I get you, but IMHO Fantasy for example has a unique quality for escapism that should not be disregarded. I don’t want to say that fantasy is strongest when doing escapism, I just find it hard to regard one higher than the other. And while Sci Fi is no slob for escapism either, I do find it stronger when it reflects on humanity.
What do you think of the industrialisation aspects in Tolkien’s Legendarium?
Yes, I think today, SciFi / Space Fantasy works best to directly reflect current situations and dangers. It can naturally be constructed in a dystopical way and used as an example for a bad future.
For typical High Fantasy, imo it is way more difficult to pull something like that off, because it is usually closer related to our historical past. For topics like racism, discrimination or other social aspects (life during the plague?) it can still work nicely. But I agree, it’s a delicate matter to not “overdo” it and ruin the escapism.
There are so many kinds of Fantasy, and all art imitates life in one way or another is what I’m saying :)
What do you think of the industrialisation aspects in Tolkien’s Legendarium?
It never quite worked for me tbh. Not in a “I don’t like this in my escapist fantasy book” kind of way, but in a “I don’t recognize this as a reflection on real life events” kind of way. It was nothing I related to and learned about it many years after my first (and many more) reads. I just accepted it as an aspect of “evil destroys things good people like” in the story.
But also, stories don’t need to be either escapist or a discussion of reality. It’s a gradient and the best stories usually feature both. I would even argue, to hammer home a point about reality really hard, a little escapist build up before helps immensely to get the audience to that “Ooh, yeah, riiiight”-epiphany.
But I agree, it’s a delicate matter to not “overdo” it and ruin the escapism.
It depends on what an artist intends to achieve though. If they want to create an escape from daily life, you can easily overdose other stuff, no matter if you create fantasy or science fiction. It also depends on what an audience expects. If they want to escape but get a commentary, they’re gonna be disappointed and going to complain about WoKe IdEoLoGiE iN mOdErN sTaR tReK. Equally, if they expect commentary and get escapism, they’re gonna complain about a dull, flat and meaningless experience.
There are so many kinds of Fantasy, and all art imitates life in one way or another is what I’m saying :)
I get you, but IMHO Fantasy for example has a unique quality for escapism that should not be disregarded. I don’t want to say that fantasy is strongest when doing escapism, I just find it hard to regard one higher than the other. And while Sci Fi is no slob for escapism either, I do find it stronger when it reflects on humanity.
What do you think of the industrialisation aspects in Tolkien’s Legendarium?
Yes, I think today, SciFi / Space Fantasy works best to directly reflect current situations and dangers. It can naturally be constructed in a dystopical way and used as an example for a bad future.
For typical High Fantasy, imo it is way more difficult to pull something like that off, because it is usually closer related to our historical past. For topics like racism, discrimination or other social aspects (life during the plague?) it can still work nicely. But I agree, it’s a delicate matter to not “overdo” it and ruin the escapism.
There are so many kinds of Fantasy, and all art imitates life in one way or another is what I’m saying :)
It never quite worked for me tbh. Not in a “I don’t like this in my escapist fantasy book” kind of way, but in a “I don’t recognize this as a reflection on real life events” kind of way. It was nothing I related to and learned about it many years after my first (and many more) reads. I just accepted it as an aspect of “evil destroys things good people like” in the story.
But also, stories don’t need to be either escapist or a discussion of reality. It’s a gradient and the best stories usually feature both. I would even argue, to hammer home a point about reality really hard, a little escapist build up before helps immensely to get the audience to that “Ooh, yeah, riiiight”-epiphany.
It depends on what an artist intends to achieve though. If they want to create an escape from daily life, you can easily overdose other stuff, no matter if you create fantasy or science fiction. It also depends on what an audience expects. If they want to escape but get a commentary, they’re gonna be disappointed and going to complain about WoKe IdEoLoGiE iN mOdErN sTaR tReK. Equally, if they expect commentary and get escapism, they’re gonna complain about a dull, flat and meaningless experience.
Oh, we’re certainly on the same page here!