Geek Pride Day: the geekiest movies and their soundtracks

Geek Pride Day is celebrated every May 25, with the aim of changing the vision we have about those people, who, before society, have an original and different behavior from the rest, which turns them into strangers living in a world full of fantasies.

To celebrate this anniversary, the FSO wants to make a compilation of the geekiest films in the history of cinema, and the soundtracks that play in them. Movies like The Goonies, Back to the Future, Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings have greatly helped elevate this celebration as the immense congregation of geeks increases, worldwide, exponentially.

Geek Pride Day: what is celebrated and why?

Also called Geek Pride Day, it brings together a large number of people with several characteristics in common. The word geek has been used to describe people who have somewhat eccentric behavior. and for this reason, they are called strange and extravagant.

In the past, the term was also used to name people who had some physical defect, however, in recent years it is more common to use it to describe individuals with somewhat unusual behaviors, with very particular tastes and with some supposedly strange hobbies. That old and politically incorrect vision bore fruit in this initiative, which arose to promote geek culture.

How did Geek Pride Day come about?

If we look for the origin of Geek Pride Day, we find the figure of the Spanish blogger Germán Martínez, nicknamed Mr Buebo. All this began in 2006, when this blogger carried out a series of events and celebrations throughout Spain, which became known among all the members of what some call 'the geek community'.

Since that date, this day has been celebrated in many countries, bringing together thousands of people who identify with the movement, a trend that is already part of world culture. At the same time, the choice of the date has to do with the moment in which the film was released, in 1977. Star Wars, as well as other celebrations such as the so-called Towel day.

Soundtracks of the geekiest films in cinema

Dave Grusin at The Goonies

If we analyze the soundtracks of the geekiest films in the history of cinema, we immediately find Dave Grusin in The Goonies, a film that marked a generation. What is most curious about the score of The Goonies is that it combines hits from artists from the 80s with music designed expressly by Grusin. He had previously composed themes for films such as Tootsie either The graduate and knew how to adapt perfectly to the requests of Spielberg and Donner. The entire film is accompanied by a frenetic theme titled Jailbreak, fast-paced and catchy and the main piece of the film. Another very notable topic is the one titled Captain Chunk & Sloth to the Rescue, a pirate piece from the 40s and 50s, very in keeping with this character (Sloth) who is so… geeky.

The topic Discovering the map Chester Copperpot maintains a magnificent halo of mystery, but the mythical, epic and total adventure is brought by the music of Fratelli Chase, also composed by Grusin. In short, a great creation by a composer who played with epic music as well as with jazz in all his creations, and who on this occasion knew how to adapt to the type of audience to which the film was directed.

Dave Grusin has been awarded 'Honorary Doctor' degrees from the University of Colorado and Berklee College of Music. In addition, he has received an Oscar from the Hollywood Academy and seven nominations. He has also received a BMi Film & TV Awards and two Grammy Awards.

Back to the Future soundtrack by Alan Silvestri

The soundtrack of Back to the Future, composed by the brilliant Alan Silvestri, accompanies us, along with the film, to a new geek universe. This film became an extraordinary trilogy, full of naivety, fantasy and imagination. Its wonderful score, full of charm, is part of a perfect pairing with the film and has become a reference. After the leap that its composer had achieved with the soundtrack of After the green heart (1984), alongside Zemeckis, he again joined the director to work together on what would become a wonderful cinematic adventure and geek icon.

This magnificent musical director has been nominated twice for the Academy Awards, for Best Original Motion Picture Score Forrest Gump, released in 1994. As well as Best Original Song, for Believe that can be heard in the movie The polar Express.

The origin of Star Wars in the geek world

Star Wars, the saga of sagas, turns 45 this May 25. On this date, in 1977, it was released in American theaters. A new hope, thus inaugurating what would be one of the biggest franchises in history and giving rise to what many years later would be considered the origin of the film geek world. That is the reason why this day is celebrated every year, on May 25.

In what concerns us, the world of soundtracks, the score of Star Wars was created by John Williams in 1977, to Star Wars. This work established the musician as a star of film soundtracks, and allowed him to obtain his second Oscar, whose record edition went on to sell 4 million copies, something unthinkable in a completely orchestral album. This same original score also won the Golden Globe. Williams also wrote the music for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, apart from another large number of trilogies and films belonging to the saga, now in the hands of Disney.

Howard Shore in The Lord of the rings

Another of those mythical trilogies, which have contributed significantly to the creation of the Geek Pride Day He Lord of the Rings. The soundtrack of the first film The Lord of the rings, created, like the rest of the films based on JRR Tolkien, by Howard Shore, contains some of the geekiest and most wonderful songs of the proposal, such as The Bridge of Khazad Dum, either  Flight to the Ford, who usually play with a leitmotiv applied to each character or place.

In 2001, the Canadian composer won the Oscar for best soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; and in 2003 the same award for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the Oscar for best song for Into the West.

At the Film Symphony Orchestra we are geeks about the biggest hits in music and proof of this are some of these songs, which our director, Constantino Martínez-Orts, usually conducts on our tours. On the current Fénix tour, you can listen to some of these hits and join us on our geeky journey through film music.