Jaimie Alexander’s appearance on Kimmel last week got us to thinking (even before she got pissed at me for poking fun at it): why is it that hot actresses so often seem to feel the need to prove their nerd bona fides? And why is it that that so often means liking Star Wars? It’s not so much that we doubt these women are actually into the “nerdy” stuff they say they’re into, more a question of why that’s always the first thing that comes up in an interview. Our video editor, Oliver, explores the phenomenon in his latest mash-up.
I’d say the interviewers, the interviewees, publicists, lame press tours as a whole, and the ever-predictable internet nerds (yes, us) are all equally to blame. Just post a mildly attractive chick in a slave Leia costume and BOOM! The easiest web traffic walk-off home run you’ll ever hit (and yes, I know from experience). Which brings us to our next question: Is liking Star Wars even nerdy anymore? If you’re reading Star Wars fan fiction I could see, but at this point, it seems like saying you don’t like the original Star Wars is a far more blasphemous statement. Not to mention, most of the girls in the video were born after the first Star Wars came out. Thus saying you’re a nerd for liking Star Wars is a bit like claiming to be a huge geek because you like Led Zeppelin. It’s already been culturally validated. So maybe we can put the whole “I like Star Wars I’m a huge nerd!” thing to bed now. And if a pretty girl is into geek stuff, let’s stop demanding that they prove it. Go ahead, be girly, we don’t mind. No harm, no foul. And don’t worry, we can understand why you did it. After all, who here wasn’t at least a little turned on by Rosario Dawson (who does seem entirely genuine, by the way) spouting klingon at the end there? I tell you, I’ll masturbate to this, but I won’t be happy about it.
UPDATE: If you wandered in here from Google or Twitter because the “Geek Girls” wanted to grandstand about what a sexist I am, here’s my response.