Avatar photoSteven Savage

Why Archie Is Hip

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http://www.salon.com/2014/10/25/how_archie_went_from_dull_to_daring_the_worlds_tamest_comic_series_is_now_our_most_groundbreaking/

Best summary I heard “In Riverdale Anything Can Happen.”

I think there’s something to that. Archie in concept is tethered to certain ideas and characters who are archetypical. This in some ways is limiting, but as the characters are about very human situations, it is a human tether.  Archie’s situations are human ones – love, school, life, death, food (especially in the case of Jughead).

But because Archie has this tether, you can then go hog wild with it in a way. It always has a ground, so go nuts.  Team Archie up with the Punisher, have him fight Predator, explore alternate timelines, create the Legion of Archie.  Whatever works – Archie and company are still themselves.

In turn the series own limited focus – wholesome teams in their rather nice town – provides a limitation.  In some ways the best thing to do is go a bit nuts – and you can, as you have themes to work with and return to.

Finally the human-humorous grounding gives you fertile ground to experiment. The message of Riverdale is “Everyone belongs,” as we’ve seen with the groundbreaking Kevin Keller.  Everyone is a pretty wide berth to experiment with.

Glad to meet the new Archie, same as the old Archie, a difference we can all be glad is the same.

 

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Skin In The Game

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Trust requires sacrifice.  Someone has to be willing to give something up to be trusted. It’s a mixture of vulnerability, giving, economics, and communication.

Society is built around people making some sacrifices for the greater good – essentially as you cooperate you get more than you give.  Everyone builds trust by putting “Skin In The Game.”

But there’s always that desire to have no ties, no obligation, to be outside of the system.  It’s that dream – always unattainable, of being “separate.”  It never comes true, but people will build walls and castles and countries just to hope to have a bit of it.

When you want to be separate, you don’t want to put skin in the game.  Escaping that need is the very goal.  When you do that, how can you be trusted?

 
– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.

Geek Catalog Update 10/20/2014

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And here’s the latest update on the Geek Catalog.  Be sure to check out the ever-growing lists for Geek Focus or Community Focus.

Comics

  • Education
    • Reading With Pictures – A nonprofit advocating using comics in the classroom to promote literacy and education. Researches comics and their role, collaborates with artists for content, and partneres with educators.
    • The Comic Book Project – A literacy program that gets young people involved in creating comics to boost skills, awreness, and engagement.

Computing

  • Education
    • Hack The Hood – A nonprofit that helps low-income youth of colors into tech careers by having them build websites for businesses in their communities, teaching them both technology and business skills.
  • Female Geeks

STEM

  • Education
    • Stated Clearly – Stating science simply to make the facts clear – and counter misinformation.

Video Games

  • Charitable Work
    • Gaming For Others – Raises money via grueling gaming marathons. They push themselves for money – for others!

Writing

  • Books
    • Book Harvest – Collects used books and distributes them to children in need.
    • The Book Bus – The Book Bus gets books to people who’d normally not have access to them in various countries around the world. They’re always expanding their focus, and do educational programs

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.