Napoleon Dynamite Essay

O’Brien, 1
Jett O’Brien
Professor Colin Enriquez
English 101
23 March 2017

Essay 3
Napoleon Dynamite is one of the best movies portraying loneliness and nerds. It is the story of Napoleon in high school and his lonely adventures. All the main characters feel separated, misunderstood, and have nobody to relate to. Napoleon has no friends and lives in his own fantasy land. He is avoided by everybody. His brother seems to be mislead, wanting to be a cage fighter but staying home all the time hopelessly trying to find love and attention on the internet. Their grandmother is never there for them, though she lives her own life right beside them. They live next to a huge field, reinforcing their isolation. Practically every home in the film is

shown secluded. Their Uncle Rico lives in a trailer, alone, he is depicted as deserted, and focuses only on the past. Pedro is latin and barely understandable, strangely attired, and an outsider. In the movie Napoleon Dynamite by Jared Hess, nerds are portrayed in a unique and different way. To be convinced by my claim, the first thing a reader needs to know is that loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation or lack of companionship. If you have seen the movie you know Napoleon has many unpleasant emotional responses throughout the movie. What comes to mind when you think of a nerd? A pale, skinny, ugly, zit faced teen with run-down clothing . To add to that he is likely to be very smart, lacks friends, and socially out of place. This is the misleading generalization of a common nerd to many people in today’s world.

If what I said above comes to mind when you think of a nerd then your definition of a nerd is very limited.

This definition is everywhere on TV and movies. The main characters fit the stereotypes perfectly, from consistent conflict with the muscle heads to the scandalous panty strike. They are math and PC masters and they prefer chess over sports. The Wikipedia definition of nerd defines it as a person who avidly pursues intellectual activities, technical or scientific endeavors, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests, rather than engaging in more social or conventional activities. The nerds in Napoleon Dynamite do not fit all of these descriptions. They have redefined the definition and have broaden the image of a nerd. In the movie the nerds are: Napoleon, Pedro, Kip, and Deb. Each has their own unique version of being a nerd. To start, Napoleon is a white, to some degree fit, high-school student in Idaho. Napoleon sticks out in a crowd because of his odd choice in clothing.When he interacts with others his lack in social skills are easily noticed. His characteristics indicate he may easily be categorized as a nerd, yet Napoleon is not the cliché nerd. His fierce attitude makes him standout from most nerds. For example, his grandma asks “How was school?” Then he snaps back with, “The worst day of my life what do you think?” This is just one example of many of how Napoleon is not your typical nerd. The next “nerd” in the movie is Pedro. He is a quiet and Hispanic

new student who barely speaks English. His only friend is Napoleon and he is trying to run for school president. Pedro is short, has a thin mustache, and wears nice button down shirts with fading jeans that are held up by a belt with a big brown belt buckle. Pedro is unlike the stereotypical nerd just because of the fact that he is Hispanic. He demonstrates that nerds can be any race and that race doesn't play a factor in being a nerd. Another nerd in Napoleon Dynamite is Deb; a straight from the eighties, out of style teenager, who puts her pig tail to the side and sells handmade crafts and glamour shots. She is self conscious about her body and has no friends until she meets Napoleon and Pedro. Unlike Napoleon and Pedro, Deb is not confident and she does not try to be popular. This makes her more like a stereotypical nerd; however, the fact that she is a girl definitely makes her unique. Napoleon’s brother Kip maybe the closest thing to a nerd. He is scrawny, white, big glasses, and wears long socks. He spends hours each day chatting his girlfriends on the internet. The only problem is that he is thirty two years only. Most nerds in movies, are either in highschool or college. Kip is another example of breaking the nerd barrier and how nerds can be any age.

Now, why does this matter?

What would changing the definition of nerd do to anyone? First, the general definition of being a nerd has been engraved in everybody’s brains. This definition has the image is a white skinny boy with glasses and doesn't play sports. This boy usually hangs out by themselves or with other nerds. There are real people that are like this in the world and that definition directly affects their life. All the movies and TV shows out there that
depict nerds how I described them are just reinforcing that definition and basically making it permanent. Second, when kids grow up seeing how nerds are depicted and that they get made fun of, it will make them not want to be like that. But, in reality nerds are the real winners. Nerds will be the happy ones with the stable job and bright future. We do not want our future kids growing up with this image of nerds in their head. One could say that nerds have been seen like this since the beginning and that hasn't affected how kids grow up. Lastly, if a kid that looks like the stereotypical nerd and he gets treated like one he will brand himself like a nerd. That could wouldn’t be able to reach his full potential if he feels mistreated or

lonely.

In the end, Napoleon, Pedro, Deb, and Kip each help redefine the term “nerd” in Napoleon Dynamite. They are not the typical nerds we see on TV, but rather very different nerds. The redefining of this word allows us to get rid of all the stereotypes we may be used to. The term should not be taken as a negative insult, but rather a classification of somebody. Nerds are everywhere and will always be around, impacting our world. Rather than make a mistake and misjudge somebody, think about what I have said and you will see there are many nerds, but none should be limited to an inaccurate stereotype.