Darwin gathers for Geektacular cosplay occasion celebrating geek tradition

The pop cultural Zeitgeist was captivated by the latest Stanger Things finale, a long-awaited conclusion wrapping up the favored TV present that originally centred on a gaggle of nerdy youngsters taking part in Dungeons & Dragons.

The sci-fi smash hit shortly shot up the charts and have become some of the watched Netflix exhibits of all time, according to IMDb.

Has a surge within the recognition of this sort of media led to an uptick in geekiness, influencing how we really feel about nerd tradition?

The reply appears apparent among the many crowd of Darwinites who packed right into a suburban library on Saturday for this yr’s Geektacular — a celebration of geek tradition and the nerd group.

Cosplayers donning inventive costumes remodeled Casuarina Library right into a world of Ghostbusters, Na’vi, medieval knights and iconic animated characters.

The ABC attended the free group occasion with one burning query: is being a geek cool?

Boosting the recognition of geek occasions

Cosplay judges Shana Mcloughlin and Con Kosta Iliou — dressed respectively as music icon Prince and Sonic the Hedgehog villain Dr Robotnik — stated that they had observed a shift in attitudes surrounding geek tradition over time.

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“It’s definitely become more mainstream, a lot of people are getting into more geek things like gaming, Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, board games,” Ms Mcloughlin stated.

In response to questions on a perceived resurgence of geekiness, Mr Iliou stated the group was all the time there — even when it wasn’t cool to be a nerd.

“It’s never gone away for me, it’s always been something I loved,” he stated.

“There’s no maliciousness, it’s all about fun.”

Tucked right into a again room of the library, David Moore — the founding father of Darwin’s first e-sports league — ran a gaming part with PC video games, arcade machines and Mario Kart.

He stated geek tradition had advanced past a easy pastime and now introduced profession alternatives, together with his personal enterprise which was based on gaming.

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“I run gaming events as part of my business — so anyone can do it,” he stated.

“Just get on the market and do your factor; it is getting larger and higher.”

A welcoming group

Local Ghostbuster Tim Read had one simple message for anyone considering connecting with their local geek scene: “simply do it”.

“The group will embrace you,” he stated. 

“[As] cosplayers, we simply love with the ability to see folks’s arduous work of their costumes, [that’s] the place most of individuals’s pleasure is, on this artwork kind,” he stated.

Some of this weekend’s attendees introduced their complete household alongside; mother and father and kids alike dressed as much as rejoice shared pursuits.

“There’s lots of generational popular culture we will share — Doctor Who, Terry Pratchett, Red Dwarf,” native mother-of-three Jo stated.