Gallery: Nerd Birds: Best Middle-Finger Moments in Geek Movies
01the-social-network-2
It's a gesture that [dates back to ancient Greece](http://books.google.com/books?id=MmQYKTu_gqkC&lpg=PA116&ots=YZylAy6TBE&dq=middle%20finger%20gesture%20history&pg=PA116#v=onepage&q=middle%20finger%20gesture%20history&f=false), but it's as modern as the latest traffic altercation in your neighborhood. And it's about time the ol' single-finger salute got recognized with an international day of celebration. That day is today: Aug. 1, 2012, marks the first [World Middle Finger Day](https://www.facebook.com/WorldMiddleFingerDay). It's a holiday dedicated to the right of all those in the free world to flip off whoever they want, wherever and whenever they want, and for whatever reason. "The Middle Finger gesture is the most universal gesture there is to express discontent," said Charles Greene, one of the 20-plus organizers of World Middle Finger Day, in an e-mail to Wired. "While it may not be in common use everywhere, it's known and therefore I'd hope people would adapt it. It's a clear but peaceful way to protest, to object." It's also good for a laugh. So, to celebrate our new favorite "holiday," Wired dug through geeky movie history for the best middle-finger moments in cinema. Whether it's Maverick flipping off a MiG or Bender asking "Sport-o" if he needs him to turn up the digit dial, it's always insulting — and often hilarious. __Above:__ *The Social Network* (2010) --------------------------- Although *The Social Network* is chock-full of [Aaron Sorkin's Oscar-winning dialog](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/awards), Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake)'s simple-yet-emphatic gesture to a building full of suits remains one of the movie's most memorable moments.
02penelope
*Penelope* (2006) ----------------- Think Peter Dinklage's [imp-slapping of would-be kings](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/underwire/2012/07/game-of-thrones-rpg/) on *Game of Thrones* is awesome? Then please remember this wonderful moment when the future Tyrion Lannister pulled out the bird from inside jail in the Christina Ricci vehicle [*Penelope*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472160/).
03austin-powers-in-goldmember
*Austin Powers in Goldmember* (2002) ------------------------------------ Mini-Me may have been ousted from the room and made to feel awful by the villainous comment, "The tiny one can't take a hint," but he got the last laugh with this pointed parting shot in [*Goldmember*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295178/).
04bring-it-on
*Bring It On* (2000) -------------------- Cheerleading never seemed so nasty as it did in [*Bring It On*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204946/). Missy (Eliza Dushku)'s smackdown of the less-than-Cheer-o-cratic panel judging her hand-drawn tattoo was her way of proving she could dish it out as well as take it.
05top-gun-2
*Top Gun* (1989) ---------------- In a move probably not sanctioned by the Pentagon, hot shot Maverick decides to flip-off an enemy MiG because he can't shoot ('cause, really, what could go wrong with that?). He brings it up later in Top Gun class (below) and impresses the pencil skirt off of his instructor – officially making [*Top Gun*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/) the most completely plausible military movie of all time. <script src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js" type="text/javascript"></script><object class="BrightcoveExperience" id="myExperience1762725086001"> <param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"></param> <param name="width" value="660"></param> <param name="height" value="423"></param> <param name="playerID" value="3698508001"></param> <param name="publisherID" value="1564549380"></param> <param name="isVid" value="true"></param> <param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true"></param> <param name="@videoPlayer" value="1762725086001"></param></object><script type="text/javascript"> runMobileCompatibilityScript('myExperience1762725086001', 'anId'); </script><script type="text/javascript">brightcove.createExperiences();</script>
06christmas-vacation
*Christmas Vacation* (1989) --------------------------- Do *not* play road games [with Clark Griswold](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097958/) just because he has his wife and kids in the car. That little honey badger doesn't give a crap — he will not take any guff from you.
07evil-dead-ii
*Evil Dead II* (1987) --------------------- If "[Thing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family#The_Thing)" from *The Addams Family* were a wiseacre evading death, he might've behaved much like this disembodied hand from Sam Raimi's [*Evil Dead II*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092991/). But it probably wouldn't have been as funny.
08office-space
*Office Space* (1999) --------------------- Jennifer Aniston's epic job-quitting scene – her masterful moment of "expressing myself" – in [*Office Space*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/) personified the way that almost every underappreciated worker has wanted to tell off their boss at one point or another.
09sta-rtrek-iv-the-voyage-home
*Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986) --------------------------------------- Remember that time Spock shut up some rude punk on the Golden Gate Bridge in [*Star Trek IV*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092007/)? Yeah, that was awesome. Let's hope J.J. Abrams works this into some future *Star Trek* film.
10the-breakfast-club
*The Breakfast Club* (1985) --------------------------- Admit it. There was some point after 1985 when you pointed your middle finger at the ground, looked someone in the eye and said, "Can you hear this? Want me to turn it up?" while extending your central digit into the air. Thank John Hughes' [*The Breakfast Club*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088847/) for that one. (And for teaching you how to put on lipstick with your cleavage.)
11the-matrix-3
*The Matrix* (1999) ------------------- Back before Neo knew he was "the One" in [*The Matrix*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/), he was just a smart-ass hacker who gave Agent Smith the bird. Agent Smith (literally) shut him up, but ultimately Neo paid him back a thousand-fold.
12x-men-2
*X-Men* (2000) -------------- Of all of [the X-Men](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120903/), Wolverine has typically almost always had the biggest *eff you* attitude – he also has the best way of expressing it. Cuts like a knife, don't it?
