Pixels vs. Armada

The commodification of nerd culture into the mainstream has brought with it both Jedi... and Sith, among us. In this case, I am speaking of Ernest Cline's "Armada" and Adam Sandler's "Pixels."

These are 2 pieces of art -- novel and film, respectively -- that draw upon the rich history of nerdy geekdom in similar stories. However, where one succeeds the other fails. Miserably. Horribly. It wasn't just a setback; it was a goddamn tragedy.

In Cline's novel, you're basically getting War Games meets Ender's Game, with a healthy dose of The Last Starfighter and Knights of the Old Republic to boot with smatterings of old-school games like Galaga, etc. The essential premise is that aliens misinterpret our intentions when we sent all those space-probes looking for life and we, in turn, grossly misinterpret their attempts to communicate with us such that a full-scale war breaks out requiring the help of Hero Protagonist in the guise of your prototypical small town gamer kid. The novel ends with revelations, space-based dogfights, and moments of tear-inducing sacrifice followed by justifiable accolades to the surviving heroes.

Conversely, in Sandler's film, we get the same thing: aliens, misunderstood intentions, combat, contests, revelations, sacrifices, and accolades. Only, Sandler tried to stick with just arcadia; just the games of your Golden Age arcade games (e.g. Pacman, Galaga, Centipede, Donkey Kong, etc.) and the lapse of gamers from that period in the modern day suddenly finding their once-useless skills suddenly catapulted to the most valuable necessity to Save Humanity.

Where Cline's novel works is because Cline is, undoubtedly, a geeky dork nerd to the nth degree. Sandler, on the other hand, used to be a somewhat funny gross bro comedian now turned sellout hack shilling for easy box-office bucks on the backs of sexism, homophobia, racism, and not-too-subtle subversion of any subject he can get his hands on. I mean, Sandler even looked gross in the movie -- all stereotypes of unwashed gamer dudes aside.

Yet, still to be fair Cline's novel was so short as to feel a bit rushed and Sandler's movie was visually stunning.

But my larger point is that nerd culture, much like the cultures of other groups, can be co-opted by the establishment for profit rather than enjoyment. Cline writes for nerds because he is a nerd and he loves our world. Sandler made a movie about nerds but that was really for yuppies with small children who liked Wreck-It Ralph. And the result shows it.

So, while I'll still patronize both camps, mostly because I'm a consumer in general, I don't intend to shell out money for both camps. Cline's work gets my cash and Sandler's just gets my passive time. Or, in simpler terms: I'm a Jedi who fucks with Sith on the side.