[LINK] "To the roots of geek culture"

[rfmcdonald]

The French sociology blog Une heure de peine, maintained by Denis Colombi, is a very worthwhile blog indeed. One recent post--"Aux sources de la culture geek/To the roots of geek culture"--offers interesting insights on the question of what geek culture is and what it developed from.

I mentioned a few days ago that the geek has become, in recent years, an uncommon figure of strength and legitimacy uncommon, so much so that a film like Kick-Ass has seen a surprising reversal: the super-hero is replaced by the geek. Other examples could be cited, but it is certain that geek culture has been widely disseminated. It is in Becker is rereading that I found a clue to help me understand where it comes from.

[. . .]

But where does this geek culture come from? What are its roots? I would like to advance a hypothesis from this classic of sociology that is Outsiders . In Chapter 5, Howard Becker studies "the culture of a deviant group", namely "dance musicians" in the 1950s and 1960s in the United States. Drawing on his own field experience - he himself was a jazz musician - he clearly identifies a particular culture, actually not that different in its operation from our own geek culture.In particular, these musicians made a clear distinction between them and the "squares" [. . .], namely those who are not musicians. How could you not see a parallel with how the geeks monitor carefully the boundaries of their group?

But what united this culture? Why did it develop? The dance musicians all faced common problems, and in returning to interact with them, they developed shared meanings. These problems have to do with the nature of their profession[.]

As workers in a service industry, dance musicians were faced with the need to maintain high standards and a certain hostility towards customers who didn't get their profession's needs. Thus, a distinctive culture.

My hypothesis is that the geek culture finds its roots here. Originally, computing was an activity of enthusiasts, often gathered on American campuses, who were able to define their own criteria for good programs because they were interacting with each other. With the spread of computers, they have faced in business and elsewhere people who have other needs of computers, and different criteria of assessment criteria. They come into conflict with those computer scientists who derive a significant part of their identity around computer-generated graphics. This requires that they manage this conflict, and geek culture gives them that opportunity by drawing a space of independence for them. Thus, specialized knowledge in areas that some would regard as trivial, eg science fiction, Star Trek or another, all are means to express their exceptionality in relation to all-comers, this however imposing specific ways of working. [. . .]

The comparison between a group of artists, dance musicians, and computer workers should not be surprising. The independence of the artist, his creative abilities, his strong personality, his talent to take part in projects where he can bring in something new, in brief all the classical representation and some exaggerated activities are central principles of the functioning of contemporary capitalism[.] Therefore, it is not surprising that geek culture is spreading: it is deeply consistent with the "new spirit of capitalism." Hackers of all stripes maybe do not always realize how they are ultimately conformist.

Go, read. Google Translate can produce broadly readable texts, don't you know.