The Revenge of the Nerds

There are two very distinct stereotypes throughout the movie, The Revenge of the Nerds and they are pretty obvious, the Jocks and the Nerds stereotypes. The ways these are presented throughout the movie are at the absolute extremes for both of them. The features that make them “jocks” or “nerds” are much exaggerated to present the dramatic difference between them both. Although these are by far the most predominate stereotypes, there are not the only ones present. The classic blonde bombshell, the false representation of a Native American, and homosexual stereotypes are presented throughout this movie.

The “jocks” were the typical footballs players, who were part of a frat, extremely popular and good looking, always getting the ladies, and throwing outrageous parties. This was clearly presented in the very first scene that we encounter the “jocks.” They are all drinking intensely, doing stupid things (such as stair diving into a pool of beer), and essentially doing whatever they wanted. In this opening scene Ogre (one of the main “jocks”) is shown holding a guy off the top balcony and begins chanting Nerd! Nerd! Nerd!  To show how they feel about the so called nerds of the campus. Ogre is also showed holding and drinking beer out of his trophy, which presents his strength and dominance. The first time we see the main leader of the “jock” side, who is also the quarterback of the football team, he is shown kissing and falling onto the couch with the head cheerleader. From the beginning of this movie we are shown the lifestyle and the personalities of the “jocks” as being more pristine and outgoing while being in need of social attention.

The “nerds” on the other hand, all they wanted throughout the movie was to be socially accepted and treated with equality by their peers. Although this is was tremendously difficult for the for the “nerds” to reach because of the way they were very distinguishable from the popular social status of the “jocks.” The “nerds” were presented as more intellectual, socially awkward, more sensitive, and physically weaker than the “jocks.” In the very first scene of the movie Gilbert’s sensitive side is shown (which was extremely rare for any of the “jocks” in this movie) by him being nervous or worried about leaving his mother while he goes to college. Additionally, in the first scene at the college, Gilbert and Louis, the two main “nerds” are shown having trouble lifting a dresser and repeatedly having trouble moving it by being clumsy and they were always in the way of someone else ultimately being a nuisance to the other students. Instead of drinking and lifting weights as the “jocks” did on their free time, the “nerds” played chess, made robots, and played video games. The appearance of the “nerds” was much different than that of the “jocks.” The “nerds” were dressed in the pen protector shirts with of course the supply of pens, “high water” pants with the occasional overalls , and the thick pairs of glasses; compared to the “jock’s” letterman jackets and polo shirts with the khaki pants. The dialect of the “nerds” was far more sophisticated and intellectual; they also constantly spoke using abbreviations and acronyms for things. The names of the characters were extremely different between the two stereotypes. Names such as Betty and Stanley were used for the head cheerleader and the quarterback, but names such as Gilbert and Point Dexter were used for two of the “nerd” characters. These characteristics are the extreme features of the two stereotypes and they were highly exaggerated throughout the movie. Even the way Gilbert, Louis, and Louis’ dad laughed was highly exaggerated to sound “nerd” like.

The approach the two groups took to overcome/triumph or dominate/oppress the other varied greatly. The latter of two carried out by the “jocks” and dominated the “nerds” through a series of physical strength, popularity, and good looks.  For example, the “jocks” used their physical strength to win the arm wrestling competition and to destroy the “nerds” house. They used their good looks and popularity when they had the kissing booth operating and Betty and Stanley are the heads of the Greek Council, which you earn by winning the homecoming rally. The “nerds” however used their wit and intelligence to overcome the “jocks.” One of the events in the homecoming rally was to complete a thirty lap race and after the completion of one of the laps they had to drink a beer. The “nerds” had a pill that prevented the effects of alcohol and Takashi won the race. Also, Lamar’s hobby of aerodynamics won him the javelin throw competition because he designed an exceptionally aerodynamic javelin that was accustom to his approach to the throw. What made them a “jock” or a “nerd” essentially helped them triumph.

Throughout the movie Takashi is presented as a foreign student from Japan. His extremely thick Asian accent, he didn’t understand how certain things worked such as poker, smoking, and drinking, and his actions (my roommate pointed out that he was taking shots out of a Saki shot glass and was wearing a headband with the Rising Sun of Japan’s flag on it) distinguished that he was Asian. But at the end of the movie when Takashi was operating the pie booth and when he was playing in the show he was wearing a feathered headdress and was dressed as a Native American. There was no reason for this. He was singled out to wear that because he was a little more dark-skinned than the others and he was foreign. He was dressed like a Native American and was assigned to play the gong!! A little bit ridiculous.

                                                        

Betty, the head cheerleader is what we would call a blonde bombshell. She is blonde, has big boobs, is thin, and is what the men want. Throughout the story there is an ongoing battle between Stanley, who is already with her, and Louis, who first gets rejected, but after trying relentlessly he finally goes to the moon with her and wins her over in the end.

The very first scene of the movie our ears are given the qualities of the “nerd” stereotype through the song, “Revenge of the Nerds” by The Rubinoos. As Gilbert and Louis are riding to the college for the first time this song is playing the background. Here is a verse from the song:

“We Wear Horn-Rimmed Glasses With A Heavy Duty Lens
button Down Shirts And A Pocket Full Of Pens
straight A Students, Teachers' Pets 

they Call Us Nerds But With No Regrets”

On the other hand, the ending song, “We are the Champions” by Queen, helps to exaggerate the triumph of the “nerds” over the “jocks”  

Would it be fair to call this a nerd-ploitation? From the very beginning the “nerds” were let down by the system; they went into college with a new state of mind thinking they weren’t going to be bullied and considered nerds, but they lost their dorms to the jocks and found themselves at the bottom of the social chain again. However, they did triumph over their oppressor. By gaining more and more confidence with each little battle they won, they were able to succeed over their oppressor and gain social acceptance by their peers by the end of the movie. A nerd would be the protagonist in a nerd-ploitation, just as an African American is the protagonist in a Blaxploitation film. The oppressor in a Blaxploitation film is the white male, while in this nerd-ploitation the oppressor and antagonist is the jock.

Even though the “nerds” triumph over the “jocks” by the end of the movie, it still gives a standard for what a “nerd” and what a “jock” is. This allows kids or people to classify others by these standards, which ultimately leads to bullying and the feeling of superiority over another person. If we want to minimize the amount of bullying and discrimination in U.S. we have to minimize the amount of exposure to these stereotypes, which comes at the responsibility of the media and Hollywood production.

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