Aloha!
For the next several weeks Forces of Geek will be evolving into our next incarnation, Atomic Luau!
Some of this information has already been conveyed on social media, but I want to make sure that all of the details are clear to all of the faithful readers of the site.
When Forces of Geek launched thirteen years ago, the timing couldn’t have been more fortuitous. The site was on the front end of the “geek” culture typhoon that overtook marketing and media for over a decade.
Now, the dust has cleared. What was once considered “fringe” has become “conventional.” During this time we’ve been witness to the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes; the return of Star Wars; the rise and fall of The Walking Dead; An outsider culture celebrated in Ready Player One.
Things change.
Geek culture is dead. The pandemic put an end to it, thankfully. Popular culture lives.
Journalism both online and in print are floundering. Entertainment Weekly went from weekly to monthly to, for now, online. The Onion AV Club and Buzzfeed have lost their top editorial staff. Great websites like Twitch Film, C.H.U.D., Comics Alliance, and Grantland have folded. Many sites have been purchased and folded into larger corporations as ad revenue dried up. Two different opportunities pre-pandemic for FOG! would have required the site to become another source of news regurgitation that you can find everywhere.
Watching videos has replaced reading. I believe that there’s an audience for intelligent people who have a genuine interest in reading about pop culture, once the great unifier for Generation X.
So, this September, Forces of Geek will become Atomic Luau, in an attempt to unify an audience by providing smart, informed writing with an adult audience in mind.
Geared toward a readership who grew up in the late sixties through the seventies, Atomic Luau will not be a retro site, but rather a celebration of that latchkey /After School Special generation. The Boomer generation will also have a presence on the new site. Their voice is as important here as any other.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll still be running some contests, movie reviews, and a few other interesting news bits (including a Substack Newsletter geared toward pop culture news and recommendations that you should check out).
One of the exciting aspects of Atomic Luau is the new line up of contributors and columnists. There are some amazing new writers coming to the site and some wonderful contributors from the past will be returning.
I hope you enjoy the new vision and appreciate both your considerate support and readership.
Mahalo and a hui hou,
Stefan Blitz
editor-in-chief
