I read on this blog about the World Fantasy Convention, and I was struck by one of the blogger's very first quotes from one of the panels: "J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were living in a war era; they were living in an unsatisfactory present, so in their writing they looked back to a more appealing era."
I don't love fantasy explicitly because of this. I just happened to read my first fantasy novel when I was young and absolutely loved it. I loved it far more than all the other types of books that I enjoyed, so I naturally began reading more fantasy. I also got into playing Dungeons & Dragons, so that further pushed me in this direction.
However, I really think there is at least something to this idea that fantasy offers a desirable escape from an unpleasant world. I know that I, for one, am thoroughly discouraged about humanity in general. There are certainly many wonderful individuals out there, but the pure amount of selfishness, corruption, and the vast lack of empathy that I encounter in so many people leave me with a strong distaste for this world. I have no hope left that this world will ever truly become a wonderful place in which to live. There are small victories over time (America has resolved most of the corruption issues that plague most other countries in the world) and these are certainly worth fighting for. I live to try to improve what I can, even in small but significant ways such as instilling true empathy in my children. But for me it is not enough, and that is why I more and more love to dwell within the beautiful, if unrealistic, worlds of my favorite fantasy novels.
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Midnight Died Tonight
12 minutes ago
Very true. I often feel the same way, and fantasy is a great way of looking into another time/world where society acts differently. Though this secondary to the fact that fantasy fiction as a whole is incredibly enjoyable to read!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Jamie. I got into fantasy first and foremost because I just loved it more than anything else!
ReplyDeleteThis world can be so downright bleak at times it's insane. We as a species have allowed ourselves to be conditioned into what we are today. The lack of empathy, the lack of patience, and the abundance of greed and hate make this world such a dark place to live in.
ReplyDelete(This could also explain why dystopia fiction is such a hot trend for writers, too.)
I appreciate fantasy in its forms as its ideals keep me hanging on that some day, somehow, we rise above the corruption in order to achieve a better standard of living.
That's what is so sad, Jeffrey, that we can talk to almost any individual and most things seem okay, but take us as a species and it looks pretty hopeless.
ReplyDelete"...thoroughly discouraged by humanity in general."
ReplyDeleteMy sentiments exactly. I often find myself asking, what happened? You can't even go out anymore without encountering something that exemplifies that lack of empathy, care, and awareness for other people.
I completely agree 100%.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally Simon wants me to go to WFC next year, I realize you could probably never make it, but if you did that would be awesome.
this is why i love reading in general- not just fantasy...
ReplyDeletei heard (from somewhere??) that this is one of the reasons why the lotr movies were such a hit with people previously unfamiliar with tolkien. that the timing of them coming out so soon after 9-11 effected the popularity. people during wartime crave moral absolutism- where "good" and "bad" are obvious and the protection of "good" justifies whatever you do to "bad". so- a world like LOtr where the bad is so obvious it warps the physicality of the characters was welcomed by the subconscious zietgeist of the time. i've also heard spiderman's popularity tied to this phenomenon... i don't know how true it is- just something i heard...
anyway. i love my escapism. write on, fantasy writer! write on! we need some more dreamworlds to escape to! :)
I can usually place myself in the protag's shoes. This allows me to be great beyond my normal everyday life.
ReplyDeleteFantasy is a great escape! I see a lot of books use a fantasy setting to process and deal with real world problems in a manner that's easier to handle.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was a big D&D geek as well.
I think there is a complimentary angle to this, too, Ted--and I think it' why Distopian novels, as well as the paranormal--Zombie, et al, stuff is so popular... Diaspora... look how much WORSE it could be... and Look at the hardships THEY faced and conquered, is extremely popular right now, because frankly, for most people... life is pretty darned hard--fantasy taps that, too of course--there is always evil and grand battles. I think fantasy just has 'more good guys' than those other genres which have very isolated MCs.
ReplyDeleteAlex, there were supposedly five million D&D geeeks at the height of its popularity, so it's hard for me to understand why so many agents autoreject anything with a hint of it.
ReplyDeleteHart, you are right, I am sure, though my attraction to isolation in end of the world type stuff comes from a strange desire to be that person.
Victoria, I like to play with good and evil in my fantasy novels. I like to first make readers believe that I am doing the standard evil baddies only to make them have to reconsider later.
this is exactly why fantasy is so popular in countries like ours, Ted, which have seen their share of rough times throughout the history. This is why fairy tales are also so rooted in our cultures, even in ancient history our people have found an escape in story telling.
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