Geek Girl: How this Netflix Series Portrays the Geek Clique
- Zara Feroz
- Jun 15, 2024
- 2 min read
Netflix is brimming with movies and tv shows that represent high school stereotypes in such a predictable format that it’s nothing short of a shock that people still continue to watch them in 2024. Geeks and nerds are pretty much standard cliques represented in high school movies and tv series.
But let’s see how this representation has been tackled in a recent British show called Geek Girl, which premiered on May 30th this year. Geek Girl is an adaptation of the book series written by British author Holly Smale and currently includes one season.
Rochelle Harrington and Emily Carey in Geek Girl
Harriet Spanners, the main female character of the show is an outcast at her preppy high school attended by a population of spoiled kids and bullies. The actress Emily Carey that plays this role of science enthusiast and fashion disaster, though, possesses stereotypical beauty queen traits- white, flawless skin, “medium-length strawberry-blonde hair,” “green eyes and lots of freckles”. So just like always, the white main character lands a competitive role while Nat (played by British/ Sri-Lankan actress Rochelle Harrington, her best friend that’s been dreaming of becoming a model all her life gets sidelined and swept aside.
Harriet Spanners chosen as the new face of Yuji Lee’s brand
The premise of Harriet’s discovery by the modelling agency known as Infinity is that people do not see her as model-material. In fact Wilbur Evans picks her on the basis of her quirky awkwardness because he aims to please his client, the famous Yuji Lee who is looking for a fresh face to present her new fashion line. Importantly, Harriet was chosen because Wilbur believed that she possesses Yuji Lee’s “essence,” which appears to mean that she has a certain uniqueness to her.
Geek Girl attempts to illustrate the struggles of students that are labelled as geeks and nerds, but eventually suggests that they must achieve materialistic success in order to relabel themselves as “cool” and “acceptable.” Harriet feels the need to completely transform her identity in order to gain social rewards in the form of recognition and attention, which certainly isn’t the best message to give young girls watching this series.