Will Dungeons & Dragons Be the Next Hobbit?
By Graeme McMillan
The level of excitement surrounding the release of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a reminder of the way in which Tolkien-esque fantasy worlds have been embraced by mainstream pop culture. We think nothing of orcs, dwarves and elves on our screens these days, whether those screens are IMAX-big or — in the case of HBO’s adaptation of George RR Martin’s A Game of Thrones — television-small. While the fantasy genre hasn’t quite achieved the pop culture saturation level of superheroes or zombies just yet, there’s one mainstay of fantasy that remains curiously unloved by the world at large, staying the butt of jokes and the property of a level of geekery that somehow hasn’t risen above parents’ basements — which raises the question: Why is Dungeons & Dragons still considered a fringe subculture after all these years?
Talk about this article here.
To me, the main reason that D&D is not mass market or popular in the mainstream culture (although it is miles ahead of where it was in the 70s and 80s) is because deep down, people who play it like keeping it an escapist secret. This is not to place a value judgement, but subsconsiously, having something "special" that makes a person feel as if he or she is a member of a special club, does make that person feel special. The D&D fraternity (or sororiety) is a dose of ecclesiasticism in the secular world. We can feel special and reap the psychological benefit of tasting the forbidden fruit, even if we don't think about it consciously.
(Just a philosophical opinion)
No, D&D will not be the next Hobbit. The movies have been terrible so far. They are not going to help D&D attrack any new fans with such low quality products.
And vice-verse.
Why is Dungeons & Dragons still considered a fringe subculture after all these years?
Complicated rules.