 Fantasy: July 31, 2019 Issue [#9679] |
This week: Relevance Edited by: Waltz Invictus  
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Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
― Michael Scott
“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”
― Neil Gaiman
One day, you will be old enough to start reading fairytales again.
― C.S. Lewis |
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Ask a bunch of people about the Fantasy genre, and a lot of them will say, "escapism." Some scornfully; others, agreeably. But it seems to be a common description of Fantasy. After all, it's right there in the name.
Yes, there's a big element of taking a reader somewhere else, perhaps somewhen else, so they can visit an imaginary world for a while. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't address some of the issues facing our real lives. It is important to do so carefully, however.
Consider one of the most successful fantasy worlds in recent times: Rowling's Harry Potter books. While most of the story concentrates on the main characters and their growth, there are parallels to real-world issues scattered throughout the series. Most notably, the characterization of the offspring of non-magical parents as "mudbloods" can be seen to reflect certain racial or cultural ideologies in the real world.
No, I'm not going to write a whole essay about that; I'm just throwing it out there as an example. There are others; for instance, Star Wars deals with themes of representative government vs. totalitarianism.
There's nothing wrong with incorporating these things into otherwise escapist works; in fact, I think they help to ground the narratives, to relate them to the real world. They can hold up a mirror - albeit an imperfect one - to some of the issues society faces: things like overpopulation, environmental degradation, human trafficking, drug abuse, racism, classism, greed, gender issues, animal rights - to name just a few.
The important thing about this, at least from this reader's perspective, is to avoid beating the reader over the head with whatever you're trying to say. To do that, remember: characters first, message second. Or third or fourth. An antagonist that serves only to embody whatever evil you're trying to fight will usually turn out one-dimensional; the story becomes trite and/or boring.
I think it's important, if one is to attempt something like this, to try to understand where the "bad guys" are coming from - a perspective that seems to be lacking in our mundane lives. We're "right" and they're "wrong," but a good story at least tries to explain why they think they're "right." And also vice-versa; any controversial stance is going to have repercussions, or it wouldn't be controversial. You may think, for example, that the death penalty for crimes such as murder is wrong, but there are reasons why others disagree. In a story dealing with that particular theme, you might get inside the head of a proponent of capital punishment; what could make them think that murderers should be permanently discarded?
In short, don't get preachy - there's a difference between promoting your own point of view and beating the reader over the head with it. |
Some places to escape to today:
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Last time, in "Getting It Wrong" , I spoke of common errors I see in science fiction and fantasy.
BIG BAD WOLF is Merry  : I'd recommend checking out Youtuber Shadiversity. He deals a lot with Medieval-themed things, talking about underappreciated, or over-appreciated, weapons, the various things that Fantasy get wrong about weapons and armor, and the weapons a fantasy creature would probably use.
Yes, good point. I'm not big on the whole "medieval" subgenre myself, but anyone who is should definitely avoid glaring errors.
Zen  : It should be noted that all three methods you quoted (spin, thrust and mass) all create gravity. They do not mimic it, it's the real thing (thrust and spin are actually both acceleration). Your comment about spinning small objects is well made, it would have to be large enough that the difference in centrifugal force at head-height is roughly the same as at the feet. There's another limitation: if the occupants can see out, and the spin rate is higher than 15 rotations per minute, many of the occupants will be permanently sick - or at least, every time they look out they will be.
Good points. Shows that research is important.
deltablue : Good article.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
So that's it for me for now - see you next time. Until then,
DREAM ON!!! |
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