Unless your home is a dirty hole under a lead boulder, you’ve undoubtedly noticed America’s tremendous about-face over the last decade in terms of what it defines as “cool.”
The nearly annual release of new “Call of Duty” titles is cause for millions of gamers to engage in marathon sessions that undoubtedly strain plenty of marriages, either because only one partner plays or because both do and one “totally pwns” the other.
Film series such as “Iron Man,” “Harry Potter” and “Transformers” have made superheroes, wizards and transforming robots some of the most lucrative entertainment properties of all time. The moviegoers of 1950s America undoubtedly would give modern Americans a wedgie.
And then there’s HBO’s ludicrously popular “Game of Thrones” drama based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” a nerd-core literary staple for 15 years. The show’s rabid fanbase made a reported 700,000 Tweets, forum posts and other online chatter in response to the shocking revelations of June 2’s “The Rains of Castamere” episode. According to the network, this set a new benchmark for social interaction with its programming, which is especially impressive considering its catalog includes shows such as “The Sopranos” and “Deadwood.”
On Sunday, I wrote a feature about tabletop role-playing, which has ranked as one of the most stereotypically nerdy activities there is since Dungeons & Dragons was published in 1974. Given the recent rise of nerd culture, it came as no surprise to discover that it, too, has an enthusiastic and growing local fan base.