Marvin C. Pittman - Forces of Geek

General

All Hail MALEFICENT, My Favorite Dragon Lady

I won’t lie: Few things make me die of boredom faster than a dark re-imagining of a fairy tale. That’s what I thought when...

Marvin C. PittmanFebruary 6, 2014

General

12 YEARS and Six Generations A Slavery Survivor

I saw the outstanding film 12 Years A Slave the other night, after weeks and weeks of delay. While long days at work and...

Marvin C. PittmanJanuary 23, 2014

General

Drawn This Way: Sexiness and Sexism in Female Superhero Characters

For those of you who know me or have read this column for a while, you know that I like my superhero comics. I’ve...

Marvin C. PittmanJanuary 2, 2014

General

Kringles In The Hot Tub, Christmas On The Radio

Have you ever been hit on by Mrs. Claus? I have. Nothing says Christmas like Mrs. Claus asking me if I’ve been naughty with...

Marvin C. PittmanDecember 20, 2013

General

Funeral For A Blerd: The End of Totally Biased

Wednesday last week, I felt a great disturbance in the Blerd Force, as if millions of black nerds suddenly cried out in terror and...

Marvin C. PittmanNovember 21, 2013

General

Fire Up The Geekmobile…

The road is hard. The road is tough. There’s no question that it’s rough, tough stuff. I didn’t really know the meaning of that...

Marvin C. PittmanNovember 7, 2013

General

Halloween’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Tries To Remove Your Furry Legs

Halloween is finally upon us, and I’m already pretty Halloweened out. Some of you dear readers may remember how my wife and I are...

Marvin C. PittmanNovember 1, 2013

General

Why No Black Women on SNL? Kenan, Don’t Be Absurd (For Once)

Kenan, Kenan, Kenan. What hast thou wrought? In case you missed it, Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson stepped into the issue of...

Marvin C. PittmanOctober 24, 2013

General

Janelle Monáe, Miley Cyrus and the Sexy Song You Never Heard

There was this provocative song that debuted over the summer. It’s full of booty bass and slithery swagger, rude boasts and sexual bravado. Dripping...

Marvin C. PittmanOctober 10, 2013

General

Pimped-Out Geekiness: Dressing Like the Baddest Nerd Alive

I started a new job recently. It’s going pretty well, and I’m happy that I got to stay in my current state of Connecticut...

Marvin C. PittmanSeptember 26, 2013

General

Holy Geek Outrage, Batman!

These past few days, I have been embarrassed for my geek brethren. See, I am very used to being the only black face in...

Marvin C. PittmanAugust 29, 2013

General

Bring Me The Bonkers, Geek Movies

Man, it’s tough being Pacific Rim. The giant monsters-versus-giant robots adventure yarn has everything you could ask for in a movie about giant monsters...

Marvin C. PittmanAugust 15, 2013

General

Jay Z Raps About Success, Riches — And Anxiety

If there’s one thing about my black nerd life that typically means I don’t fit in with mainstream ideas of what it means to...

Marvin C. PittmanAugust 1, 2013

General

Melissa McCarthy and The Comedy of Awful

A suspected drug dealer and pimp is fleeing from a cop in pursuit. You’ve got your classic cop movie stuff: the street interview, the...

Marvin C. PittmanJuly 3, 2013

General

Racial Insensitivity When The Race Isn’t Real

I like fantasy stuff as much as the next guy. Swords, castles, dragons, battles, flowing robes and armor, trolls and elves and wizards? Yes,...

Marvin C. PittmanJune 20, 2013

General

For The Love Of Superman

I’ve got Superman on the brain, folks. While I am more widely known as a Batman devotee, I enjoy the Last Son of Krypton...

Marvin C. PittmanJune 6, 2013

General

I Weep For Cobra

There were many crimes committed in G.I. Joe: Retaliation, despite the nice 3D. And yes, while we all expected the movie to be stupid,...

Marvin C. PittmanMay 23, 2013

General

I Need To Know

I love knowledge. When it comes to knowing things, I love it. Lucky for me, I became pretty good at it. No wonder I’m...

Marvin C. PittmanMay 9, 2013

General

It’s the End of the World, and I Love It

I saw Oblivion recently. It was pretty good, but then pretty much had to see it despite Tom Cruise starring in it. Oblivion was...

Marvin C. PittmanApril 25, 2013

General

Fanboy Convergence in Pop Culture’s Nerd World Order

I have a very easy home life as a nerd. My wife also is a nerd, and we like a lot of the same...

Marvin C. PittmanApril 11, 2013

General

Artsy, Jockish, Brainy, Geeky

As I have dug through my identity as a nerd, as a black man, and where they intersect (and don’t), I have hit upon...

Marvin C. PittmanMarch 28, 2013

General

This Blerd Dances Alone

I broke one of my general rules last weekend, and went to a nightclub. But it’s different when it’s a Latin nightclub, right? A...

Marvin C. PittmanMarch 14, 2013

General

Back to the Drawing Board

I keep to myself a lot. Despite the appearance of knowing many people and being all up in the party scene, more times than...

Marvin C. PittmanFebruary 28, 2013

General

Black Hipstery, A Little Bit

Oh, if I could be a black hipster. I laugh at Portlandia, so maybe I’m close? I’m already a black nerd, and there’s a...

Marvin C. PittmanFebruary 14, 2013