Geek/Dork/Nerd: Sith edition

The only reason Darth Vader can ever be considered a nerd is because of Rick Moranis and Dark Helmet.

Vader is clueless about the fact that he's, y'know, evil -- that's what makes him a nerd.

I don't know, MaryAnn...I think you might have Young Ani and Darth backwards. You say: "At those moments when I haven’t quite fully absorbed the paradigm shift that goes along with celebrating [The Dark Side of the Force], and I feel momentarily like a bit of a weirdo..." ...doesn't that pretty much sum up Lord Vader in a nutshell, especially given his eventual throwing-off of the shackles of Palpatine in Jedi? I think at that last moment, when his son removes his helmet for him and we see that he's gained some self-awareness at last and sheds the embarrassment of being Ultimate Evil for all those years...then he returns to the being a geek for his final moments. And honestly, I can't accept Young Ani as anything other than a nerd--he clearly doesn't know just how annoying he really is.

Vader most certainly knew he was evil, particularly by the end of ROTJ. If awareness-of-evil is the metric we're analogizing over, then pouty-Hayden-Christiansen-Anakin is the nerd, and Vader is the geek.

So perfect. And not just because I have an inappropriate crush on Anakin Skywalker. Now must go add Geek Philosophy to my links.

I care not about the dork or nerd, but please, oh please, let older Anakin be the geek... he's the only one that ever gets laid. If it's one of the other two we're doomed.

OK, I thought about this, and if we're making geekiness isomorphic to the Force, then ... - Obi-Wan is the geek. He's acting in a conscious, positive manner, and he's getting it right. - Vader is the dork. He knows he's turned, and that, ultimately, he's doing it all wrong. - (older) Anakin is the nerd. He thinks he's super-cool, and is totally unaware of how badly he's screwing up.

I think the older Vader, the one redeemed by Luke, is off the geek/dork/nerd scale... but in the years between -- you know, the ones that involve being on Tarkin's leash -- he's definitely a clueless nerd. And I think little Anakin's sincere desire to help Qui-Gon out of his predicament saves him from genuine nerdiness.

Maybe you should've not used Vader at all (Nice use of English, dork). I think the metaphor works best as Anakin's progression through eps I to III: Ani the nerd, Padawan Anakin the dork, Jedi Knight Anakin the geek. Although, another problem here is that at all levels, Anakin exhibits all three. (Of course, don't we all). Maybe Luke would have been a better choice. Altogether.