I Love Fantasy, Except for Most of It
It would seem that the fantasy genre and a lack of originality should be diametrically opposed, but in my opinion they too often go hand-in-hand. By “the fantasy genre,” I mean that style of storytelling, whether through games or movies or literature, that transports the player/audience/reader into a world that departs dramatically from what we consider to be normal in our day-to-day realities. Thus, my definition of fantasy includes science fiction and surrealism, although these are also both distinct genres of their own. But personally, my main interest lies in “historical” or “classical” fantasy, the kind that takes its cue from human myth and the ancient world, the kind involving adventures and princesses and copious amounts of swords and sorcery.
This is my favorite type of fantasy, and it is also the type most likely to be derivative and uninspired.
We created a unique fantasy world, so our elves and orcs are slightly different from everyone else's.
You might ask why, if it is so often poorly done, it remains my favorite genre. To be honest, I can’t fully explain it myself. There is simply something about quasi-medieval settings that causes my heart to skip a beat. Something about the short, brutal, struggling lives most people led back then. Something about entire societies of people up to their necks in mud, superstition and cultural imperative, yet slogging onward towards hope and progress. In this way my vision of medieval fantasy more closely matches the interpretation of Terry Gilliam than it does that of J.R.R. Tolkien, which is odd considering that the latter is the template the entire genre is built on.
Must be a king, he hasn't got shit all over him.
Unfortunately, Terry Gilliam’s medieval fantasies are among few that I consider to be truly original. Movies and video games, especially, are guilty of simply reiterating the worlds of Lord of the Rings or its offshoot, D&D, over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, I love both those worlds, and gladly acknowledge that LotR practically invented the fantasy genre as we know it. But a continued reliance on classics at the expense of fresh ideas is weakening the genre overall.
Agreed! The world of fantasy is, alas, poorly lacking in originality and crispy freshness. So, when are we gonna storm this poop-shoot of a genre and make it worthwhile again?
Hopefully, NOW!
Yussah!
[...] by shooters. Although fantasy tends to be my favorite, when I get frustrated with its foibles (see here) I rather enjoy an excursion into espionage territory. I find it heartening that there will finally [...]
You are so right, and I feel the same about most science fiction. The advent of CG (which I know has the potential to be used responsibly) has turned everything into a trainwreck/carwreck/spacestationwreck, literally. They already made “Alien” and “The Fifth Element”, people. You can go watch them on the DVD machine if you’re in the mood. It’s time for different movies now.
So everybody go give your money to “Moon” and “District 9″! Hooray original sci-fi!
So you have a preference for sci-fi, now, too? *sigh* Soon Noel and I will be the only people left in the fantasy bunker…
Hey, who said anything about preference? Terry Gilliam is still my fav filmmaker too, you know.
Yeah, isn’t he just dreamy? And by dreamy, I mean darkly humorous and surreal.
If I was going to illustrate a difference between J.R.R. Tolkein’s fantasy and “the rest of it”, I’d probably point out that Tolkein’s got a billion years of backstory and all his Fantasy Equivalent Cultures are based on actual historical societies, whereas everyone else’s fantasy is based on, you know, Tolkein, and the backstory consists of contextless bullshit like “TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO MAGIC WAS BORN” followed by a million years of Medieval Europe.
It’s got no oomph to it, there’s no reason to care about any of the worlds that have been generated for the sole purpose of That Game / Movie / Book / Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. Tolkein’s world evolved through its fake history, and for every other piece of fantasy anything resembling “history” actually just means “remember that demon that got sealed ten thousand years ago well he’s back now and you have to fight him”.