It's my understanding that the causality went the other direction; that "nerds" were a clear youth subculture in the 60s and 70s, and this subculture inspired all of the 70s-90s movies about them even as the term "nerd" broadened far beyond any concrete set of characteristics. If you had to pick one movie that contributed the most to fossilizing the image, Revenge of the Nerds has to be it.
In particular, PG's analysis of "conformists" seems heavily colored by the stereotype of jocks and other popular kids bullying the nerds. It's true that there's a set of people who try their hardest to believe what's popular in their social circles, but they aren't doing this to avoid thinking about things. In fact, I'd argue that moral trend followers almost all value intellectual thought and debate; people who don't value that don't engage in abstract discussions about society in the first place.
