Why? Did you just ask me why?

Why is Beauty and the Geek humiliating, insulting, and detrimental to all of geekdom?

Because Richard is the kind of geek that geeks hate. Richard is to geeks what Paul Wolfowitz is to Jews.

This is the type of stereotype geeks have been trying to shake off since Louis first guffawed waaaaay back when.

Richard is NOT a geek. He's a dweeb. He's a dork. He's a misfit. He's kind of an ass. And he's definitely a NERD. But a geek? Never. Geeks have some semblance of pride in being who they are.

UPDATED:

In the movie American Splendor, Harvey and his friend Toby are discussing the movie Revenge of the Nerds. Toby loves the movie because he thinks it gives nerds much needed dignity. Harvey hates it because he thinks that, ultimately, the movie is only funny at the expense of nerds.

And that's how I feel about Beauty and the Geek. I don't feel that the show is celebrating American geeks; instead, it lampoons them. Sure, there are some funny moments. But they're not laughing with us, they're laughing at us.

The whole concept hinges upon the idea that geeks can't be happy being geeks because geeks can't get girls. So, we'll give them a make-over, make them "normal," and hey, maybe even get them laid.

And what of the "beauties?" What do they get out of the experience? As far as I can tell, they get to meet smart guys who are set to make a lot of money. And - even better - they get to work on them, as their own pet project and maybe they'll even land themselves a loyal - and rich - future hubby.

It's a glorified geek make-over show, where geek carries an inherently negative connotation. If the show's ultimate message were 'be true to thyself," I'd have no problem with it. But the show's entire attitude is that if geeks want to fit in, all they need to do is just stop being so...geeky.