At first
glance, fantasy seems to be a frivolous genre. Certainly it’s entertaining to
some people. Why else would avid fans devour the latest Harry Potter novel in one day, stand in line at the theater for
hours to see The Hobbit at midnight
the night it comes out (which I might have plans to do this Thursday), or, if
they’re really hard-core, dress up as their favorite characters and take their
frayed, dog-eared books to ComicCon conventions? But aside from the
entertainment value, fantasy as a genre is not widely regarded as great
literature. By its very nature, it focuses on a different reality than our own.
But good fantasy does explore themes
relevant to our world and allows us to think about our perceptions of reality
in a way no other genre does.
The most
common argument against fantasy is that because of its fictional worlds and
circumstances, it isn’t relevant to real life. Good entertainment, perhaps, but
irrelevant. In fact, fantasy is relevant to real life because it
explores broader themes that pertain to our world. Traditional fantasy is
famous for exploring morality – fairy tales all have morals attached and famous
fantasy epics like The Lord of the Rings and
The Chronicles of Narnia all depict
epic battles between Good verses Evil, where Good always wins because of its
faith, resourcefulness, and determination. The Harry Potter series goes beyond the battle of good and evil and
explores themes like friendship and coming-of-age. These stories discuss and
explore morality, and morality is something we think about and use to make
decisions every day. That in itself makes these stories relevant.
But a
lot of literature from other genres explores these themes as well. What makes
the fantasy genre unique is that it explores these themes using mysticism and
magic. Fantasy by its very nature explores the idea of what makes reality. To
truly appreciate fantasy requires at least some suspension of disbelief. You
have to put yourself into another world – a world where your preconceived
beliefs and prejudices are no longer applicable. When you put yourself into
such a completely different world, you immediately open your mind to
possibilities. Obviously Hogwarts isn’t real, but what is? Is reality only what
we can see? What is possible? What are the limits of our world? Is it just
empirical or is there more to it?
Opening
your mind to these possibilities exercises your brain and causes you to think
more creatively and analytically. Creative thought allows your brain to explore
and analyze outside ideas and possibilities. Even when you come to the
conclusions many of us come to – that rational thought prevails, that magic
doesn’t exist, Santa isn’t real, etc. – you open your mind more. You think
more.
This
Thursday, I am going to stand in line surrounded by people dressed up as
wizards so that I can see the first showing of The Hobbit in DC. I’m going to pay a lot more money than I should
on a cab from Georgetown to Tenleytown at three in the morning. I wouldn’t make
these sacrifices in the middle of finals if I didn’t think The Hobbit was entertaining and
a relevant piece of literature – if I didn’t think it was an important form
of creative thought and exploration of possibilities. Fantasy is relevant
because creative thought is just as important as empirical thought.
Post by Iz Altman
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