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The tide of the times can change drastically over the span of ten years, new trends arise, fashion changes, new shows and movies come out, and subcultures are formed that can define a generation. Looking back at the early 2000’s, there was one subculture that has vastly changed in public opinion over the past few years, and that would be Nerd Culture. Nerd Culture is a blanket term for anything that is essentially nerdy, such as Sci-Fi films, Superheroes, Dungeon and Dragons, and anime. For the longest times, nerds were the odd ones out for enjoying the things that truly clicked with them. But now these things that got them ostracized, are openly accepted or popular.

Superman or Captain America? Spider-Man or Batman? When we were kids, superheroes were one of the coolest things, being able to fly or shoot webs isn’t something your everyday person could do after all. But after a certain stage of life, watching The Batman wasn’t accepted anymore, it was only for kids. For the people who stayed in love with the series that they grew up with, they would be shunned because they liked childish things or they were overly enthusiastic about a hero, and they could sometimes even get bullied. All that changed with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU for short. Everyone had started to watch Marvel movies, so much so, that the second highest grossing film of all time is Avengers: End Game. All the sudden, knowing superheroes, even the underground ones, wasn’t seen as strange anymore.

Cultural boundaries can also affect perspectives a lot more than one can expect. Anime is a form of animation media from Japan, and the cultural differences are incredibly apparent. Anime fans couldn’t be open about liking the medium for a long time, and if they were open, they’d often be avoided or bullied for liking something different. However, anime started growing slowly and by 2019, the stigma around watching anime had started to lift due to series like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer. Anime especially succeeded through TikTok, and saw extreme growth through the platform, so much so that Attack on Titan was the most watched show in February. 

In short, the generalization of nerd culture has really seen a turn in recent years, with the MCU being one of the most profitable movie series and anime being as popular as other American shows. This trend has been going on for a while and it’s best to assume it won’t stop, and these once niche groups get to share something that they love with more people than ever.