Discussion Main / HollywoodNerd

because generally, attractive people are less likely to become obsessed with dungeons and dragons, importing anime, etc while having poor social skills. People tend to have peers that are similar to them (socio economic status, race, interests, etc are all common) and since enough unattractive/fat people already identify with nerdy/uncool things, then an attractive person is less likely to feel similar to them.

Because of Hollywood, that's my problem with this Trope, it's the "nerds must be ugly" stereotype that is pure Hollywood.

Nerds and geeks are no more or less likely to be physically attractive than the rest of the populace. It's mostly about presentation and social interaction. Most simply place very little value (or have little interest/aptitude in learning the skill) on conforming to the standards of personal appearance in society, which is why society generally judges them as "ugly". Same goes for social skills.

I work in computing, and most of us are nerds. However, pretty much all of us clean up just fine, and frankly look better than most of the blue-collar folks I know. It's just that day-to-day, few.of us give 5 seconds thought as to what we look like before walking out the door.

Besides, do you want to see the fastest way to lose respect from a bunch of nerds? Be a nerd girl who likes to wear makeup. Not goth or other "alternative" outfit, but straight, ordinary makeup,.tastefully done (ie nice, but not Tammy Fae or supermodel level). You'd be surprised at the bigotry from nerdy people against those who can walk the talk, but also like to dress/appear well.

It's not really clear if the article is about nerds in Hollywood, or dorks, nerds and geeks in Hollywood, but I think you are combining Geek and Geek chic affectionados into this nerd definition (as the article seems to do sometimes) which on tvtopes is socially awkward and unpopular. Most people like being around ascetically pleasing people (and even subconciously ascribe qualities like intelligence and niceness to the person), attractive decorations, attractive horses, etc., so all things being equal they will prefer an attractive person, meaning most attractive people are not unpopular (and therefore will have more social interactions making them less likely to be socially awkward). It may well be a case of Life Imitates Art as you suggest (or at the very least Flandarization from being middleclass-suburbanites to being Urkles), but in general, high attractiveness leads to low likelihood of being considered a nerd (though what is considered nerdy varies widely depending on the gender gender). eg, Rentzscha's "physical attractiveness is a much stronger predictor of the rating [as a nerd or not] of others than various behavioral patterns".

I do wonder though, how how Hollywood is the one guilty perpetuating the unattractive stereotypes if they are the ones making many of their nerds too attractive for the audience? It seems they are trying to subvert this trope, if type 2 is any indication. In fact, unattractiveness tends to get audiences to perceive characters as nerds regardless of other factors.

Also, being bullied alone doesn't make one a nerd. Especially in women (due at least in part to the higher importance society places on their attractiveness), bullying attractive people is a common reaction to rivalries (Phoebe Prince is a tragic example of a freshman who dated the varsity quarterback who then was bullied into suicide). Even as adults, attractive women far are less likely to get interviews, which is thought to be a result of rivalry from the predominately young HR women who are doing the hiring.

• looks in mirror* Hm...no, I'd say this trope isn't always justified.

Yeah, I think this. Trope makes way to much emphasis on looks. Being a nerd/geek is much more about attitude and (as relevant to media) characterization. It's about interests and attitudes, not weight and bone structure.

I know plenty of nerdy, geeky people who are quite good looking and fit, IF they so choose to be. Conversely, I know a fair number who will never be more than a 4 (out of 10) physically, even after professional attention.

Hollywood Nerd should focus on Hollywood's (mis)perception of what Nerd/Geek interests and attitudes and personality are. its not about how good.looking the person playing the part is. It's about what kind of outfit they're wearing, what kind of things they are predominantly interested in, and how they interact with those presented as "normal".

Yeah, that's a good question. Why were the distinctions between Type 1's and Type 2's removed?

That's probably more a problem with examples than the trope itself. Cut 'em if you don't think they fit.

I think it's a problem with the description, myself. The only common thread I see in any of the examples is "someone somewhere might think (s)he is a nerd". Even Laconic Wiki gives us "the nerds that we all wish we could be", which is so vague it could mean almost anything.

How about we overhaul it so that Type 1 is what this trope is about? Type 2 is practically Nerds Are Sexy anyway, and is probably the main reason why this trope doesn't seem to mean anything anymore.

It seems like a lot of these examples basically boil down to "someone attractive is cast as a nerd," which, given Hollywood casting, is pretty much inevitable. I think the idea of Type 2 is more like "informed nerdiness," but somehow that's not getting across?

Type 2 and Nerds Are Sexy don't seem anything alike to me. Heck, I think Nerds Are Sexy might need some rewriting to begin with, because it seems to focus on "inconsequential character" a lot more than any nerdiness, at least at the beginning of the description.

Personally, I don't think Type 1 is that much of the Hollywood Nerd as Type 2, since Type 1's are more of an accurate portrayal of a typical 'nerd.' Type 2 basically involves sticking some smokin' hot sexy actor in plaid or argyle (supposedly 'nerdy' attire), put a pair of glasses on them and stick on the label of 'geek.' Then again, I think Nerds Are Sexy pretty much defines Type 2, but I can't be totally sure.

You sure about that? Both types can sometimes occur in real life, but as for Type 2, it's not like nerds can't be sexy. However, it's when said nerd doesn't show the usual signs of geekdom and would essentially pass as a "normal" person were it not for having the label Geek. Type 1 seems to be a caricature of Nerd to the point of TV Genius.

How about TV Genius meets Sickly Neurotic Geek?