Let Geek Freedom Ring

This weekend, Americans are celebrating Independence Day, that yearly celebration of when the United States was born. July 4th, for me, has always been about BBQ, fireworks, and friends, all in the name of ringing in freedom for yet another birthday for America.

In geek media, freedom, or the theme of it, is a constantly prevalent and dare I say “sexy” concept around which to build. In many movies and shows we geeks enjoy, you can attribute freedom and those who fight for it as a way to build epic feeling and drama. Independence Day was a cheesy, yet lovable alien invasion film where Earth banded together to fight off seemingly invincible invaders with what essentially boiled down to a cold. Star Wars, one of the most treasured movie franchises among geekery, is all about the Rebel Alliance’s fight to free themselves from oppressive rule. The Matrix makes the world into a cage that is invisible and all-encompassing as a few remaining humans fight to be free from their machine enslavers.

What about games? Well, there are a multitude of titles even putting aside the historical ones such as Call of Duty that focus in on real events involving freedom. The second half of Final Fantasy VI put you into a role where you gather your companions to your banner to get out under the thumb of a mad, crazy villain. The world of Persona 3: FES is enslaved for one hour every day, during which only you and your friends may be able to fight for freedom from an encroaching supernatural evil. Shooters like Gears of War and Resistance focus on pushing away oppressive aliens.

Technology itself has also had themes of freedom behind it. Open source is all about allowing developers the freedom to pursue modifications and systems based upon sharing of code that anyone can deal with. Digital downloading and the rise and fall of sites like The Pirate Bay have led many to a meaningful discussion of distribution of media and how best to deal with copyright in the new Internet age. Last but not least, social media such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, not to mention blogs and blogging software, have come to the forefront as ways for people to share, communicate, and most of all, freely speak about whatever tickles their fancy.

All of this leads me to the idea that Bill Pullman, playing President Thomas Whitmore in Independence Day, had it right – freedom and independence is not an American thing, it’s a worldwide thing. Whether you watch movies that show it, games where you play to achieve it, or use technology to participate in it, freedom and geekery go hand in hand many times. I’m glad to say that at least for right now, geeks enjoy a kind of freedom on a level that is unprecedented, and I hope it continues. So whether you’re firing up the grill as an American or if as a non-American you’re shaking your head at the latest “American who blew off their limb” fireworks story, raise your drink and salute the fact that geek freedom is here, and that it is hopefully here to stay.

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