#geekpunk culture

[geekpunkstuff]

What is geekpunk?

It’s a fledgling culture, also known as Gunk, that emerged in the early 2000s, probably most clearly defined when it comes to fashion. According to Urban Dictionary, ‘a geek punk is a new steriotypical genre, usually one who doesn't want to be emo/goth or anything like that. they usually listen to any kind of rock music, nintendo t-shirts, have belt buckles in the shape of a vintage games console controller, and wear either baggy jeans, camo trousers or staright leg jeans.’

This paints a pretty accurate visual image, at least. I’ll add punk skirts or cute shorts, boots and accessories. Any kind of geekery will do for the shirt – science, gaming, fandoms, whatever rocks your nerd boat. TeeTurtle’s adorable Cute, Dark and Twisted range is one of my favourites. For skirts I adore Punk Rave or anything pleated and tartan.

It’s worth noting that the terms geek and nerd differ slightly in their meanings. They share an enthusiastic passion for their chosen interests, but, according to Big Think, geeks focus more on pop culture knowledge and nerds are more achievement focused. In my experience the two aren’t mutually exclusive and both have had their influences on geekpunk culture, so I’ll be using these terms interchangeably.

When it comes to pop culture, music is the most established aspect of the geekpunk world. Geekpunk bands often feature 8-bit game music samples, also known as chiptunes, mixed with either punk or another musical genre. In a 2009 interview with FirstCoast News, Milo Aukerm, a marine biologist, D&D lover and member of the band the Descendents, said ‘many nerds ended up turning to punk, because it was a way of releasing some of that frustration that they had for being nerds.’ Punk is more than just a genre of music and punk ideals can be found in a variety of musical genres.

There are a plethora of these genres, such as nerdcore, that could arguably fall into the geekpunk category, though not all do and some could go either way. For example, German metal band Blind Guardian has entire albums written about The Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time books. Geeky? Yes. Punk? In the sense of unabashed self expression, yes. In subverting the norms of metal, yes. In rebelling against authority, no. What do you think?

In 2001 Dan Taylor and Chris Fason launched the publishing house Geekpunk, one of the earliest uses of the term that I could find. They co-created Hero Happy Hour, a comic book series satirising and subverting the superhero genre. Very geekpunk. This puts The Watchmen and The Boys firmly into that category too. Can you think of any other examples that might retroactively fit the geekpunk label?

Returning to the explicitly geekpunk, A Geek Punk Story is a 2018 short film. It’s aptly named and a fun watch. I’ll put a link in the comments. Geek Punk is a variety show created in 2019 that combines geek, punk rock and gaming influences.

Finally, there’s the internet. Geeks have brought us organisations like The Pirate Bay, Wikileaks and Anonymous, rebelling against authority with true punk passion. Geeks have designed tools to protect and celebrate individual freedoms, from VPNs to open source software to patronage sites for artists, Kickstarter for inventors, Go Fund Me for those in need. These all fit into the framework of a geekpunk mindset.

So that’s it! Welcome to the wonderful world of geekpunk!