So I was listening to 'Viva la Vida" by Cold Play...I love that song. Mostly because it reminds me that no one will remain in power forever!! I think that is one of my favorite things about Fantasy literature...
Like in Eragon, the whole point of the story is for a young man to come into his own and overthrow the tyranical king. As a rule I am ticked that these books that were supposed to be a trilogy are now a quartet, but I am picky...
Harry Potter (here it comes, I warned you...) is about the hero overthrowing the supervillian, Lord Voldemort.
I think what I like about these books, and numerous others, is that they are, in a sense, true. The overwhelming, selfish, tyranical ruler can not stay ruler. It is quite impossible. There are enough people who are either selfish or selfless that cannot allow a ruler like that to remain. I never like "1984". Mostly because it doesn't makes sense to me. It is impossible to crush someones will who refuses to be crushed. If a government falls apart, it will be in Anarchy, not dictatorship or "communism" that the country will fall into. (I put communism in quotations because China and the former USSR were basically dictorships under the guise of communism...don't deny it, because it is true!!)
The Human race has a lot more gumption than many so called modern "realist" authors give credit (like Zadie Smith, Orson Wells, etc...). Those authors (at least to me...) tend to dwell on the many faults of mankind, instead of their persistent virtues in spite of faults. Man cannot exists with out some kind of virtue. It is just impossible. I hate movies that are complete doomsday, where everything is doomed to failure and the end of the world without any hope.
People would say I am an escapist reader, or that I choose to ignore the 'realities' of life. No. I just choose to dwell on realities that don't make me depressed. I know that mankind has many faults and I know (from first hand knowledge) how horrible they can be. But I choose not to emerse myself in them. Mostly because I have too vivid of an imagination....
Fantasy isn't an escape from reality. It is a way to learn to deal with reality. The reader relates personally to Frodo's journey into Mordor and feels every one of his trials and the eventual joy when the ring is destroyed. In that readers own life, they have their own Mordors and rings to bear, reading about how Frodo survived and was able to complete his task helps the reader with their own problems. And anyways, if it was true escapism, it would be a book about fluffy bunnies that have no character development. What is the fun in THAT?
The argument is that people become obsessed with these books and never emerge back to their real lives. Fantasy literature has got to be the least of the things that causes this obsession. Video games, on-line reality games like Second-life, and online chat rooms takes a person away from reality far more literally than any book would. You can actually learn things from Fantasy literature, but I doubt that much is learned from playing mindless video/online games..
Sorry, I got a bit on a soapbox. Let me know what you think!
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