I’ve taken to calling this kind of media “Mandatory Adult Television.” I think the first of its species was Lost; there were predecessors with some similar traits like The X Files or The Sopranos, heavily serialized adult content television that was very popular water cooler talk, but Lost was the first one I remember as segmenting the population into those who follow he show, and those who don’t. Game of Thrones was THE big one. You either watched Game of Thrones or you weren’t allowed to socialize as an adult. “Hey, did you see Game of Thrones last night?” “No, I don’t watch that show.” “Oh. Bye.” For nearly a decade. No one wants to talk about that show anymore. Same with Lost.
What, in your mind, is “fantasy?” Because for a genre whose name implies imagination and creativeness, it seems pretty pigeonholed into the European medieval folklore/fairy tale aesthetic somewhere between King Arthur and JRR Tolkien.
I’d agree with that, and most people will probably never venture outside of the hole you’ve described. For my money it’s a book that has to do with fantastical elements that can’t easily be lumped into science-fiction.
I’ve taken to calling this kind of media “Mandatory Adult Television.” I think the first of its species was Lost; there were predecessors with some similar traits like The X Files or The Sopranos, heavily serialized adult content television that was very popular water cooler talk, but Lost was the first one I remember as segmenting the population into those who follow he show, and those who don’t. Game of Thrones was THE big one. You either watched Game of Thrones or you weren’t allowed to socialize as an adult. “Hey, did you see Game of Thrones last night?” “No, I don’t watch that show.” “Oh. Bye.” For nearly a decade. No one wants to talk about that show anymore. Same with Lost.
People aren’t good with small talk and stuff like this is one of the few things you’d be likely to have in common.
I like to pretend like I know what they’re talking about and see how far I can get before they catch on.
See also sports as a method of excluding adults social interaction.
I didn’t watch Game of Thrones, and I didn’t feel like I needed to. What between everyone talking about it, it was hard to miss what was happening.
I do like that it introduced so many people to fantasy!
What, in your mind, is “fantasy?” Because for a genre whose name implies imagination and creativeness, it seems pretty pigeonholed into the European medieval folklore/fairy tale aesthetic somewhere between King Arthur and JRR Tolkien.
I’d agree with that, and most people will probably never venture outside of the hole you’ve described. For my money it’s a book that has to do with fantastical elements that can’t easily be lumped into science-fiction.
Sounds like peer pressure.