Freaks and Geeks

Chesney Olson

Mr. Reints

Sociology

14 January 2020

Freaks and Geeks Blog

            Throughout the pilot episode, we were able to meet several different groups of people. There were the geeks, who were the smart yet awkward students; the freaks, who were interested in much different things than what most others were, and they tended not to care about very much; the athletes, who were obviously the kids involved in sports and were good at them; the rich, popular, who were kids who came from families with a lot of money; the adults, who were the parents, teachers, coaches, etc.; and then there were some people who were kind of in between different groups. There was definitely some things that caused dysfunction between the groups because in our world, all different kinds of people are bound to interact with one another, a lot of times causing conflict. For example, throughout the entire episode, the little boy (brother of Lindsey) that was considered a geek was constantly bullied by a boy of the (what I considered) freak group. The freak chose to bully the geek because, well, he was a geek. The freak recognizes the differences between him and the geek, and instead of accepting these differences, he decided to dislike them and turn it into a bullying situation. Another example involved Lindsey. She was probably at first part of the geek category because throughout we learned that she had been a mathlete and got good grades. She also was a part of the rich category because we also learned throughout the episode that her parents had a good amount of money. However, she was interested in a boy (or possibly boys) of the freak category. Because of this, she was willing to drop some aspects of her function that she was used to and good at in order to join the freak function. This caused dysfunction in both the freak and geek categories. Some of the freaks were not able to accept this new person into their function because she was so different from them. Likewise, the geeks were a bit shaken because one of their own had basically just given up on them and all that they believed in. Lindsey decided not to join the mathletes, skipped class, and grades may be slipping. There were several other examples throughout the show that suggested dysfunction between the groups because certain people were not willing to accept others or someone was trying to fit in a place where they did not belong.

            In this episode, power is somewhat distributed between different groups for different reasons. The freaks had power over the geeks because they obviously had more confidence, while the geeks were very weak and didn’t stand up for themselves. This is why the little geek boy is able to get bullied by a freak because the freak has power over the geek. This is somewhat the same in the situation of Lindsey. The freaks have power over her because if she does not conform to the ways of the freaks, she won’t get the boy that she likes. Obviously the adults have a good amount of power because they are older and have the responsibility of watching over the kids. The adults use this power to try and guide kids in the direction that is best for them. In almost every situation, even in this episode, the popular, rich kids have a lot of power because people think so highly of them. They have everything that others want: money and “fame”. Therefore, people are always aiming to please these popular or rich kids because they are either searching to gain something from them or are intimidated by them.

            One symbol in this episode is when one of the freaks showed Lindsey his set of drums. The set of drums not only represented a way to calm the freak, but also showed Lindsey that this boy cared about her. Showing her what makes him feel better was a way to say that he is there for her and is comfortable around her. Another symbol was the little geek’s jacket that the cheerleader gave back to him. To the geeks, it wasn’t just a kind gesture; it was an action that showed or proved that the cheerleader liked the geek because she must have remembered it was his and was thinking about him.
            These theories are definitely present in my own life. There are several functions within our school that interact. I could say that I am part of the geek function since I strive to get good grades and can be considered smart. I could also be part of the athlete function because I play several sports. This just shows that a person can be a part of several different functions. There is also conflict caused when a person of a certain function disrupts another function. For example, sometimes music events conflict with sporting events, creating dysfunction between the people of these groups. There are also a lot of symbols throughout my life as well. My friend and I have matching tatoos that symbolize our everlasting friendship. I have a special blanket that represents my home. There are small symbols like this everywhere throughout peoples' lives.