Dragons In Popular Culture
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dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s in popular culture. Dragons in some form are nearly universal across cultures and as such have become a staple of modern
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
, especially in the
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
genre.


Dragons in fiction

This list of dragons in fiction is a collection of various notable draconic characters that appear in various works of fiction. It is limited to well-referenced examples of dragons in
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
,
comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
,
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
,
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
,
animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
and
video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
.


Dragons in literature

Western literature tends either to affirm or pointedly subvert the traditional portrait of dragons from Western myth and folklore, as evil and greedy. ;Author name legend


Dragons in comics

Dragons appear in various
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
and american comics, in the form of
comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
,
comic strips A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
and
webcomics Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be ...
.


Dragons in film

Dragons have been portrayed in film and television in many different forms. They may terrorize human towns, or save human lives, even taking the role of passionate protectors.


Dragons in television


Dragons in animation


Dragons in video games

Dragons appear in numerous games with fictional setting as bosses, final bosses, and enemies, as well as
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s, companions, units, and supporting characters.


Other appearances in popular culture


Dragons in online audiovisual media

* The
Strong Bad Email ''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animation, Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of chara ...
s (flash cartoons) on the ''
Homestar Runner ''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...
'' website feature a dragon named
Trogdor the Burninator Strong Bad is a fictional character from ''Homestar Runner'', a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game '' Tag Team Wrestling''. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-cre ...
. *The Great Dragon of
Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood today popular for music venues and comedy, but which was ...
is a character featured in
Dimension 20 ''Dimension 20'' is a tabletop role-playing game show produced by CollegeHumor, and generally hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan as the show's regular Dungeon Master. Most of the games use ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 5th edition. Seasons of the show ...
's ''The Unsleeping City.''


Dragons in radio

* Trorg, the Last Amber Dragon, and the blue sock-stealing dragons in '' Hordes of the Things''


Dragons in songs

* Albi, from the
Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's comed ...
song "Albi the Racist Dragon" * "
Puff, the Magic Dragon "Puff, the Magic Dragon" (or just "Puff") is a song written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary from a poem by Leonard Lipton. It was made popular by Yarrow's group in a 1962 recording released in January 1963. Lipton wrote a poem about a ...
" is best known from the hit single by
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...
, but has been performed by countless other artists. "Puff the Magic Dragon" was first a poem by Leonard Lipton and adapted by Peter Yarrow. The poem tells of an ageless dragon who befriends a young boy, only to be abandoned as the boy ages and forgets him. This is sometimes suspected of being riddled with references to marijuana, though the authors have publicly ridiculed this notion. The dragon in the song is most likely a reference to children's imagination and innocence. * Tharos, from the '' Emerald Sword Saga'', a collection of five albums by the symphonic metal band
Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...


Dragons in puppetry

* Dirty Dragon from
The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show ''The BJ and Dirty Dragon Show'' (also called ''Cartoon Town'') is a Chicago children's television program that aired on WFLD and later WGN-TV from 1968 to 1974. It starred Bill Jackson (the BJ of the title) and his puppets. WFLD and WGN-TV Jac ...
and
Gigglesnort Hotel ''Gigglesnort Hotel'' is a syndicated children's television program which ran for 78 episodes between 1975 and 1978. It was hosted by Bill Jackson, previously the host of several Chicago-based children's programs including ''Clown Alley'' and '' ...
* Scorch the Teenaged Dragon,
Ronn Lucas Ronn Lucas (born 1954) is an American ventriloquist and stand-up comedian. Career Lucas grew up in El Paso, Texas; retrieved 2013-05-28. and graduated from Eastwood High School (Texas), Eastwood High School in 1972.; retrieved 2013-05-28. By the ...
' ventriloquism puppet * Delbert the Dragon, created by
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...
for
La Choy La Choy (stylized La Choy 東) is a brand name of canned and prepackaged American Chinese food ingredients. The brand was purchased in 1990 from Beatrice Foods by ConAgra Foods during the LBO firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts' dismantling of the compa ...
commercials


Dragons in toys

* Scorch, Slayer, Loong, Dragon, Legend, Magic in ''
Beanie Baby Beanie Babies are a line of stuffed toys created by American businessman H. Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986. The toys are stuffed with plastic pellets ("beans") rather than conventional soft stuffing. They come in many different forms, m ...
'' *
Megatron Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, ...
in
Beast Wars Beast most often refers to: * Non-human animal * Monster Beast or Beasts may also refer to: Bible * Beast (Revelation), two beasts described in the Book of Revelation Computing and gaming * Beast (card game), English name of historical Fren ...
becomes a bio-mechanical dragon after absorbing the essence of his ancestor. *
Predaking ''The Transformers'' is an American animated television series that originally aired from September 17, 1984, to November 11, 1987, in syndication based upon Hasbro's ''Transformers'' toy line. The first television series in the ''Transformer ...
and the
Predacons This is a list of characters from The Transformers (TV series), ''The Transformers'' television series. Autobots The Autobots (also known as Cybertrons in Japan) are the heroes in the ''Transformers (toy line), Transformers toyline'' and related ...
in '' Transformers: Prime'' have robotic dragons as alternate forms. * Jinafire Long, the daughter of a
Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...
from ''
Monster High Monster High is an American multimedia-supported fashion doll franchise created by toy designer Garrett Sander and launched by Mattel in 2010. Aimed at children aged 7 to 14, the franchise features characters inspired by monster movies, sci-fi ...
''


Dragons in theme parks and shows

*
Tradinno Tradinno is a giant, animatronic, fire-breathing dragon, featured in the 2014 Guinness Book of World Records as the world largest walking robot. It plays the Dragon in the play ''Drachenstich'' in the German town of Furth im Wald. The name Tradinn ...
, the world's largest walking robot *
Prezzemolo ''Prezzemolo'' is an Italian animated television series created by Lorenzo De Pretto and Giuseppe Ferrario. It is based on characters from the Gardaland theme park, and Gardaland distributes the series. The show was broadcast on Italia 1 from 7 ...
in
Gardaland Gardaland Resort is an amusement park located in northeastern Italy. Opened on 19 July 1975, the resort includes Gardaland Park, Gardaland Sea-Life, Legoland Waterpark, Gardaland Hotel, Adventure Hotel and Magic Hotel. It is adjacent to Lake Ga ...
* Figment in
Journey into Imagination with Figment Journey into Imagination with Figment is the third and latest incarnation of a dark ride attraction located within the Imagination! pavilion at World Celebration at Epcot, a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. Origi ...
* Danny in Happy Hollow Park & Zoo * The Dragon in
Legoland Legoland (, trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family theme parks focusing on the construction toy system Lego. They are not fully owned by The Lego Group itself; rather, they are owned and operated by the British theme park com ...
*The 6 Dragons in
Phantasialand Phantasialand is a theme park in Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany that attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually. The park was opened in 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt. Although starting as a family-oriented p ...


Dragons in sport

*
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
,
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team * Mario the Magnificent,
Drexel Dragons The Drexel Dragons are the athletic teams of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school's athletic program includes eighteen NCAA Division I sports including nine men's and nine women's teams, with most sports teams competing in ...
mascot *
Stuff the Magic Dragon Stuff the Magic Dragon is the official mascot of the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His name is a play on the Peter, Paul and Mary song "Puff, the Magic Dragon", and the basketball slang term "stuff" (which means to eit ...
,
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...
mascot *
San Francisco Dragons The San Francisco Dragons were a professional field lacrosse team based in San Francisco and San Jose, California. From 2006–2008, they played in Major League Lacrosse and they ceased operations before the 2009 season due to the economic situati ...
,
field lacrosse Field lacrosse is a full contact sport, full contact outdoor men's sport played with ten players on each team. The sport originated among indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans, and the modern rules of field lacrosse were initiall ...
team *
Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor ...
,
cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
team *
St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 after a joint-ve ...
,
Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
team *
Wales national football team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth ...
, national
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team of
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...


Dragons in podcasts

* Hiram McDaniels, a "literal five-headed dragon", and his sister Hadassah McDaniels from
Welcome to Nightvale ''Welcome to Night Vale'' is a podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale, reporting on the strange events that occur within it. The series was created in 2012 by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. Published by Night Val ...
. Each head demonstrates differing personality traits and behaviors. * Cerulean Depths Seen from a Great Height (A.K.A. Ceri). A gargantuan sea dragon with a long name and a snobby teen attitude, from Spout Lore.


See also

*
List of dragons in mythology and folklore This is a list of dragons in mythology and folklore. African dragons American dragons European dragons This is a list of European dragons. Northeast Asian dragons Oceanian dragons South Asian dragons Southeast Asian ...
*
Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...
, the Eastern interpretation of the dragon *
European dragon The European dragon is a legendary creature in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe. The Roman poet Virgil in his poem ''Culex'' lines 163-201, describing a shepherd having a fight with a big constricting snake, c ...
, the Western interpretation of the dragon *
Dragon Day Dragon Day is an annual event that occurs the Friday before spring break at Cornell University. The center of the event is the procession of a dragon, created by first-year architecture students at the Cornell University College of Architecture, ...
, a celebration at
Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
*
Princess and dragon Princess and dragon is a archetypical premise common to many legends, fairy tales, and chivalric romances. Northrop Frye identified it as a central form of the quest romance. The story involves an upper-class woman, generally a princess or sim ...
, the archetypical/stereotypical premise about dragons kidnapping princesses


References

{{Fictional biology
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...