooked me.
(For those of you who are fans, it was Tom Baker's "The Key to Time" series that snagged me.)
But back in the 1980s, it was still a cult phenomenon. Back then, being a fan of science fiction
television, along with being labeled a nerd or a geek, was still a negative thing. None of my
friends were fans of the show, and there wasn't anyone I could talk to. When I was 15 or 16,
PBS's broadcast also brought the knowledge of a Doctor Who fan club based out of St. Louis. I
convinced my mom to drive me to a meeting once, and when I turned 16 and was able to drive
myself, I attended a couple of meetings on my own. When I went to college, I remember how
hard it was to find Doctor Who-related merchandise, whether it was the episodes on VHS, the
novels and radio productions listed above, or even a PC game.
Oh, how things have changed. For the 50th, the BBC rolled out all the stops with a limited
theatrical release 50th episode ("The Day of the Doctor"), a special docudrama detailing the
origins of the TV show (Mark Gatiss's An Adventure in Space and Time, which I'll admit I was
looking forward to more than the anniversary episode, and ended up loving much more), a
special interactive graphic detailing the various travels of the Doctor, themed episodes of other
shows (like The Science of Doctor Who, hosted by Brian Cox), and broadcasting some of the
audio productions on BBC Radio 4.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 16
Not only that, but the world stood up and took notice. The Royal Mail created special stamps,
YouTube partnered with the BBC for a pre-event launch party, other YouTube channels gave us
special Doctor Who-related content (such as Head Squeeze showing how to recreate the old title
sequence), Google gave us an interactive game for their doodle, and even Ron Burgundy got in
on the action. Heck, even Peter Davison, who played the fifth Doctor, chimed in with a
humorous 30 minute sketch starring the Colin Baker (the sixth Doctor) and Sylvester McCoy
(the seventh Doctor), and featured loads of cameos from the series.
The simulcast of the anniversary episode received a Guinness World Record (Edgar 2013) for
largest ever simulcast of a TV drama, being broadcast in 94 countries.
My inner 15-year old, who had to travel almost 70 miles to participate in a fan club so I could
find SOMEONE to talk about my love of Doctor Who, is still reeling from this. My inner 20-
year-old, who could only watch the series by buying the episodes on VHS that you could only
find in specialized stores, is blown away by the fact that Doctor Who has graced the cover of
both Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide, and that I was able to attend a screening on the big
screen of an episode with other fans.
I won't go into a review of "The Day of the Doctor." I went in wanting to like it, and so I was
happy with it. All I know is that finally, something I loved - something that I felt for the longest
time I was the only one to love - was being recognized.
True, fans are still facing a bit of a stigma. When David Tennant and Matt Smith appeared on
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 17
The Graham Norton Show, a fan - who had tattoos of autographs of all the other Doctors who
were alive except Tennant - asked for Tennant's autograph. He was asked by one of the people
there 'what do you think it'll be like to touch a girl?' But the knowledge that we helped make
history happen, not only with the Guinness World Record but with Tumblr and ratings records
(Collins 2013), makes most of us feel warm and fuzzy and like it's okay to be a fan of something.
It was, after all, the fans that made this happen. In fact, Davies and current show runner Steven
Moffat, as well as Tennant and Capaldi, all acknowledge that they are fans of the show and that
was part of what got them involved.
So, from this author - who is still somewhat that little girl who fell in love with the idea of a man
who could travel in space and time and save the universe and individuals both - I say thank you,
Doctor Who. And thank you, fans, for letting me realize that I am not alone in my love of this
madman with a box. May there be enough fan interest that in 50 years time, we see a 100th
anniversary episode.
Now ... time to count down to the series premiere of Sherlock series 3.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 18
POST SAMPLE 3: BEHIND THE SCENES OF ‘WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE'
posted to G33K Out on March 22, 2014
An Interview with Jeffrey Cranor & Joseph Fink
"Weird at last! Weird at last! God Almighty, weird at last! Welcome to Night Vale." - episode 9,
"Pyramid"
It all started innocently enough. It was neither a dark nor a stormy night, and I was not called out
by some unknown dark forces. Well, I did started hearing about it because of Tumblr, so maybe
that qualifies?
Back in the summer of 2013, I started seeing posts on my Tumblr dashboard for a new podcast
called Welcome to Night Vale. As I've mentioned before (Sutton 2014), I've been a listener of
podcasts since 2008, and have been a fan of audio drama since I was a child. The posts indicated
the podcast to be dark yet funny. Originally described to me as Prairie Home Companion meets
Stephen King, and being a fan of both of those, I was understandably intrigued. It also seemed to
be posted by the same people who liked The Thrilling Adventure Hour, which sealed the deal to
give it a try. And my Tumblr witnessed my progression from, "What the hell am I listening to?"
to "I f'in love this podcast" in 16 short episodes.
Written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, Cranor (who also created it) describes the premise of
Welcome to Night Vale as "community radio from a small desert town where things like ghosts
and angels and aliens are all commonplace parts of day-to-day life" (Cranor 2013). It's got a
Lovecraftian sensibility, whereby dark and mysterious things keep happening to everyday,
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 19
ordinary events (never have I been so terrified of street cleaners).
Fink, however, doesn't like the comparisons to H.P. Lovecraft. "I wouldn't describe myself as a
long-time fan of Lovecraft," he says (Fink 2013). "I think, in general, he is a terrible writer as
well as having been a terrible human being. I mean, I definitely see the comparisons, I'm not
going to say the comparisons are wrong, because I think Lovecraft was just so influential to
horror that you can't really work in that area without working with some of the ideas he
introduced to it. But personally, I think he was bad at the English language."
At the time, there was a list going around the Internet of the unused ideas of the classic horror
writer, and Fink had used that as a jumping off point to get a series of stories he ended up
publishing in A Commonplace Book of the Weird. This ended up inspiring the concept of Night
Vale.
But why a podcast rather than another book? "It started out as just the idea of I wanted to do a
podcast with Jeffrey," Fink says. The two had collaborated on a play before, and so already had
experience writing together. "I wanted it to be different than every other podcast I was listening
to. I've always loved conspiracy theories - I think they're fascinating. So, where the idea of Night
Vale really came from is just the idea of a town where every conspiracy theory is true, and it's
not a big deal and we just move on with life from there."
Cranor continues the story. "We both feel like Welcome to Night Vale has a strong literary
background in its style and where it comes from as we write it. And so it just felt natural to
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 20
include it as part of Commonplace."
Cecil Baldwin, who narrates the podcast and is pretty much the only voice you hear, became
involved with the podcast because he was in the same theatre company as Cranor. "He did a
short performance a while back about the fact that he has this great narrator voice," says Fink,
"but has in his entire life never really gotten much in the way of voiceover work. And so I saw
that performance, and I thought, 'Okay, sure. I'll give you work.' When I wrote the script, it
seemed natural to approach him and ask if he wanted to narrate it."
The podcast comes out twice a month, and the two work together on the overall storylines. "Our
writing style has been pretty consistent," Cranor says, "although, it's had slight evolution over the
last year and a half. But for the most part, when we think about like bigger picture storyline
things, we'll usually e-mail back and forth or meet in person to talk those things through, and
then we both go off and write our own thing."
In terms of how fast they are able to get the scripts written, Cranor says, "Each episode kind of
depends on what we're doing. There are a couple of times where both Joseph and I have said that
we've written an episode like in a short afternoon, like almost as long as it takes to type 2,500
words: the episode just sort of comes out of you. And some of them we have to kind of write and
put aside for a while and come back to."
After the episode is written, the two edit it back and forth, and then sent via the Internet to
Baldwin for recording. He sends the recorded file to Fink, who then produces it on Audacity, and
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 21
then sends it to Cranor to upload to the server and send it out into the world.
For a show just shy of being two years old, it has become remarkably popular. In July 2013, it
accomplished the rare feat of beating the podcast version of NPR's This American Life in iTunes'
listing of top 10 podcasts (iTunes 2014), and still maintains a place in that list of top 10. This all
with no marketing outside of social media and word of mouth.
With the show becoming as popular as it is, how far in advance do the writers work on the plot
lines? "The first year was very much episode by episode," Fink says. "We were kind of figuring
out stuff as we wrote it. I don't really think it's slow moving so much as just it's not really a story
in the way that like a book or a TV show is that has an arc and an end point, you know? We kind
of think of it as sort of a real-time news show for the town, and so it kind of has to be structured
that way where it's just this sort of ongoing universe and there's less of a like barreling towards
some specific end point that you can do when you have an end point. This year, we're planning
ahead a little more. We know kind of where we're going for the second year anniversary, and we
have stuff in play for that that we kind of know to a certain amount how they're going to get
there."
The two enjoy the times when they're able to surprise each other with plotlines and making
things unusual. Says Cranor, "I think we've both have had moments where I've written something
and sent it to Joseph and Joseph will read it and be like, 'Oh, well, I guess this is happening now.'
And vice versa. Which is really fun." He continues, "We really haven't had a case yet, I don't
think, where we've said to each other this is not going to work. We kind of feel like as long as we
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 22
stay true to the continuity and the rules of the Night Vale universe, that we can make any
storyline happen, you know? As long as we're not violating the rules that we've set up for
ourselves within Night Vale, we can work within anything, that any storyline can be made to
work."
One of the pleasant surprises of the show has been a romantic relationship between Cecil's
character (also called Cecil) and another character, Carlos. "That was very organic," Fink says of
the development of the relationship. "Cecil showed interest in Carlos in the first episode that I
wrote. Because it was the first episode, most of the characters were more of one-joke characters
as you kind of have to be until you can have time to flush them out. Back then, Carlos was more
just kind of a parody of the handsome outsider scientist who comes to figure everything out."
Cranor agrees that part of the reason they were able to pursue this aspect was the nature of the
show. Since the podcast was written as an ongoing news report, Baldwin's interpretation of the
narration helped shape the narrative as much as their own writing. "Over time, you just kind of
develop more interest in storylines and it makes you want to develop certain stories."
Fink admits the romance snuck up on him. He says, "I don't think I decided to have them get
together at the end of the first year until I was sitting down to write that script, and I'm like, 'You
know what? Let's do this.'"
Fink thinks that part of their success comes from the fact that their audience differs from a
'typical' podcast audience. "I think the usual podcast audience is a little insular at this point," he
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 23
says. "It's generally men between the ages of 18 and 35. For the most part, we have a lot of
different listeners from a lot of different places. Our fan base is primarily young and female:
women ages 14 to 30 is by far our biggest demographic, which really makes me happy, because I
think that's a demographic that podcasting can really use."
So, what's in store for the future of the podcast? Welcome to Night Vale is in the middle of a
March tour after a successful east coast tour in January, with one of the episodes available for
purchase. They will be at Emerald City Comicon in March 2014 with an exclusive show with
The Thrilling Adventure Hour. Finally, they recently announced that a stand-alone Night Vale
novel will be published by Harper Perennial in 2015. In the meantime, the show is dedicated to
one thing: "We report only the real, the semi-real, and the verifiably unreal." - episode 23,
"Eternal Scouts".
For more information on the podcast, the novel, or the tour, go to welcometonightvale.com.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 24
POST SAMPLE 4: RIFFTRAX LIVE: AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKE NELSON
posted to G33K Out on December 4, 2013
On December 5, cinemas across the nation – including several in and around the Los Angeles
area – will be screening a production of RiffTrax Live: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
RiffTrax is a spiritual successor to the cult favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000, otherwise
known as MST3K, and involves MST3K alums Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy.
In partnership with Fathom Events, this is the 10th such live screening since they started back in
2009.
But what, you may ask, is riffing?
"We always say it's like watching a movie with your funniest friends," Nelson says. "The tone
we go for is we're making fun of it, but in a way that's pretty light-hearted. We're all fans of
movies and we want to see good movies, but we also really enjoy bad movies in the right way,
you know?"
Bad movies indeed. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is a film that MST3K covered back in
it's very early days – so early, in fact, that Keven Murphy was the only one of the three that was
there at the time. "It's been long enough that we forgot it," Nelson says. "I think for most fans,
because I can't even remember it, I assume they don't remember much about it either."
Writing the riffs for the live shows has some similarities to their normal riffs, which either are
recorded as commentary tracks to DVDs or are MP3s you can synch with the piece in question.
But it also differs from their normal ones as well. Nelson compares it to doing a live tour all in
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 25
one night. "It's a little more intense. There's more people watching you and there's different
considerations, and different things that can happen in a live event." All told, Nelson says it
normally takes the trio about two weeks to do the writing, with most of it going over the material
enough times to see if it plays well. "You also have to be a little light on your feet when you're
actually up there on stage, because things surprise you and audiences are different than you
thought. So, it's a fun thing."
Coming fresh off a successful Kickstarter campaign, this live presentation is the third this year –
and the first time they've done a third since starting the live shows. He's not sure why the live
shows have become so successful lately. "I don't know whether it's a choice of material, but they
seem to be hitting their stride," Nelson says. "The more we can do, the better for us, because it's
still only three shows a year. It doesn't really slow us down on the website, so it works out well."
Nelson, as well as RiffTrax, will forever be linked to MST3K, which just celebrated its 25th
anniversary, and has its plusses and minuses. "It was fun to be part of something that got that
much attention," Nelson says, "but it kind of cut both ways. People read into it a lot of times that
we were trying to do some sort of meta commentary on society and things like that, and we were
always just a bunch of comedians trying to make a really funny show. It really wasn't our intent
to do anything that was a grand scheme of commenting on stuff."
RiffTrax Live: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians will screen on December 5, and more
information about the show can be found either by going to rifftrax.com or to fathomevents.com.
Listen to the full podcast Geek Out with Angie Fiedler Sutton: An Interview with Mike Nelson
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 26
below.
Transcript of Podcast
{theme music starts}
Angie: Welcome to Geek Out with Angie Fiedler Sutton, an ongoing discussion on geeky topics.
Here in a couple of days, cinemas across the nation will be screening RiffTrax Live: Santa Claus
Conquers the Martians.
{excerpt from trailer:
movie: Merry Christmas, everyone!
Riff: Idiot - you just flown us right into a Christmas movie.}
Angie: RiffTrax, for those who don't know, is a spiritual successor to the cult favorite TV show
Mystery Science Theater 3000. Launched in 2006 by MST3K alums Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett
and Kevin Murphy, RiffTrax takes the snarky humor of making fun of movies and makes them
as either commentary tracks to DVDs or downloadable MP3s you can synch with the movie in
question. In partnership with Fathom Events, this is the 10th such live screening since they
started back in 2009.
In this episode of Geek Out, I talked with Mike Nelson about riffing and these live events.
{For the interview, the author is indicated by bolded text, with Nelson's response in plain text.}
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 27
This is your tenth RiffTrax Live since you guys started these, according to Wikipedia. Is
that correct?
Yeah, I believe that is right. I had to think for a second, but yes. I think it's right.
What caused you to decide to do these live events?
Well, we always done live events, but they were kind of one-offs or festivals and things like that,
and with doing the website work, it was difficult to break away to do those, so, you know, when
we heard about what Fathom was doing, we thought, 'Oh, that might be a neat way to cover a lot
of, you know, what we would like to do. We would like to do a live tour or something, but this is
kind of the equivalent of that, just handled in one night.
So, we got in touch with them, and it's, luckily, it's worked out for both of us.
Again, according to Wikipedia, which we all know is so trustworthy -
That's right. Unimpeachable.
You've been doing about two a year outside of 2011. This is the first time you've really done
a third outside of the rebroadcasts. Do you have any ideas as to why - I mean, you're
getting more successful, what with the Kickstarter and all that. Any particular ideas as to
why it's suddenly getting re-popular?
Yeah, I'm not sure. I think that we probably started, let's see, I think our first one was in 2008,
and you know, there were problems with the economy and stuff, and so, we did them and they
were successful, but these last few have just been, you know, I don't know whether it's a choice
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 28
of material and a combination of things, but they seem to be hitting their stride, so ... we're just
really pleased with it and, you know, the more we can do, I think the better for us. Because it's
still only, you know, it's three shows a year, and we continue with the website. We put out, it
doesn't really slow us down on the website, so it works out well.
This is on the tail of your successful Kickstarter campaign, originally for Twilight, but
ended up being for Starship Troopers. Were you surprised by the amount of funds you
ended up raising?
Very pleasantly surprised, and it worked out, I think, in the end. Although we're not ruling out
Twilight. We - they didn't say no, it was one of those things where they said, 'Ask again in the
future.' So ... I'd like to do that again.
Well, that's the only way I will ever watch that movie.
{laughs} Understood.
Do you think, in terms of - one of the things my thesis is going to be on is on fandom-related
stuff. The fans are obviously a big part of why RiffTrax is as popular as it is, and you
know, the fans not only of RiffTrax but of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and they're
getting ready to celebrate their 25th anniversary this year, is that correct?
Yeah, that's right.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 29
I know that Joel {Hodgson, the original host of MST3K} is planning on doing the live
broadcasts. Were you planning on doing anything connected to that?
No. You know, I just saw that. Someone brought it to my attention yesterday. I'd kind of
forgotten that it was the 25th, and then I saw that Joel was doing an event: Turkey Day, which I
was glad to see, because we, I think way back in the early '90s, we started that, and it was always
great fun. But beyond that, I hadn't really - to be honest, I hadn't thought of it until yesterday.
From what I could tell, Santa Claus Versus the Martians is not one you've done a regular
riff of, is that correct?
Right.
Obviously, there's an obvious reason as to why you're doing that in December, but why
that as opposed to Nightmare Before Christmas which I know you have done a riff of or
other Christmas shows?
Well, this one was, when we did it originally, which is a really, really long time ago, I wasn't the
host of the show, Bill wasn't on board, Kevin was there, so he's the only common thread. And it
had been long enough that we forgot it, so we just screened it again and thought, 'Oh, this is
delightful.' I think for most fans, because I can't even remember it, I assume they don't remember
much about it either, so I think it's about time to revisit and see what that was all about. See if we
hallucinated that or not.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 30
Let's go into the process of the actual writing of the riff. How long does it typically take to
write a riff?
It's probably all told about two weeks. It's probably longer for a live show. There's just a little,
it's a little more intense, obviously, you know. There's more people watching you and there's
different considerations and different things that can happen in a live event, but we split up the
script and each writer takes a chunk of it and sort of lays the groundwork, and then we get it all
together, and then we just start editing it and we go over it again, and again, and again, and just
try to find the right ingredients for live. And it's a bit different than doing it for a recorded
version, because we just found that things in live situations will or will not work as well as things
in the studio, so ... And you also have to be a little light on your feet when you're actually up
there on stage, because things surprise you and audiences are different than you thought, so it's a
fun thing. But that's basically how we do it. We just start with a loose script and we just keep
refining it.
Do you outside of the three of you, do you run this by any test audience or anything like
that?
No, not really, not in any formal way. There's, people will come in and out of a writing session,
you know, just sort of RiffTrax personnel, but beyond that, we kind of trust our instincts on that.
For those who aren't familiar with RiffTrax and what riffing is, how would you define
what a riff is?
Well, we always say it's like watching a movie with your funniest friends. And I hope that's true.
And that's kind of the tone that we go for is we're making fun of it, but it's in a way that
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 31
hopefully is pretty light-hearted. Otherwise, I can imagine that RiffTrax would grate on your
nerves after a while. Guys who are just sort of upset with the movie does not make real fun. I
mean, maybe in short doses, but in the long haul, we're all sort of fans of movies and we want to
see good movies, but we also really enjoy bad movies in the right way, you know? And then we
give them the appropriate commentary if something is deserving of a bit of scorn, you get that.
But if it's otherwise, just sort of incompetent, it's just kind of fun to watch and play along with it.
Have you ever riffed a movie that you personally loved and were a little afraid to take on?
Oh, yes, yes. We did kind of a stunt to see, and mostly to prove to people that we don't dislike
these movies, certainly not strongly, there are things about everything that you as a critic kind of
would like to change, but we did Casablanca, which is, you know, in my top five favorite
movies ever. So, we don't hold a grudge against these movies, and we don't hate them.
So, after Santa Claus Versus the Martians, what's next on the RiffTrax radar?
We continue along with doing stuff on the site. I mean, hopefully, we will return to the live
theatres next year as well, although we don't have anything officially on the books yet. But yeah,
we're always, we're working through new shorts and things. We are dipped into an old Batman
serial that we're currently having fun with, so we're releasing those, you know, kind of one every
two weeks or so. We just love those.
This is just me personally: why Nashville?
Our production company is there. As it happens, this is not a reason for doing it, but my sons
also go to college there, so I've spent a lot of time there. And our production company - we could
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 32
have them out either to California or to Minnesota, but we're a smaller crew than they are, so
they kind of win in terms of the economics of getting a whole bunch of people one place or the
other. Hence the Nashville thing.
Do you think that Web 2.0 and social media has helped your success?
Oh, yeah. I mean, I think so. I think that this is a much more familiar form now to people. It used
to just be the one weird TV show that was sort of culty, and now a lot of comedians do similar
things, commenting on movies or taking them apart or pretty much doing, you know, exactly the
commentary while the movie is playing. So, I think it does make it more familiar to people and
not such a strange culty thing.
And speaking of the culty thing, Mystery Science Theater 3000 is a cult phenomenon, and it
was kind of the first of its kind. Yeah, people always spoke back to the movies, but this was
the first time it was canonized in a way. Does this ever throw you off that you were part of
this redefining of a media format?
No, I mean, it was fun to be part of something that got that much attention, but it kind of cut both
ways is that people read into it a lot of times that we were trying to do some sort of meta
commentary on society and things like that, and we were always just a bunch of comedians
trying to make a really funny show. So, you would read think pieces about yourself and go,
'Wow - I didn't know I was that smart.' So {laughs} it really wasn't our intent to do anything that
was a grand scheme of commenting on stuff. It was much more, you know, we're comedians.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 33
Angie: The RiffTrax Live presentation of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is December 5,
and more information about the show can be found either by going to rifftrax.com {spelled out}
or to fathomevents.com.
{excerpt from trailer:
movie: "And a trippy Christmas to all."
Angie: Thanks for listening to Geek Out with Angie Fiedler Sutton. The theme music is
"Schoolyard Haze", by Jari Pitkanen, available via the Free Music Archive. The podcast is
recorded in partnership with SciFi4Me Radio, and released under a Creative Commons
Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike license.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 34
POST SAMPLE 5: WHY I HESITATE TO CALL MYSELF A FANGIRL
Posted to G33K Out on February 15, 2013
I am not easily offended. I'm typically the first to understand the place that humor (especially
dark humor) can take when dealing with sensitive topics. I make jokes about suicide and
Alzheimer's, despite (or maybe because?) that I had a good friend commit suicide and currently
have another friend stricken with Alzheimer's. I even don't really get bothered by rape jokes,
provided that they're actually funny jokes (for example, Sarah Silverman).
I start with this statement in the hopes that it will stay the knee jerk reaction of "she's just too
sensitive" and "she's making too much out of it" with this topic. I know I will still get those
reactions, and I know this will inevitably get the same hate that other women who have written
about this have gotten. But the fact that these reactions are expected is part of why I'm writing
this. You see, it's all about microagressions.
I have been a geek all my life. I've loved Doctor Who since I was a kid, Star Trek and Star Wars
were part of my formative years, and I eagerly look forward to any fantasy or time travel movie
released, even the ones that stink. Yet, when I talked to Dr. Henry Jenkins, Provost Professor of
Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at USC, about what I wanted to do for my
thesis, I had described myself as a fanboy geek.
"You don't describe yourself as a fangirl?" he asked me. And that got me thinking. Why didn't
that term come to me first?
Outside of a couple of isolated events, I have found fandom to be very open and embracing. I
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 35
have never felt I was treated less of a fan because I was a woman. I've never had someone give
me inappropriate comments about my body, but I also don't cosplay and tend to wear clothes that
wouldn't be getting comments anyway. Finally, I have enough of a "screw you if you don't like
me for who I am" attitude that if anyone tried treating me differently, they would soon learn to
not do it again.
And yet I hesitate to call myself a fangirl. Why?
A fanboy, while in the public image still has some negative associations as a man still living in
his parents' basement with no life, is actually a fairly positive image within fan communities
now. Just as it's now chic to be geek, to be a fanboy has gone through some changes. It now
means just someone who is enthusiastic and obsessed over a specific item, typically science
fiction, comic books, or video games/technology. A fanboy, in short, is someone who can tell
you how many different ways the character of Bones said, "I'm a doctor, not a ..." in the various
Star Trek iterations or how many strike outs Yankees player Derek Jeter has had in his career.
However, a fangirl is much more negative, both in and out of fan communities. The phrase
means someone who is fawning over the (typically male) stars of said media, and watches/reads
the media not for the content, but for 'the pretty'. For example, the Cumbercollective: the group
of (typically young and white) women who watch anything and everything with Benedict
Cumberbatch, and are supposedly watching Sherlock not because of the plot or acting or the
characters, but in the off chance that Cumberbatch will take his shirt off for a scene or two. It
harkens back to Beatlemania and the cry of the fangirl is the squee as the heartthrob takes the
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 36
stage.
In other words, while I'm a fanboy of Doctor Who (I used to be able to name all the
companions), I was a fangirl when I met Marc Evan Jackson, the voice of Sparks Nevada from
the podcast The Thrilling Adventure Hour, and got his autograph.
So what exactly is the issue here?
Being a geek is a tough road. Up until fairly recently, and even still somewhat, if you were into
geeky things like comics or gaming or science fiction and fantasy, you were teased and mocked,
dealing with the stereotype of not having a life. You earned your way into the geek world the
hard way, and many of us claimed the word "geek" much like the gay community claimed
"queer." Yet, that means there is a sense of entitlement about the word: not everyone can claim to
be a geek, and you have to prove yourself before you're allowed in.
Whether this is comes from being a new fan (you've only been watching for a couple of
episodes? not a true fan), being a fan of only one aspect (you only like the reboot Star Trek
movies produced by J.J. Abrams and haven't seen the original series? not a true fan), or not
showing your appreciation enough (you don't have the regular movie, plus the special edition,
plus the director's cut, plus the director's cut special edition, plus the book the movie was based
on? not a true fan), there's a sense of gatekeeping within the geek community whenever a new
fan enters the mix. It's a sort of dog sniffing to make sure you're not a threat aspect to the whole
thing, and it happens all the time and has been an aspect of fandom probably since fandom
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 37
started.
However, within the past couple of decades, it started being cool to call yourself a geek. Thanks
to the Internet, 'outing' yourself as a geek and a lover of geek media became easier and less of a
stigma.
But that didn't mean the gatekeeping stopped. In fact, the Internet probably made it worse.
Trolling (someone who starts arguments or posts deliberately controversial posts just to mess
with people) combined with the ease of research meant that people were claiming to be a geek
but may, in fact, not actually be as interested in the topic as others. Proving you were a 'real' geek
became that much harder.
And then women had to get involved.
Of course, women have always been a part of fandom. But the rise in popularity of being a geek,
combined with the incessant need for gatekeeping of the geek community, suddenly blew up in
2012 with an editorial from Tara Tiger Brown, lamenting about the increase of people claiming
to be geeks, focusing on women. "Pretentious females who have labeled themselves as a 'geek
girl' figured out that guys will pay a lot of attention to them if they proclaim they are reading
comics or playing video games," she wrote (Brown 2012). She goes on to explain: "Maybe it's
just something that Generation X'ers lament about, as many of us old-timers believe that when it
was harder to learn about something and you did it anyway, when no one else was building that
computer in the basement but you persevered, that's when your passions really shined through.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 38
That's what being a geek is. Now if someone sticks a video game into their XBOX 360 console,
they self-label themselves a 'gamer.'" This is, then, the start of the mythological 'fake geek girl.'
As noted in an article published the next day on the website Kotaku, the article generated a lot of
immediate reactions, most of them against Brown (Hamilton 2012). "Brown echoes Patton
Oswalt's belief that the Internet has democratized information to the point that niche interests no
longer have the meaning they used to. Be that as it may, so what? That doesn't mean we have to
start chest-thumping about our cred at every opportunity. If anything, it means that cred, or at
least that sort of cred, is becoming increasingly meaningless," wrote Hamilton, noting the
incessant need for that gatekeeping. However, one look at the comments shows that the
pervasive idea of women 'pretending' to like something geeky in order to garner attention is
considered a real threat. "Dressing as a character you know nothing about is moronic, not nerdy.
Some girls just dress as a character to get attention, don't even care about the show," one
comment states, hinting at the concept of booth babes (women employed by staff booths at trade
shows and conventions to bring people into the booth, typically dressed in revealing outfits).
This concept that women, specifically good looking women, can't be 'real geeks' was expanded
upon in an editorial by Joe Peacock on CNN, stating, "What I'm talking about is the girls who
have no interest or history in gaming taking nearly naked photos of themselves with game
controllers draped all over their body just to play at being a 'model.' I get sick of wannabes who
couldn't make it as car show eye candy slapping on a Batman shirt and strutting around comic
book conventions instead" (Peacock 2012).
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 39
Genevieve Dempre responded two days later on the same blog. "It's another reminder to women
that while we may be appreciated for our decorative qualities, we certainly shouldn't expect to be
welcomed beyond that as active participants. It's another hoop to jump through, and a glaring
indication of the fact that we're seen as girls first, geeks second, and that we're always going to
have to work harder to prove that we belong" (Dempre 2012). An article in the New Statesman
written in August 2013 stated, "Women in particular are seen as jumping on a bandwagon,
appropriating geek chic – just like female football fans, they're only interested in the hero's
physique." (Welsh 2013). It's an echo of the hipster complaint: of people jumping on something
just because it's trendy, and not because they actually like the item in question.
This idea of the 'fake geek girl' also leads into the concept of the 'lesser' fangirl. Fandoms that are
predominantly female, particularly young female, are still considered eligible targets for making
fun of, whether it's the fans of Twilight or the singing group One Direction. In an article on Den
of Geek, Simon Brew brings up the ongoing nature of the not so difference between Apple
fanboys and Sherlock fangirls. "Look too at the recent filming of 'Sherlock' around London. Our
same correspondent [who had been immediately assumed to be a 'Cumberbitch', a fan of the
show just because of Benedict Cumberbatch, just because she was female] walked passed the
assembled crowd, and she noted that it was almost entirely female. Sherlock's fervent female
support has already resulted in the aforementioned 'Cumberbitches' term (a word that some are
happy to adopt as their own), but it still tends to be approached more negatively. Contrast that
with the queue for the launch of a new Apple product on launch day. That queue is mainly male,
still comes in for some stick, yet is seen as more 'acceptable'" (Brew 2013).
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 40
This isn't the first, nor presumably the last, time the female fans of Sherlock have been treated as
'extra rabid' or obsessed. In an interview with Zap2It, Amanda Abbington (who plays Mary
Morstan, fiancé and then wife to John Watson in the third series of Sherlock), brings up the slash
subtext of the Watson/Holmes relationship. (Slash is fanfic or fanart that is homoerotic in
nature.) The real life partner of Martin Freeman, who plays Watson, she brings up why it's
worrying to her as the mother of their two children. She stated, "I've seen some particularly
explicit paintings of Martin and Ben. Let's not say it's John and Sherlock; it's Martin and Ben,
because you don't see Basil Rathbone and his Watson. I don't think it's about the characters; it
becomes about the actors" (O'Hare 2014).
However, a quick Google Image search on the phrase "Sherlock Holmes slash" brings up not
only images of Freeman and Cumberbatch, but of Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law from the
two Sherlock Holmes movies as well as artwork of other portrayals of these two iconic
characters. The main reason Freeman and Cumberbatch is up front and center is it's currently the
one in the media's eyes (Elementary doesn't count, since they genderswapped Watson, which
disqualifies a Watson/Holmes pairing as slash).
This was just the latest in a list of interviews with the cast and crew that seems to marginalize the
female fans. For example, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sherlock co-creator
Steven Moffat stated, "Also, it's got such a huge female following. The original [Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle] stories had a huge female following, which I'd never forgotten, and that's because
the Victorian ladies liked the way Sherlock looked. (Laughs.) So I thought, use this massively
exciting, rather handsome man who could see right through your heart and have no interest ... of
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 41
course, he's going to be a sex god! I think we pitched that character right. I think our female fan
base all believe that they'll be the one to melt that glacier. They're all wrong -- nothing will melt
that glacier" (Ng 2014).
Of course, when he talks about the male fans of Doyle's stories, like himself and co-creator Mark
Gatiss, the reason they love the original stories is because of how well-written they were, or the
depths of the plot and character, but the idea that the women are fans for the same reason is not
even considered. Meanwhile, Mark Gatiss, who is gay and also a fan and occasional writer of
Doctor Who, can make a Doctor Who fan film ("The Kidnappers") where he jokes about sexually
molesting Peter Davison (who played the fifth Doctor), and it's all 'ha ha, isn't that funny'; but
when a fan artist makes a picture of John and Sherlock having sex (usually consensual sex), it's
suddenly going too far.
Dr. Andrea Letamendi, in an article for The Mary Sue, explains succinctly of how these
comments are microaggressions (wherein each item isn't bad by itself, but when placed in
context with all the other times it happens shows a pattern). "[T]hese comments actually
communicate messages that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or
experiential reality of a person. Sure, these incidents typically appear minute, banal and trivial.
Sometimes they produce a good laugh. But repeated experiences of receiving them can have a
long-term psychological impact" (Letamendi 2012).
So, where do we go from here? As I stated at the beginning, it takes a lot to get me offended. I've
seen multiple articles scoffing at the female fans of the various things I'm a fan of, and am able
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 42
to shrug it off for the most part. But it does point to an overall larger issue that needs to be
addressed.
Thankfully, the concept of the fake geek girl is being combatted on many fronts, and the very
definition of fangirl is starting to evolve. More and more women, myself included, are claiming
it in the same way we had claimed the word "geek" in the first place. Geeky singing duo The
Doubleclicks wrote the song "Nothing to Prove," showing the power of females in fandom with
support from geek icons such as Wil Wheaton and Adam Savage, and created a Tumblr for
women to show their geekiness. There's even a contemporary young adult novel called Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell that's about a young girl's interest in fan fiction, and was chosen as the social
networking website Tumblr's first book club selection. Tumblr itself has become known as the
home for fandoms and fangirls.
But women fans are still not taken seriously. When the creators and media make comments that
seem to deride the idea of women being fans of something, we need to speak up to indicate how
it's just the latest in a long line of comments that marginalize females in the geek world. If you
are one of those who think I'm making too much of it, remember why it used to be shameful to
call yourself a geek in the first place, and realize that it's a very similar issue. The best thing to
do is to start the conversation, and hope that all parties realize there's more being said than what's
actually being said.
And then I can fangirl out if I ever get a chance to meet Martin Freeman.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 43
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 44
CONCLUSION
G33K Out has launched, but there has been no attempt to promote the blog or the content. The
next step for the blog is to promote it on my various social media platforms, as well as
continually adding content. This content will include more multimedia, which includes videos,
photo slideshows and audio and my G33K Out podcast.
A funding or monetization plan needs to be implemented, using a combination of straight
advertising, corporate sponsorship, and other fundraising techniques. This funding plan will need
to include money not only for hosting fees and other routine website expenses, but also to pay
additional contributors. Having volunteered for KC Stage Magazine for nearly 15 years, I know
how hard it is to manage volunteer writers. But I also know how hard it is to finance a niche
publication. As a result, it would need to be an all-or-nothing system: either everyone gets paid
or no one gets paid.
Plans also include involving other contributors to the blog in order to keep up content on a
regular basis. I worked with Cassandra Whitney, a graphic designer who had volunteered with
KC Stage Magazine in its last year of print, to design a logo (see Appendix 2). I have a
connection to other contributors from KC Stage who may be interested in volunteering as
contributors in the beginning, but I don't want to depend on volunteers to get this done. However,
at the start, I would be doing the primary coverage. It takes money to make money, and the
reputation of the website would need to grow before any kind of money would come in, and
therefore most of the work would be done by me.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 45
Geek culture is only becoming more popular as geeks start to gain control over their content. The
re-launched Doctor Who was initially run under Russell T. Davies, and now is under the control
of Steven Moffat: both admitted to being Doctor Who fans as they grew up. Peter Jackson is a
Tolkien geek, and used that obsession to promote his helming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy
and later the Hobbit trilogy. Finally, J.J. Abrams is a noted Star Wars fan (Watercutter 2013) and
is currently producing a set of sequel trilogies for the franchise.
Andrew Harrison postulates that the fact the rise of geek culture is the result of the need to
escape from the world while still maintaining ties to it. "Perhaps escapism is what really matters.
Maybe that's the reason that geek is displaying greater longevity and adaptability than previous
cultural waves. Unlike punk, lad or dance culture, geek can take you out of your head into a
fantasy environment, but its business institutions – Apple, Marvel/Disney, TED, MMPORGs and
a thousand smaller entities – are robust enough to keep a grip on the real world. Geek has the
ideas and the money, and it seems the staying power. Who can handle the demands of an ever-
diversifying world without choosing one little area and mastering – or mistressing – it? It's all
about the geek in me" (Harrison 2013).
Having a site that covers geek media in detail, investigating trends and providing detailed
interviews, gives a sense of cultural significance to this area of entertainment. Storytelling is the
same, whether it's science fiction or narrative, and the desire to know more about how the stories
are constructed gives it a cultural significance.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 46
WORKS CITED
"Biggest Celebrity Geeks: They Love Comics and 'Star Trek' Just Like You and Me." Moviefone,
August 11, 2010. http://news.moviefone.com/2010/08/11/biggest-celebrity-geeks/ (accessed June
10, 2014).
Bennet, James. "Against 'Long-Form Journalism'." The Atlantic, December 12, 2013.
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/against-long-form-journalism/282256/
(accessed May 20, 2014).
Brew, Simon. "Why does female-leaning fandom come in for such criticism?" Den of Geek,
September 25, 2013. http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/female-fandom/197751/why-does-
female-leaning-fandom-come-in-for-such-criticism (accessed March 1, 2014).
Brown, Tara Tiger. "Dear Fake Geek Girls: Please Go Away." Forbes, March 26, 2012.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tarabrown/2012/03/26/dear-fake-geek-girls-please-go-away
(accessed March 22, 2014).
Bucatinsky, Dan (co-creator of the web series Web Therapy). Telephone interview with author,
December 10, 2013.
Christian, Aymar. "Promise and Problems: Web Series and Independent Production in Periods of
Change." Massachusetts Institute of Technology, no date. http://web.mit.edu/comm-
forum/mit7/papers/aymar-promise-and-problems.pdf (accessed June 10, 2014).
Clark, Mark. "Strange New Worlds." In Star Trek FAQ: everything left to know about the first
voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Milwaukee, WI: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2012.
Collins, Scott. "'Doctor Who' 50th anniversary special sets ratings, Tumblr records." Los Angeles
Times, November 25, 2013. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-
doctor-who-50th-anniversary-special-sets-ratings-tumblr-records-
20131125,0,570659.story#axzz2llcqL8pv (accessed March 1, 2014).
Cranor, Jeffrey (co-writer of Welcome to Night Vale). Telephone interview with author,
December 12, 2013.
Dempre, Genevieve. "In defense of lady geeks.” CNN, July 26, 2012.
http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/26/in-defense-of-lady-geeks (accessed March 22, 2014).
Edgar, James. "Doctor Who breaks simulcast world record." The Telegraph, November 24, 2013.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/10470879/Doctor-Who-breaks-
simulcast-world-record.html (accessed March 1, 2014).
Farah, Mike (president of production at Funny or Die). Telephone interview with author,
December 10, 2013.
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 47
Fink, Joseph (co-writer of Welcome to Night Vale). Telephone interview with author, December
12, 2013.
Hamilton, Kirk. "The Fake Threat of Fake Geek Girls." Kotaku, March 27, 2012.
http://kotaku.com/5896920/the-fake-threat-of-fake-geek-girls (accessed March 22, 2014).
Harrison, Andrew. "Rise of the new geeks: how the outsiders won." The Guardian, September 2,
2013. http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/sep/02/rise-geeks-outsiders-superhero-movies-
dork (accessed March 22, 2014).
Hu, Jane. "When Exactly Did It Get Cool To Be A Geek?" The Awl, February 22, 2012.
http://www.theawl.com/2012/02/when-exactly-did-it-get-cool-to-be-a-geek (accessed March 1,
2014).
iTunes Charts, "Commonplace Books – Welcome to Night Vale: American iTunes Chart
Performance." http://www.itunescharts.net/us/artists/podcast/commonplace-
books/podcasts/welcome-to-night-vale/ (accessed March 22, 2014).
Junod, Tom. "The Dominance Of Loooooong In The Age Of Short." Esquire, September 17,
2013. http://www.esquire.com/80-things/the-dominance-of-loooooong-in-the-age-of-short-1013
(accessed May 20, 2014).
Letamendi, Dr. Andrea. "The Psychology of the Fake Geek Girl: Why We’re Threatened by
Falsified Fandom." The Mary Sue, December 21, 2012.
http://www.themarysue.com/psychology-of-the-fake-geek-girl (accessed March 22, 2014).
Masters, Tim. "Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi unveiled as new Doctor." BBC News, August 4,
2013. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23570421 (accessed June 10, 2014).
Nelson, Mike (co-founder of RiffTrax). Telephone interview with author, December 12, 2013.
Ng, Philiana. "'Sherlock' Boss on 'Moving' Holmes/Watson Reunion and 'Funnier' Season 3
(Q&A)." The Hollywood Reporter, January 1, 2014. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-
feed/sherlock-season-3-preview-steven-667990 (accessed March 22, 2014).
O'Hare, Kate. "'Sherlock' Season 3: Amanda Abbington and Martin Freeman's not-wedding."
Zap2It, January 26, 2014. http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2014/01/sherlock-season-3-
amanda-abbington-and-martin-freemans-not-wedding.html (accessed March 22, 2014).
Peacock, Joe. "Booth Babes Need Not Apply." CNN Geek Out, July 24, 2012.
http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/24/booth-babes-need-not-apply (accessed March 22,
2014).
"Reblog Book Club: Tumblr's Official Book Club." Reblog Book Club.
http://reblogbookclub.tumblr.com/post/60842014595/welcome-to-the-reblog-book-club-the-first
(accessed March 22, 2014).
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 48
Richey, Travis (co-creator of the web series Untitled Web Series About a Space Traveler Who
Can Also Travel Through Time). Interview with author, September 22, 2013.
---. "Untitled Web Series... Season 2 Prequel episode." Kickstarter.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1878253293/untitled-web-series-season-2-prequel-episode
(accessed June 20, 2014).
Sutton, Angie Fiedler. "'Thrilling Adventure Hour' is as Awesome as it Sounds." ProjectQuinn,
October 29, 2013. http://projectquinn.com/thrilling-adventure-hour (accessed March 22, 2014).
Wattercutter, Angela. "What Star Trek Into Darkness Could Tell Us About J.J. Abrams' Star
Wars." Wired, May 17, 2013. http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/05/star-trek-abrams-star-
wars (accessed March 1, 2014).
Welsh, Kaite. "Does misogyny lie at the heart of "fake geek girl" accusations – or is it self-
loathing?" New Statesman, August 8, 2013.
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2013/08/does-misogyny-lie-heart-fake-geek-girl-
accusations-or-it-self-loathing (accessed March 22, 2014).
G33K Out Angie Fiedler Sutton
Page 49
APPENDIX: SCREEN SHOTS OF G33K OUT
www.angiefsutton.com/g33kout
Domain Host: BlueHost
WordPress theme: Asteroid
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
G33K Out (www.angiefsutton.com/g33kout/) is a blog focused on the culture of geek media, e.g., comics, television shows, movies, video games, online media, science, etc. It includes original critical analysis of geek works, interviews, trends, and feature stories on the creative process. This thesis is written content from the blog G33K Out, including reviews, interviews and trends in the geek media world.
Linked assets
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
Conceptually similar
PDF
Eisner’s war: what the U.S. military’s WWII informational comics reveal about politics and audience engagement
PDF
Comic books incorporated: industrial strategy and the legitimation of lowbrow media
PDF
The changing tune of singing competitions
PDF
An obsession with knowing: why Germans love the news
PDF
The impact of the growth of sports gambling
PDF
Transmedia aesthetics: narrative design for vast storyworlds
PDF
One more thing: experiential economies and the future of public relations
PDF
Life on display
PDF
544
PDF
Sports inspire: a crowd-funding community for sports philanthropy
PDF
The merging of Chinese and American entertainment
PDF
A critical assessment of the uses and effectiveness of social media in investor communications
PDF
Versus the fans
PDF
Zoey and the helicopter
PDF
Does inequality begin on Greek Row?
PDF
It's not just about Harry: why Nora Ephron (still) matters
PDF
Alternative History
PDF
The hidden side of pitching: life lessons from the National Pitching Association
PDF
Disturbing the peace: television, disruption, and the roles of Black women
PDF
Corporate social media: trends in the use of emerging social media in corporate America
Asset Metadata
Creator
Sutton, Angie Fiedler
(author)
Core Title
G33K Out: www.angiefsutton.com/g33kout/
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Specialized Journalism (The Arts)
Publication Date
07/09/2014
Defense Date
07/09/2014
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
comics,culture,geek,media,movies,OAI-PMH Harvest,online media,Science,Science fiction,television shows,video games
Format
application/pdf
(imt)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Smith, Erna R. (
committee chair
), Jenkins, Henry (
committee member
), Murphy, Mary (
committee member
)
Creator Email
amsutton@usc.edu,bakabard@ymail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-434175
Unique identifier
UC11287642
Identifier
etd-SuttonAngi-2641.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-434175 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-SuttonAngi-2641.pdf
Dmrecord
434175
Document Type
Thesis
Format
application/pdf (imt)
Rights
Sutton, Angie Fiedler
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Access Conditions
The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...
Repository Name
University of Southern California Digital Library
Repository Location
USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA
Tags
comics
geek
media
online media
television shows
video games