In both versions of my initial post, I focused on the core tabletop version of Dungeons & Dragons as the point of entry for the fandom. For me, playing The Curse of Strahd and The Lost Mine of Phandelver was the gateway drug to my addiction, but some fans never play. Instead, they watch others play, like Matt Mercer and his voice actor friends on Critical Role or Chris Perkins and friends on Acquisitions Incorporated. Some play the video or card games and still others prefer their fandom as books. In every case, because the content differs from medium to medium, it’s really the fans or participants who drive the fandom. To illustrate this point, I’m going to return my focus to the tabletop game and examine the representation of Dungeons & Dragons, its players, and its fans in popular media, specifically on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is a late night talk show on CBS hosted by comedian, actor, and political commentator Stephen Colbert. Colbert has his own fandom (of which I am an admitted but not committed member), but he also has, on numerous occasions, referred to himself as a “nerd” and remarked on his love of Dungeons & Dragons. Two excellent examples of Colbert’s proclamation of his fan status are an interview with Anderson Cooper, published to Youtube on August 25, 2016, and one with Joe Manganiello published on August 8, 2018.
The interview with Anderson Cooper, son of the late Gloria Vanderbilt, and well-loved news anchor and LGBTQ icon, begins with the two men joking around about bro-hugs. Cooper quickly notes that he and Colbert are dressed similarly and then says, “I’m like the elven version of you” (1:22). After some joking discussion about Cooper being an elf, Colbert says, “Welcome to the Nerd Zone, my friend” (2:02). Cooper immediately asks, “Did you play Dungeons & Dragons when you were a kid?” (2:05) because he was obsessed. Colbert replies that he met Gary Gygax (one of the two creators), to which Cooper replies “wow,” and then they laugh about alienating 99% of the viewers. Cooper says that “the shut-ins at home” are excited. Colbert refers to them as “the neckbeards” (2:22) but then admits he played the first week the game came out. They circle back to elves when Cooper admits he mourned when his first character, an elven thief, died. Colbert recognizes this as being good because elves have extra dexterity. His first character was a variant magic user, a female witch (3:00), “so don’t you call me a bro.”
Almost exactly two years later, Colbert introduced guest Joe Manganiello, known for True Blood and Magic Mike, as “weapons grade sexy” (0:45). He goes on to say that Maganiello’s wife (Sofia Vergara) recently told him something that tarnishes Manganiello’s sexiness “in some circles. Not mine” (0:56). That something is: Manganiello is “a long-time and intense fan of Dungeons & Dragons” (0:57-1:03). Manganiello admits it’s “very true” (1:04). Colbert calls him “Brother,” says, “let’s get into it” (1:13) and they clasp hands before settling in. Colbert asks if Manganiello’s interest is recent, “because it’s ‘hip’ to be a nerd now” (1:20); Manganiello says he’s an “OG Nerd” (1:26) who played with the “Red Box” set but admits he didn’t have anyone to play with. Colbert expresses disbelief, because roleplaying with friends is the whole point. After joking about the “Satanic panic” (1:57) over demons in Dungeons & Dragons, Colbert begins to ask about Manganiello’s highest level character. He interrupts himself to say this will probably alienate a whole bunch of people, but “I don’t care” (2:39). The two men discuss Manganiello’s Oathbreaker paladin, throw around some terms of art like “lawful good” and the shibboleths “Tiamat” and “Bahamut,” and “4th edition” that prove they’re both legit fanboys. They then show photos of Manganiello’s “Gary Gygax Memorial Dungeon aka My Basement” (4:30) and discuss his beholder and mind flayer sculptures. Colbert says that Mangianello might be sexier, but he’s nerdier, which is immediately parlayed into a discussion of Manganiello’s new clothing line “Death Saves” named after a feature of 5th edition gaming. They play with dice, roll a death save, and they’re out.
Although the second interview is considerably longer, they share significant features. In both, there is banter about masculinity. Colbert performs both traditional masculinity and a more “sensitive” version. “Bro” masculinity is contrasted with nerdiness. Cooper is, of course, a gay icon, slender and exceedingly well dressed. Not a bro. Colbert is an intellectual nerd. Also, not a bro. Manganiello, on the other hand, is the epitome of traditional masculinity. His sexiness is contrasted to Colbert’s nerdiness. In both cases, however, each of the men proclaims himself a nerd.
Also in both interviews, Colbert performs his nerdiness as a difference from his audience. With Cooper, he says they’ll be alienating 99% of the audience. With Manganiello, it’s “most” of the audience. There’s a mild difference, here. In 2016, the men then joke about shut-ins and neckbeards as the stereotypical nerds/gamer-types but by 2018 it’s “hip” to be a nerd on one hand, and Colbert doesn’t care if he alienates viewers on the other. Another aspect of this performance is the exchange of nerd creds. This takes the form of character talk first and foremost, but it may also include knowledge of statistics, types of roles, pieces of lore. In each interview, the men are both shown to be “true” Dungeons & Dragons players by the performance of their inner fanboy.
A longer essay would discuss the various shibboleths of Dungeons & Dragons fandom in greater detail. Here, I’ll confine myself to observing that Colbert at once caters to stereotypes of Dungeons & Dragons fanboys and explodes them. He both mocks his fellow nerds and visibly, on stage, embraces them. While this might be perceived as passive-aggression, instead, this insider-outsider play is characteristic of the fandom. We recognize that we are, oh my god supernerds, but we love it and demand proof in the form of shibboleths of being a true fan. But it’s this constant playful performance of our shared fandom that really drives it onward.
As a final note, Colbert’s celebrity-nerd creds were recently re-established when he played a game of Dungeons & Dragons with Critical Role DM Matt Mercer for Red Nose Day.
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