In the marketplace of ideas in our culture today, the idea of hell is a hot topic. The word is used in so many contexts as to render it virtually meaningless. As an expletive, it is used incorrectly in the grammatical sense. As a threat, it is ambiguous and generally ineffective. It is hard to tell someone seriously to "go to hell" when you're not quite sure what you mean by it or if you even believe it exists. It is a term borrowed from an earlier day (mid 19th century) when hellfire and brimstone bellowed from the pulpits, and it was so effective for a short time that it caught the public eye, and more importantly, it showed up on the radar of detractors who ridiculed the idea. They ridiculed it so effectively that it is now a byword used only by religious wackos and by people who want to add some "umph" to their statement, and, of course, by comedians, comic strip writers, and is used comically by atheists who are debating religious wackos. Most others do not seem to consider it worth much thought.
As an aspect of the afterlife (its original context), it is misunderstood, miscommunicated, and sometimes thought of as foolish and old fashioned, dogmatic, and often as a fear mechanism used by some churches to control the behavior and finances of the weak minded. It has been touted like a club by the church in the past. It has been ridiculed like a court jester by many popular sources. Images of caves aflame and a mischievous goat-hoofed and horned red dude with a pointed tail and a pitchfork have been ingrained in our minds from youth by cartoons, comic strips and movies.
