Conversation

When did the default hacker character in tv shows shift from awkward unattractive nerd guy to faux-awkward atttactive nerd girl? They don’t even bother putting nerd glasses on the characters anymore. Examples: Felicity in Arrow, Cable in Bull, Riley in MacGyver.
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Why would commercial entertainment producers do that kind of public service messaging? Plus the specific portrayals suggest that’s not the main reason the character developed. It was just a nice bonus.
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You’re assuming writerly intent is the primary causal force here. It is not, at least in mass visual media. It is marketability. Writer intent provides the variation. Producer/studio exec intent provides the natural selection.
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Writing in Hollywood is an extreme buyer’s market, and scripts that come in span the moral spectrum. Buyers can pick stories closest to what they think will sell, and tweak significantly using multiple rewriters/script doctors.
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