It wasn't until I was older that I learned there was a whole other world out there... and it was more beautiful than the one that did exist. I have JRR Tolkien to thank for that.
Fantasy to me is, well, as just about most of you said. It's a world other than our own. But it thinks its real. Or maybe it *is* our own world, with an inexplicable twist. Fantasy is an encouraging, inspiring tale, that can allow you to leave the confines of that icky logic. It has the power to portray the reader as their hearts with they were externally: couragous, lucky, powerful (even if that power was hiding within all along), and most of all: free. Fantasy is freedom from everything.
And I may be wrong, but I've been doing a lot of thinking. Fantasy is a story. Andy asked us that, and people were reluctant to admit whether story was or was not an important ingredient to the Fantasy. I truly believe it is. Dali's work has fantastical elements, I think, but a fantasy is more to me than symbols; those just happen to be really good icing on a really good cake most of the time. Or maybe paintings like those of Dali do tell a story to some people, the way a dream is nothing but images until you apply your own feelings. Wow I talk too much sometimes. See everyone in class!
P.S. What do people in this class think of superheroes as Fantasy? Not talking like Superman, that's easy. What about Batman etc.? Just curious. I mean, Gotham isn't exactly our world, and the idea of Bruce Wayne running around and fighting crime with nothing inexcplicable except sheer awesomeness? Just a split-second, random thought.
3 comments:
I'm glad you eventually got into the fantasy stuffs. A life without the fantasy genre would be a sad life indeed. Also, I'm not sure Batman would suit the strictest terms of fantasy, simply because his character and story can be explained under the conventions of our own world. Even the monster type characters have a genetic mutation story to explain their weirdness. Which is not to say that Batman doesn't kick ass, especially Superman's ass.
Perhaps Captain Planet would be a good advocate for the "Fantasy Superhero," because no amount of logic is explaining that one. : )
I don't know, Jessie. I mean, yes, most of Batman can be explained under a very odd set of circumstances in our world, but when it comes to characters with genetic weirdness like Poison Ivy, I think we're edging into the realm of Fantasy and/or Science Fiction. I mean, as "set in our world" as X-Men is, the idea of human mutants having the power to fly and control the weather is still pretty extreme. Personally, I would be more inclined to place these similar Gotham scenarios in the Fantasy category.
So, yeah, Susan, I totally think you can talk about superheros like Batman in terms of Fantasy. Maybe not in the strictest terms, but I think they can still fit.
I would say that even if Batman himself is a character at the far edge of physical plausibility (no super powers, after all), many of his friends and enemies (Superman, Mr. Freeze, Ra's al Ghul, etc.) clearly are science-fictional or supernatural. So Batman, as part of a fantastical universe, is himself a fantastical character by default.
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