Can Pop Culture Save the Nerds?

TV Portrayals of the Smart and Awkward Are Nicer, But What Is Their Impact?

 

On TV, the nerds have traditionally played the role of sidekick or butt of the jokes: Screech Powers and Steve Urkel were better known for their unrequited crushes and awkward fashion statements than for their brains. But now the tables have turned, and sometimes it seems like the universe, both real and fictional, belongs to the nerds. Perhaps nowhere is that more true than on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory, where hyper-intelligent geeks find success in the lab and in love. In advance of a Zócalo event with Mayim Bialik, …