Symptom 58: From Mom's Basement To Mainstream

Fantasy February wraps up with a discussion of how exactly Fantasy films have become mainstream. At one point in the past fantasy movies and stories were only for the nerdy. Today fantasy if for everyone. In Symptom 58 we discuss, sometimes contentiously, what the tipping point of this was. Was it as Lord Ragemaster says, DD? Or as Thomas feels, the internet allowing wider distribution and access? Did anime, Pokemon and Dragonball Z have a part in this journey? Was it Harry Potter? Or was Harry Potter and the success of the Lord of The Rings movies simply the proof that fantasy had at some point prior "gotten over" to steal a pro wrestling term for popular acceptance? We try to answer this question and I don't think we arrived at complete consensus, but undeniably, the main stream success of Game Of Thrones, The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit and Harry Potter have proven that fantasy is no longer relegated to nerds dwelling mom's basement.