community – My Geek Wisdom

“Because when you really know who you are and what you like about yourself, changing for other people isn’t such a big deal.”

From: Community

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Abed Nadir

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the geek cult comedy Community. Created by Dan Harmon, the show focuses on the Greendale Community College and a specific study group of six eccentric personalities. The show has become a geeky cult classic and fans may have gotten their six seasons… but we’re still screaming for six seasons and a movie.

The quote comes from the 17th episode of the 1st season, Physical Education. When the group finds out that one of their classmates has a crush on Abed Nadir (played by Daniel Pudi), the group forces him to pursue a romantic relationship with her. It turns out the girl already has a boyfriend who looks exactly like Abed.

The group think Abed is crushed but he reveals he isn’t. He recognizes that a lot of people want to help him and the group wanted him to change as they were worried for him that he wouldn’t find a girlfriend. He tells them was going along with what they wanted as he knew it would make them happy and he was willing to change to do that. This is when he delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: You can’t force another person to change and, if you do, they might resent you for it. They have to be willing to change.

Also, it is okay to change for others as long as it doesn’t contradict who you are on the inside.

“Just so you know, Jeff, you are now creating six different timelines.”

From: Community

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Abed Nadir

The quote comes from one of Community’s most popular episodes, Remedial Chaos Theory. Best friends Abed Nadir (played by Danny Pudi) and Troy Barnes (played by Donald Glover) invite the study group over to their new apartment. When the pizza they order arrives, the sly Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale) devises a system wherein he throws a dice to see who gets the pizza. This is when Abed, knowing that there are six sides to a die, delivers the quote.

By the way, this quote is repeated numerous times as the episode shows us what happens when each person is picked to get the pizza. Also, go watch this episode as this is one of the most brilliantly written episodes on TV ever.

Geek wisdom: Even when we think we’re in control of everything, we aren’t actually. This is because life is full of randomness that are beyond our control. This randomness can result in good, bad or nothing happening to us. That’s just how life is.

“Annie’s pretty young. We try not to sexualize her.”

From: Community

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Jeff Winger

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Community. Initially, a sitcom on NBC, the show was cancelled, dashing hopes for the dream of it getting “six seasons and a movie.” But, with Yahoo! Screen coming in for the save and picking up the cult show, all that’s missing now is the movie. The story has evolved from Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale) trying to get a law degree from Greendale Community College to him actually becoming a faculty member. But Greendale is still the crazy school it’s always been.

The quote comes from the first season episode, “Investigative Journalism.” Buddy (portrayed by guest star Jack Black) attempts to join the study group. He then makes a sexual comment directed at Annie Edison (played by Alison Brie). Jeff quickly takes him aside and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We tend to put people on pedestals. We worship people celebrities and fantasize that our crushes have perfect lives. What we fail to realize in situations like this is that these people are people, too! Sometimes, our own imagination tends to get the better of us and we don’t realize that they may have their own problems and their lives, while it may seem perfect, isn’t a great as we think.

“Pop, pop!”

From: Community

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Magnitute

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the cult sitcom Community, but not from one of the main cast. Rather, the quote is the catchphrase of one of the supporting cast members. The man with a “magnetic attitude,” Magnitude!

While he doesn’t contribute much to the show (he never really got his own storyline like Fat Neil did), his paths did cross the gang of Greendale once in a while. Besides being a one man party (that’s his official occupation), he’s know for saying the quote for this week while performing his signature “raise the roof” hand gesture at the same time.

Geek wisdom: Magnitude became notoriously known for saying his catchphrase, so he’s known for saying those two words. That’s because when you say or do something often enough, you begin to get a reputation based on it. Now, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends on you.

If you frequently lie to others, you’ll gain a reputation of being a liar. If you often follow the honest route, you’ll get a reputation of being a trustworthy person. If you think you can simply erase your reputation, you’d be wrong. It’s better to build good standing from the start rather than having to tear down your “bad” one.

“Six seasons and a movie!”

From: Community

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Abed Nadir

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the NBC sitcom Community. The idea behind the series is that Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale) get caught practicing being a lawyer without having a proper law degree. In desperation, he decides to enroll in the Glendale Community College to get a college degree quickly.

Unfortunately, the school is filled with crazy people who don’t appear to be there to actually study. However, Joel actually manages to make true friends in the school, something he didn’t expect.

The quote is delivered by pop culture freak Abed Nadir. His favorite show was The Cape, an extremely short lived (and real) television show about a man who finds a cape that gives him superpowers. While pretending to be the superhero, he knocks over Joel’s lunch. Joel McHale angrily yells at Abed that the show will be cancelled early. Abed disagrees with him.

Geek wisdom: It’s nice to set goals. Even if they seem impossible, it’s important that, when you have a dream, you go after it. The great thing about setting goals is that it gives a person direction in life.

In Community, Abed Nadir is a dreamer. Hence, he and his friend, Troy Barnes, usually imagine things that are pretty difficult to implement in real life. In the show, however, they manage to do a lot of these impossible things, like building a pillow/blanket fort that covered the entire campus… in two separate instances.

Things may seem impossible. But they are only impossible if you don’t attempt to do them.