My family and friends have been after me to begin watching CBS's 'Big Bang Theory' for the past few years. The argument goes something to the effect that, "Hey, you're a nerd, this show is made for you!" I finally submitted, and watched a few alarmingly disrespectful episodes...
My nerd credentials are, no doubt, secure, but I feel need to list a few minor highlights for this audience. I hold a PhD in physical chemistry, have over 10,000 MTG cards (not to mention substantial collection of SW:TCG - Decipher - and WoW cards), a 4,000 point space marine army that I have painted (salamanders) among other miniatures, and separate storage cabinets for my comics, trades, and RPG books. It is from this position that I posit that this show is the moral equivalent of blackface (not to state that there is any similarity in the degree) and should be viewed in the same light as any exploitative genre. I hypothesize that the first goal of this show is to use it's characters as a bludgeon to insult and impugn a social class, mockery of the lowest order with little redeeming value. The writers have little truck with real geek or nerd culture, and this show's commercial success is made by perpetuating shameful stereotypes.
This blog will catalog my trip through the series by DVD, attempting to disprove my hypothesis. I have ordered the first set of discs this morning, and will follow with episode by episode details. Perhaps the episodes I've seen (more recent ones) are misrepresenting the series? Wish me luck.
