Friday, December 5, 2008
News Nerdcore rises at Plaza Theatre
Posted by Curt Holman @Curt_Holman on Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Hyper-verbal geeks in big glasses and neckties may descend on The Plaza Theatre at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Dec. 5, for a screening of of Nerdcore Rising. The documentary explores the fringe artistic community of so-called "nerdcore" hip-hop, which amounts to white guys rapping about geeky subject matter like role-playing games and Internet porn. One fan says "Nerdcore is like playing Halo while getting a blowjob from Hello Kitty." Director Negin Farsad follows pioneering nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot and his band on their first modest tour, and strikes gold with the quirky cast of characters, each of whom apparently has a Chewbacca impression.
Nerdcore Rising's loose structure and light-hearted approach touch on reasons why "nerds" tend to retreat into their own intellects even as the Internet fosters feelings of solidarity. The film even delves into knotty discussions over whether nerdcore is another example of white musicians appropriating an African-American art form. Nerdcore Rising lacks the compelling conflict of the Donkey Kong doc The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, but offers a similar portrait of an obsessive subculture. I gave it three stars when I reviewed its screening at this year's Atlanta Film Festival. Here's a fairly slick, animated video of MC Frontalot's song "Bizarro Genius Baby:"
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