Joe Manganiello Believes One Franchise Changed Pop Culture Forever

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Pop culture has come a long way over the past few decades. However, so has ‘nerd culture’, with actors such as Joe Manganiello going so far as to say Dungeons & Dragons has merged with pop culture. But this begs the question of how that came to be with the overwhelmingly negative stigma that used to surround the concept. And it seems the answer lies in a popular tabletop board game many have been subconsciously growing more accustomed to, Dungeons & Dragons. And this is an interesting take we get from Manganiello, as we see in a one-on-one interview with NBC News concerning the topic.

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Asking the important question of how D&D had such a significant influence on pop culture, Manganiello discusses how it has led to the increased popularity of the game. He further speaks on how the game has inspired some of the most extensive fantasy/sci-fi series and films we have seen in recent years. And the actor-filmmaker believes a considerable part of this is the resurgence of dragons in media, along with the influence of popular movies and TV series. While this is certainly a fun idea, it begs the question of whether the actor is correct.

According to Joe Manganiello, the number of Dungeons & Dragons players has increased tenfold in modern society, with almost 50 million people now enjoying the tabletop game. Attributing this to the concept of storytelling around a table being foreign, with many younger people constantly being on their phones, Joe briefly mentioned another considerable influence in the interview. And that lies in shows such as Stranger Things that re-introduced many things from the 80s and 90s. With the huge fanbase around the series, it should come