Finding Our Identity in Geek Culture
ALEX OAKLEY:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
I first saw myself in the character of Timone in The Lion King. I wanted so badly to be a snarky, sarcastic know-it-all. But as I've grown I realized I would much rather be Pumba. Fat, happy, and farting in public.
What creators do you most identify with?
I definitely identify with the band OK Go. They use their platform as a band to blur the lines between music and visual art and spectacle, as well as utilizing it as an educational platform, in ways that few modern bands match. In addition, I'm very fond of internet personality Thomas "Tomska" Ridgewell, as I relate a lot to his struggles with depression, weight gain, and personal growth.
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
For whatever reason, the movie Holy Motors has left an impact on me no other movie has ever managed to. Its close relation to French Surrealist cinema was one of my earliest exposures to truly non-traditional narratives, and really helped sparked my interest in Film Theory.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
I definitely use Role-Playing, like DnD, as a way to escape and tell stories. I err more on the side of making interesting narratives with the characters I select. Unless it’s Telltale's The Walking Dead, in which case I must protect Clementine at all costs.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Dry Bones. Every time. Love that little skeletal friend.
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
"I have a plan to go mad." - Mr. Oscar in Leos Carax's Holy Motors
"Life is a gamble, at terrible odds. If it were a bet you wouldn't take it." - Rosencrantz or Guildenstern in Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
COLBY MCHUGH:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
The Goonies, because I was a suburban white kid who loved adventures and hanging with my friends, and I had an athletic and cool older brother who I constantly fought with.
What creators do you most identify with?
Stephen King and Brian K. Vaughn. King is obvious, but Vaughn is my all time favorite comic book writer, with some of his best work being Y: The Last Man and Saga. Also Mark Duplass. I think we’d be friends.
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
Not a specific piece of art, but a genre. I started listening to K-Pop last year because it was great music to exercise to, but I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've grown to love it. Let's be honest though, it's not even a guilty pleasure at this point. It really opened me up to a whole world I never would have found in a million years, and I’m very grateful for that.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
I like to play someone totally different! What's the point of fantasy if it isn't just a little escapist, right?
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Luigi, because he is a perfect angel of a character and anyone who says anything different is my enemy.
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
"You are one pathetic loser … no offense" - Lloyd Christmas, Dumb and Dumber
JACOB YORK:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
Listen. I'm a straight, white male. It's the honest to God truth that I've never had a moment where the concept of "identity" really resonated with me "for the first time". That said, there are all sorts of problematic dummies who took great pride in their taste in music that I've probably compared myself to before.
What creators do you most identify with?
We're going off the board a bit with music, but Big Data and Jens Lekman hit tones of my personality that I didn't know were there until I heard their songs.
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
Bamboozled and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I watched them both in high school and they completely rearranged my perspectives on a great many things. To this day, Hedwig is the thing I watch if I'm down in the dumps and can't seem to get out. I'd watch Bamboozled a lot more but it's not available for streaming and I've lost the DVD in multiple moves. Put that baby on Criterion, please.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
Like me, more often than not. I like to be good boys. I frankly have trouble playing as "evil" characters. It just doesn't feel right to me. I want that "Good" ending.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Yoshi. Also my go-to Smash brothers character.
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
It does not define me, but there's one that immediately popped in my head:
"Amsterdam ... I'm New York ... don't you never come in here empty handed again, you gotta pay for the pleasure of my company." - Bill the Butcher, Gangs of New York
MONICA BEARD:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
Lilo and Stich! I too was a weird little girl who lived in her head.
What creators do you most identify with?
I feel like I'm still a little early in my journey to know that answer to that. I guess anyone just starting out, learning how to create in a way that serves yourself and your purpose.
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
I remember really loving the depictions of chinese culture in Mulan.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
Someone just like myself! I think it's because I trust my own judgement too much to choose other options. That is, I always think I know the best way to get things done.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Princess Peach!
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
“Be careful of mankind. They do not deserve you.” — Wonder Woman
CK LOVE:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
The truth is - I never saw myself REALLY in films, sure I felt like Betty Blue when I felt vulnerable and lovesick. Sure I felt like Marianne Faithful in Naked Under Leather when I wanted to express a spirit when I was sick of the societal introjects about women and sexuality and sure, who wouldn't like to kick Harrison Ford's ass because he treated Carrie Fisher like shit. But I never saw myself wholly and fully in film because I do not identify with the woman who is constantly the one waiting for the man to come home. Or being a mom. Or being the ball buster boss of the eighties/nineties movies. I did not see myself reflected because I wasn't. Really. Only recently, are we seeing woman protagonists in film and better ones when we write them.
What creators do you most identify with?
I love it when people follow their inner voice; the art has an emotionality that seems strangely moving in its simplicity. Creators who understand that art is a construct that need not exist in the real world, like David Lynch, Giacometti (sculpture), Yoko Ono.
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
I will say style of art: Modernism in art, film and architecture.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
Someone completely different so I can express sides of myself not yet discovered because it's fun.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Princess Peach. Of course!
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
"Only love can save this world. So I stay, I fight and I give. This is my mission now. Forever." - Diana Prince, Wonder Woman
SONYA MAY:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
Mulan. She was the first kick-butt female character who embodied the strength that I wanted to have as I grew up, plus she was one of the first Asian characters I ever saw on screen.
What creators do you most identify with?
Mindy Kaling and Greg Pak
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
Snowpiercer came out right as I was leaving home and entering college, and honestly, it's a film that's stuck with me ever since because it displays class struggles and corruption in such a timeless manner. Even though it is set in the future, it touched upon so many relevant issues such as climate change, class structure, and morality. Snowpiercer had me thinking about humanity and our world in different ways than I was taught to while growing up and I love it for that.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
It depends on the game. For instance, in the Elder Scrolls games I always play as a dark elf, which started simply because I thought they looked cooler, but continued because I liked the special abilities that came with their race. But then in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, I always made my character look as close to me as possible, because I wanted to see myself as a Jedi. Either way, I do try to match characteristics to myself as much as possible so that I can still feel like the character is me.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
I'm much more of a Super Smash Bros. kind of gal, and Samus Aran is my go to for that
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
"I'm letting life hit me until it gets tired. Then I'll hit back. It's a classic rope-a-dope." - La La Land
JORDAN NOEL:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
This is gonna sound real weird and it’s not something that I have any real understanding of, but it's Vincent Gallo’s character, Billy Brown, in Buffalo ’66. (Yes, I’m quite uncomfortable with this answer.)
What creators do you most identify with?
I don’t know that it’s exactly that I identify with them but Werner Herzog, Lina Wertmüller, and Andrzej Zulawski all have a mysteriously profound way of speaking directly to the core of my self.
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
First thought is not actually/exactly new culture or pov BUT an acutely deepened understanding/ empathy/love for men spending their lives in prison and what loving masculinity can look like. It’s a ridiculously powerful documentary from 2017 called The Work.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
Completely different! I’m endlessly fascinated with the range of who we are and what we do and what potential we have to be someone completely different. Also, a fervent pursuit of varied experience.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Princess, duh.
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
“But everyone must believe that it isn’t the trick of an untalented artist, impotent artist. Not at all. It must look like a sure decision. Fearless, lofty, and almost arrogant. Nobody must know that a sign succeeds by chance … is fragile.” - Pietro, the son, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s TEOREMA
SARAH OKERSON:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I loved her positive outlook on life, and how she got thrown into this crazy adventure and just threw herself into the experience.
What creators do you most identify with?
Greta Gerwig, Justin Baldoni, Gina Rodriguez, Reese Witherspoon
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
Captain Fantastic. This film really opened my eyes to living a unique lifestyle filled with transparency and a lack of technology. This film showed both the benefits and downfalls of those choices, and I found those really fascinating.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
I typically choose someone who’s like me, but with amplified bravery. I’ve always wanted to be the strong, brave leader.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Mario or Princess Peach.
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
HUDSON PHILLIPS:
In what movie did you first see yourself reflected on screen?
Pump Up the Volume.
What creators do you most identify with?
M. Night Shyamalan, J.J. Abrams, The Wachowskis, Britt Marling, Mark Duplass.
What movie (or other piece of art) most opened you up to a new culture or point of view?
Cloud Atlas was probably the one that was most impactful recently. Not so much new culture, but definitely got my brain going in new directions for sure.
When playing a video game or role-playing game, do you play as someone just like yourself or someone completely different? Why?
Definitely a cooler version of myself, preferably with a bow and arrow. I basically play as who I wanted to grow up to be when I was a kid.
Who's your go-to Mario Kart character?
Luigi.
Define yourself using a line from a movie:
“Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I've failed as much as I've succeeded. But I love my wife. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of successes.” - Dicky Fox, Jerry Maguire
