In this video essay I argue that because of the mainstreaming of once ‘nerdy’ subcultures during the early 2000s, cis het white male nerds, who tied their entire ‘oppressed’ identity to their geeky niche interests, were especially vulnerable to alt-right political ideology, as the properties they knew and loved came under widespread scrutiny.

And how once everyone was a self proclaimed nerd, no one was.

Timestamps:
Content Note 0:00
Intro and Thesis 0:14
Part 1: What is a Nerd? 1:13
Part 2: The Plight of the White Male Nerd 8:18
Part 3: Mainstreaming of Nerd Culture and the Loss of the Nerd Identity 13:19
Part 4: The Nerd to Fascist Pipeline 17:50
Conclusion 28:53

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Videos Mentioned:

Innuendo Studios - How to Radicalize a Normie
   • The Alt-Right Playbook: How to Radica...  

Innuendo Studios - The Alt-Right Playbook
   • The Alt-Right Playbook: Introduction  

Non Compete - The Pewdie Pipeline
   • The PewDiePipeline: how racist humor ...  

Sarah Z - The Rise and Fall of Geek Culture
   • The Rise and Fall of Geek Culture  

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Music (in order they appear):
all music is from the YouTube Audio Library

Prelude No. 4 - Chris Zabriskie
   • Prelude No. 4 - Chris Zabriskie  

Comfortable Mystery 2 - Film Noire - Kevin MacLeod
   • Comfortable Mystery 2 - Film Noire