Stanley Cohen - 'Moral Panic'

Cohen - 'The media overreacts to an aspect of behavior'

This quote is extremely relevant to my study group, as everything nerds are known to do is blown out of proportion in TV programmes such as 'The IT Crowd' and 'The Big Bang Theory'. For example, one of the main characteristics of a nerd is their ability to become obsessed with collecting things, whether it be cards, costume or comic books. The characters in 'The Big Bang Theory' take this obsession to a whole new level. All of the main four characters value their comic books so highly that the comic books themselves often cause rifts between members of the group. They keep some comic books in 'mint' condition without even opening them and reading them, and these certain comic books alone are high in value. Sheldon actually has a safe dedicated to the storage of comic books. The characters visit the comic book store once or twice a week to buy new comic books. They spend hours searching the shelves and value the comic books that only they possess extremely highly. Lorre and Prady have clearly identified this characteristic of a nerd and exaggerated it to add comedic value. This is a perfect example of the overreaction that the media causes, which in this case is their portrayal of the characters.

Another example from the same programme would be Raj's inability to speak to women at all. Nerds are known to lack social skills, especially around the opposite sex, but this usually is shown through lack of eye contact and a general sense of shyness around them. Never have I personally seen someone who has a complete inability to actually physically speak to a woman. This is the exact characteristic that Lorre and Prady have installed upon the character Raj. He suffers from an extreme social anxiety disorder and can't physically speak to woman unless he is drunk. This is one of the main sources of comedy for the programme, as when he is confronted in any way by woman, he turns around and walks away from them. 'The Big Bang Theory' have taken this characteristic of a nerd and exposed it to huge levels of exaggeration to further enhance the comedic value of the programme.

The television programme 'The IT Crowd' also provides examples relevant to the quote, and are included by Graham Linehan to, once again, create comedy. Moss and Roy are situated in the basement, and have an extremely high knowledge of computers. Firstly, nerds are known to be socially awkward, and in some films they are portrayed to be too scared to go outside or see the sunlight (Benchwarmers). The head of the company has placed the IT Crowd in the basement as he feels that's where they belong as they are classed as strange compared to the other workers who don't specialise in IT. This is an exaggeration that has been included in the programme and it supports the quote that I have chosen by Cohen further. Another overreaction is included through the Moss and Roy's knowledge of computers. They don't have a knowldge that has never been seen before from a nerd, but they are the only two people in the building who know anything about computers. They receive calls for help by workers who cannot figure out how to turn their computer on, an this is usually because the computer is not plugged in. Through including these types of features, Linehen has made nerds look like they are the only ones who know anything about this type of technology, and it puts across the message that they are the so called 'leaders' of this area.