"The Intellectual Shaming Hypothesis" or "My Issue With 'The Big Bang Theory' in 1200 Words"

For the last decade or so, a fever has been spreading across the country and the world in general, reaching borderline pandemic proportions. Whether you know it or not, you've probably been affected by it at some point in your life. Some of the symptoms include a new-found mainstream acceptance for what was once considered a detrimental lifestyle, a slight decline in the dominance of the myo-centric male in society, and the record-breaking profits of a multi-billion dollar industry of fandom. I'm talking, obviously, about the nerd acceptance movement of the new millennium.

Now, I'm not here to criticize society's overuse of the term "nerd." Nor am I here to debate whether every girl who wears a pair of thick-rimmed glasses that they paid $400 for or every guy who's bought a "Green Lantern" dvd and a Walking Dead shirt on sale at Walmart is a self-proclaimed "nerd" or not. I'm not even here to discuss whether a panty raid is a particularly effective way for a "nerd" to take revenge or not. I'm simply here to cite an opinion on one particular issue:

CBS's "The Big Bang Theory."

Now, hear me out before you immediately write me off as a pretentious comedy snob on the everything-that-is-popular-is-made-by-and-for-hacks bandwagon. That is an accurate description of me, but at least wait until the end of this post to decide so for yourself. I will not stoop to saying that the show isn't funny just to prove a point. To be honest, the show does make me laugh, and they definitely have some smart writers (or at least smart consultants). I love a good reference to Occam's Razor or Schrodinger's Cat or the Large Hadron Collider as much as the next one-time-or-another science major. There's some funny jokes and interesting story arcs. Let the record show that I do enjoy it, to some extent. I just have one very specific problem though, and that is the way that the show itself treats the character of Sheldon Cooper.

Sheldon is almost inhumanely intelligent. The man is a doctoral degree holder who studies and researches theoretical physics for a living. He is also more than adequately knowledgeable on any objective subject from mathematics to biology to chemistry to astronomy. He has put so much time and effort in his life to conquering scientific knowledge that he has sacrificed his development of any form of social skills. He has developed many ticks and obsessive compulsions, and also borders on Asperger's territory. Sheldon is the poster boy for what every person who's ever dreamed of being a scientist aspires to be. He is the embodiment of academia. He is strong-willed and doesn't back down against other people's opinions because he knows the facts to back his own ideas up. His brain functions with 100% of its capacity for logic at all times. He's a modern day Spock, if Vulcans had less emotion. He is an intellectual Superman.

And herein lies my problem: why does a show with a lead character that embodies all these traits resonate with the average TV watching American? He's not relatable to the blue collar red state family, so how is he the focal point of one of the most popular shows in the last few decades of network television. He's an elitist intellectual with a passion for knowledge and a great disdain for those who refuse to learn or accept facts. And in the eyes of the show, none of that matters. He is a weirdo. He's out of step with society. He does things strangely. What kind of asshole can only sit on one side of a couch? Even within his own group of close friends, he is constantly the butt of the joke. Essentially, he's almost the antagonist of the show, which brings me to my hypothesis: the "Big Bang Theory" is so goddamn popular because, even as accepting as we like to pretend we are these days, America still loves to point their fingers and laugh at nerds. A lot.

Which brings me to Penny. In my eyes, Penny is the antagonist of the show. She is dumb. She's proud of being dumb. God forbid she accidentally learned something while talking to Sheldon. Can you imagine? The nerve of that man when he thoroughly explains something to her that she asked him about it the first place! Who does he think he his, bogging her down with all boring and cumbersome information? And yet, she's not the villain. She is the hero. She is the relatable character. She is the lens through which the average American views the world of the show, annoyed by Sheldon, laughing at his eccentric idiosyncrasies. She embodies the thought in the back of your head that harasses Sheldon for only allowing himself to only sit at one end of the couch. It's not an unfortunate set of neuroses he's developed, he's just a weird pompous dick who dislikes change.

The thing that really lead me to identify my problem with the show, however, comes from a different show entirely. On the NBC-turned-Yahoo series "Community," we find a character with very similar attributes. Abed Nadir is a film student/graduate at Greendale Community College, who also happens to have obsessive compulsions, a complete lack of understanding of commonplace social interactions, and is, how would you say it in a politely correct way?... a bit spectrum-y. Two very similar characters on paper, but two very different characters in the way they are treated by their respective shows. Whereas Sheldon is the punchline, Abed is the sympathic character. When Sheldon is put down, an overused laugh track tells you that he his in the wrong, and that you are obviously better than him. When someone ridicules Abed, you feel for him, and whomever wronged him spends the rest of the episode trying to right their wrong, and if they don't, you, the viewer, feel even worse about it.

For me, that's the correct way to present these characters. Dan Harmon, creator of "Community," has the right perspective. Jeff Winger, the cool handsome guy every man wants to be, comes off as the fool. He is hindered by his bravado, not lauded for it. Jeff is the problem, but finds ways to rectify and improve himself based on his experiences with Abed. Penny is the problem, but Sheldon's attempts to captivate her with knowledge are blown off, as if they were burdens on her. Jeff and Penny are the problems. The key difference? Harmon lets Jeff solve his problematic self, whereas Chuck Lorre encourages Penny to continue in her ways and torment any geek in her path. And that is my hypothesis as to why "Community" faced a potential firing squad of network executives and the end of each season, and "The Big Bang Theory" continues to churn out record breaking numbers. Because in the end, the Jock vs Nerd wars of the past may not be quite as reconciled as we like to think they are.

So remember kids, if you grow up resenting those who possess the ability to think instead of working towards such a mindset yourself, one day you can be a huge success, too!