1. Nerd Cred
This is what its all about, right? I used to despair when I heard people reference Star Trek TOS (The Original Series for those not in the know) episode numbers or reference boring, cerebral science fiction novels that I could never bring myself to read. Given my adequate social skills and conventional hair color, can I really be a nerd, will they ever accept me? Then I realized that I am passionately devoted to a guy who wrote pulp fiction stories in the early 20th century. What can be more nerdy than that? And Lovecraft fans are intense. Devotees gather at his grave each Halloween for a séance. We sit for 8 hour sessions of
Arkham Horror, a board game based on Lovecrafts writing in which everyone usually dies. And some, like me, jeopardize romantic relationships by planning a summer vacation that involves finding houses Lovecraft lived in or wrote about in Providence. But there are two things that Lovecraft nerd-dom brings that other forms of devotion dont. First is esoteric knowledge (how appropriate). Everyone has seen Prometheus, and discussed how it relates to Alien. The revival of comic book movies means most people have read a Batman graphic novel, or at least know they exist. And thanks to Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings is as mainstream as Harry Potter, and fodder for attempts to gain nerd cred through Tolkien references (as one DC defense contractor has done). But who really knows Lovecraft? People may giggle at the Cthulhu plush doll on my desk or have fun playing
Cthulhu Gloom. But everyone mispronounces Cthulhu--Lovecraft said it was khlul-loo not C-th-ool-oo although the latter seems to be the standard now--and most have only read one or two of his stories. You may not be able to cite every Dr. Who episode, but become a Lovecraft fan, and you will always win the obscurity contests. The other is your ability to contribute to debates over what constitutes canon. The release of Prometheus has generated significant debates over which Alien films are canon. James Cameron and Ridley Scott didnt like Alien vs. Predator, but does that mean Predators dont exist in the Prometheus world? Does dissatisfaction with the script of Alien 3 and the entire production of Alien: Resurrection mean those dont count? Who decides? Lovecraft fans can tell you. Lovecraft inspired numerous young writers who wrote Lovecraftian stories that mimicked his tone and themes, but also explicitly referenced his ancient gods. Some of these adaptations broke with Lovecrafts vision, like August Derleth creating a pantheon of good and evil gods. But Lovecraft fans did not attempt to reconcile Derleths work with Lovecrafts--like trying to reconcile the Weyland in Alien vs. Predator with the Weyland in Prometheus--or banish them from our collective subconscious. They accepted that Lovecraftian represents a series of themes and entities, rather than a strictly-ordered chronology of events. This flexibility has allowed Lovecraftian fiction to continue to the current day. Fans of Alien would do well to take note.
This is what its all about, right? I used to despair when I heard people reference Star Trek TOS (The Original Series for those not in the know) episode numbers or reference boring, cerebral science fiction novels that I could never bring myself to read. Given my adequate social skills and conventional hair color, can I really be a nerd, will they ever accept me? Then I realized that I am passionately devoted to a guy who wrote pulp fiction stories in the early 20th century. What can be more nerdy than that? And Lovecraft fans are intense. Devotees gather at his grave each Halloween for a séance. We sit for 8 hour sessions of Arkham Horror, a board game based on Lovecrafts writing in which everyone usually dies. And some, like me, jeopardize romantic relationships by planning a summer vacation that involves finding houses Lovecraft lived in or wrote about in Providence. But there are two things that Lovecraft nerd-dom brings that other forms of devotion dont. First is esoteric knowledge (how appropriate). Everyone has seen Prometheus, and discussed how it relates to Alien. The revival of comic book movies means most people have read a Batman graphic novel, or at least know they exist. And thanks to Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings is as mainstream as Harry Potter, and fodder for attempts to gain nerd cred through Tolkien references (as one DC defense contractor has done). But who really knows Lovecraft? People may giggle at the Cthulhu plush doll on my desk or have fun playing Cthulhu Gloom. But everyone mispronounces Cthulhu--Lovecraft said it was khlul-loo not C-th-ool-oo although the latter seems to be the standard now--and most have only read one or two of his stories. You may not be able to cite every Dr. Who episode, but become a Lovecraft fan, and you will always win the obscurity contests. The other is your ability to contribute to debates over what constitutes canon. The release of Prometheus has generated significant debates over which Alien films are canon. James Cameron and Ridley Scott didnt like Alien vs. Predator, but does that mean Predators dont exist in the Prometheus world? Does dissatisfaction with the script of Alien 3 and the entire production of Alien: Resurrection mean those dont count? Who decides? Lovecraft fans can tell you. Lovecraft inspired numerous young writers who wrote Lovecraftian stories that mimicked his tone and themes, but also explicitly referenced his ancient gods. Some of these adaptations broke with Lovecrafts vision, like August Derleth creating a pantheon of good and evil gods. But Lovecraft fans did not attempt to reconcile Derleths work with Lovecrafts--like trying to reconcile the Weyland in Alien vs. Predator with the Weyland in Prometheus--or banish them from our collective subconscious. They accepted that Lovecraftian represents a series of themes and entities, rather than a strictly-ordered chronology of events. This flexibility has allowed Lovecraftian fiction to continue to the current day. Fans of Alien would do well to take note.