Why in 90s teen shows was it always the "Nerdy Kid" who wanted to be a astronaut?

[KnightInShiningArmorDis92]

What were these TV show producers thinking?

https://savedbythebell.fandom.com/wiki/Screech_Powers

This would not be in the case in a world where the space race continued. Teen shows in that timeline would certainly have "popular characters" who would want to become astronauts.

Even irl high school underachievers have become astronauts believe it or not.

https://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2016/09/dss-kellys.html

I think it would have cool to have a "jock" type character who was smart and wanted to be astronaut.

Were engineering careers seen as "uncool" back in the 90s?

If so I hope there is a cultural shift.

It would have been nice to have been born in a world where society was more interested in aiming for the stars rather than Hollywood style materialism.

 

[EACarlson]

The late 80's, early 90's was a low point in the US Space Program. After the Challenger explosion almost all of the kids that wanted to be astronauts were very heavily into science. Intelligent kids into science were always portrayed in those shows as "nerdy kids."

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

 

[White Cat]

What were these TV show producers thinking?

https://savedbythebell.fandom.com/wiki/Screech_Powers

This would not be in the case in a world where the space race continued. Teen shows in that timeline would certainly have "popular characters" who would want to become astronauts.

Even irl high school underachievers have become astronauts believe it or not.

https://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2016/09/dss-kellys.html

I think it would have cool to have a "jock" type character who was smart and wanted to be astronaut.

Were engineering careers seen as "uncool" back in the 90s?

If so I hope there is a cultural shift.

It would have been nice to have been born in a world where society was more interested in aiming for the stars rather than Hollywood style materialism.

Producers , like most people want to earn the most that they can from their investment. Studies showed these types of charterers would sell more movies.

But I agree with you. There could be the possibility that more people under 30 know the name of Beyoncé’s baby but don’t know who the first man on the moon was.

 

[VandVsmama]

What does it matter at this point? It was, like, 25 years ago.

 

[Jennasis]

Astronauts are nerds.

 

[TippyThomas]

You do know it's 2023, right?

 

[DLgal]

Astronauts are nerds.

Sometimes. Mostly in the beginning they were just really good Air Force and Navy fighter pilots. They needed to be smart, sure, and several had engineering degrees, but Astronauts were not always typical "nerds", especially in the early days. Many of the early missions were flown by typical "popular kid, jock" types in high school who were exceptional military fighter pilots. The military has always been an attractive option for teens and young adults who have a lot of adrenaline and a desire to show off. Even now, the primary qualification for being an astronaut is being a damn good pilot. They are flying aircraft, after all. Everyone on board needs to be able to take over flight controls. Flying is a skill, and can be learned by someone who isn't particularly "nerdy" overall. NASA does require a Masters degree (at minimim) in a STEM field, but again, lots of people in STEM careers aren't needs. It's a broad scope of study.

If Saved by the Bell was accurate, Slater would be the most likely candidate to become an astronaut given his military family background.

 

[JLTraveling]

As mentioned above, space really fell out of favor with the general public after the Challenger explosion. Add to that the cultural zeitgeist of the 80s, which was the whole "greed is good" yuppie mentality. The popular kids from moneyed backgrounds were expected/wanted to go into business, make a fortune on Wall Street, that kind of thing. Or they weren't thinking about their future at all, because it seemed like jobs were plentiful and the economy was booming and they were too busy taking Madonna's Material Girl to heart, just shopping and hanging out.

In the 90s, materialism gradually gave way to grunge and the DIY aesthetic. But jobs were still plentiful and people largely still expected making money to be easy. Science is hard. The cool kids didn't want to do something hard, especially if it involved science and math. That was for geeks, who wouldn't become cool until a decade later.

 

[Jennasis]

Sometimes. Mostly in the beginning they were just really good Air Force and Navy fighter pilots. They needed to be smart, sure, and several had engineering degrees, but Astronauts were not always typical "nerds", especially in the early days. Many of the early missions were flown by typical "popular kid, jock" types in high school who were exceptional military fighter pilots. The military has always been an attractive option for teens and young adults who have a lot of adrenaline and a desire to show off. Even now, the primary qualification for being an astronaut is being a damn good pilot. They are flying aircraft, after all. Everyone on board needs to be able to take over flight controls. Flying is a skill, and can be learned by someone who isn't particularly "nerdy" overall. NASA does require a Masters degree (at minimim) in a STEM field, but again, lots of people in STEM careers aren't needs. It's a broad scope of study.

If Saved by the Bell was accurate, Slater would be the most likely candidate to become an astronaut given his military family background.

Aww man...you thought I was serious. That takes the fun right out of it.

 

[barkley]

It would have been nice to have been born in a world where society was more interested in aiming for the stars rather than Hollywood style materialism.

give it time. things change. i grew up in a world where the majority of my female classmates that were going to college were very forthcoming in saying they were going for their 'mrs.' degree. with the exception of a few faiths i don't think the average high school female would ever consider that the basis for attending college today.

 

[fla4fun]

Hollywood makes money through stereotypes more often than not, and the nerd scientist fits that mold. Anyone in the real world who wants to put in the hard work can be an astronaut, whether you are a “jock”, “popular kid”, or whatever. Your place in your social circle doesn’t prevent you from pursuing your dream career. However, when you only have 90 minutes to tell a story, using a stereotypical character saves the time and effort of setting up a backstory. It’s something that I wish was done less often, as I prefer original ideas instead of those following a particular trope, but it is what it is.

 

[tvguy]

give it time. things change. i grew up in a world where the majority of my female classmates that were going to college were very forthcoming in saying they were going for their 'mrs.' degree. with the exception of a few faiths i don't think the average high school female would ever consider that the basis for attending college today.

I was in College 1975 to 1979 and there were a few women at my University who were there for their Mrs degree.
But I think there are some Colleges where that was the norm. A girl who lived across the street from me went to a very small, very religious College in Iowa. She went there because her dad was President of the College when she was born. She was VERY academically inclined, and after a year she left because she said the role of female students on campus was not geared toward academics at all.
I just checked their website, and even in 2023 they don't have any co-ed dorms. They still have all male and all female dorms.

 

[Mysterian]

The late 80's, early 90's was a low point in the US Space Program. After the Challenger explosion almost all of the kids that wanted to be astronauts were very heavily into science. Intelligent kids into science were always portrayed in those shows as "nerdy kids."

What about 1986's Space Camp, yo?

Granted, Larry B. Scott on the far right was in Revenge of the Nerds, and young Joaquim Phoenix would go on to play his share of outcasts, but Kelly Preston was by no means a nerd.

Tate Donovan's character was supposed to be a "cool" guy, with this sunglasses, convertible, and listening to 80's Eric Clapton (the worst Clapton era, mind you). Lea Thompson was more of an over-achiever type I think. It's been decades since I saw the movie, but whatever. Case Closed.

 

[JLTraveling]

What about 1986's Space Camp, yo?

Granted, Larry B. Scott on the far right was in Revenge of the Nerds, and young Joaquim Phoenix would go on to play his share of outcasts, but Kelly Preston was by no means a nerd.

Tate Donovan's character was supposed to be a "cool" guy, with this sunglasses, convertible, and listening to 80's Eric Clapton (the worst Clapton era, mind you). Lea Thompson was more of an over-achiever type I think. It's been decades since I saw the movie, but whatever. Case Closed.

But Space Camp was filmed before the Challenger explosion, and it did horribly in its original theatrical release because it was released so soon after the tragedy. So I think my point still stands

 

[Mysterian]

Sometimes. Mostly in the beginning they were just really good Air Force and Navy fighter pilots. They needed to be smart, sure, and several had engineering degrees, but Astronauts were not always typical "nerds", especially in the early days. Many of the early missions were flown by typical "popular kid, jock" types in high school who were exceptional military fighter pilots. The military has always been an attractive option for teens and young adults who have a lot of adrenaline and a desire to show off. Even now, the primary qualification for being an astronaut is being a damn good pilot. They are flying aircraft, after all. Everyone on board needs to be able to take over flight controls. Flying is a skill, and can be learned by someone who isn't particularly "nerdy" overall. NASA does require a Masters degree (at minimim) in a STEM field, but again, lots of people in STEM careers aren't needs. It's a broad scope of study.

If Saved by the Bell was accurate, Slater would be the most likely candidate to become an astronaut given his military family background.

I agree. Back in the early space days, the "nerd" stereotypes would probably be the guys working at the command center, while the military guys were the astronauts.

We also can verify the career path of military-to-astronauts not by hard research, but because Will Smith played an F-18 fighter pilot in Independence Day, who's dream was to become an astronaut. His friend and fellow pilot Harry Connick Jr said he wasn't going to make it in because he was dating a stripper, Vivica A. Fox. Most strippers would not be dating nerds. Nerds like Dr. Okun played by Brent Spiner who worked at Area 51. These are the facts.

 

[Mysterian]

But Space Camp was filmed before the Challenger explosion, and it did horribly in its original theatrical release because it was released so soon after the tragedy. So I think my point still stands

Nerd!

 

[Mysterian]

What were these TV show producers thinking?

https://savedbythebell.fandom.com/wiki/Screech_Powers

This would not be in the case in a world where the space race continued. Teen shows in that timeline would certainly have "popular characters" who would want to become astronauts.

Even irl high school underachievers have become astronauts believe it or not.

https://www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2016/09/dss-kellys.html

I think it would have cool to have a "jock" type character who was smart and wanted to be astronaut.

Were engineering careers seen as "uncool" back in the 90s?

If so I hope there is a cultural shift.

It would have been nice to have been born in a world where society was more interested in aiming for the stars rather than Hollywood style materialis

I love how Screech is the entire crux of this argument. You just got done binging Saved By The Bell?

 

[_19disnA]

Variations of this question get asked about every month or so.

 

[sam_gordon]

I was in College 1975 to 1979 and there were a few women at my University who were there for their Mrs degree.
But I think there are some Colleges where that was the norm. A girl who lived across the street from me went to a very small, very religious College in Iowa. She went there because her dad was President of the College when she was born. She was VERY academically inclined, and after a year she left because she said the role of female students on campus was not geared toward academics at all.
I just checked their website, and even in 2023 they don't have any co-ed dorms. They still have all male and all female dorms.

So? DS' college is religious based and doesn't have any co-ed dorms. Are you implying that women who go to those schools are just going for their "Mrs" degree?