Dungeons & Dragons in popular culture

As the popularity of D&D grew throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, the game was referenced more and more in popular culture. Numerous games, films and cultural references based on D&D or D&D-like fantasies, characters or adventures have been ubiquitous since the end of the 1970s. Typically, though by no means exclusively, D&D players are portrayed derogatively as the epitome of geekdom. References to the game are used as shorthand to establish characterization or provide the punchline of a joke. Many players, miffed with this stereotype, embrace the fact that comedian Stephen Colbert, musician Moby, and actors Vin Diesel, Matthew Lillard, Mike Myers, Patton Oswalt, Wil Wheaton and Robin Williams have made their D&D hobbies public.

Dungeons & Dragons has made many appearances in popular culture, such as in:

Comics


 * Questionable Content, webcomic. Appearing in Comic #963 "[Raven Levels Up]" and others.

Movies and television


 * Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra Terrestrial


 * The final episode ("Discos and Dragons") of the Freaks and Geeks TV series.

Music


 * "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "White & Nerdy".


 * Musician/comedian Stephen Lynch's song called "D&D", which mocks the typical stereotype of a Dungeons & Dragons player—a metalhead that smokes marijuana, drinks Mountain Dew, lives in his mother's basement, and has little to no interaction with females. He has performed the song live on several radio programs including The Opie and Anthony Show and The Preston & Steve Show.