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View Full Version : Why do we need fantasy worlds or movies and things stuff like that?



Letti
08-10-2007, 08:32 AM
I am listening to you.
The question has popped.

I think fanasy movies and books are on the top these days. 100 years ago they were nowhere.
Why are they so popular now? What has happen to us?

Mike Beck
08-10-2007, 12:25 PM
One word.

Drugs. :D

They had some fantasy stuff going on 100 years ago but not much. All I can think of is Wizard of Oz and Alic in Wonderland at the moment. All the things that have gone down in the last 100 years (film, animation, the space program, the sexual and drug revolutions, comic books, video games). These things have sparked the imagination over years and years, and the kids that were obsessed with tv/radio/comics when they were young grew up to be the ones making these films and writing these books. We also have technology and special effects that can do most of these ideas justice now. So things are just catching up to our imaginations.

Also, as a people, I think we're moving away from a realistic, materialistic and solid world into one that promotes imagination, the soul, and dreams. A gentle shift in consciousness that favors a more mystical world over a physical one.

/talking out his ass

Daghain
08-10-2007, 12:44 PM
Oh my. Where to begin. :)

Imagine what life would be like with no imagination. How boring! Humans have a need, I think, for imagination and fantasy as a way to escape the everyday boring and normal.

I'm no expert on this, (and too lazy to do research, so I'm going to pull what I can remember out of the ol' noggin) but I think fantasy and storytelling has been around as long as humans have been able to tell tales. Grimm's Fairy Tales, IIRC, were written-down versions of stories told from generation to generation, as are many other tales we grew up with as children. I would imagine even the earliest people, once developing an even rudimentary form of communication, would quickly figure out a way to come back to the cave and relate the tales of their latest hunt, sparking the imagination of the next generation to want to go out and do the same.

Storytelling can be a form of teaching. Some stories have morals, some are educational, and some are just plain fun, which still teaches us how to relax and enjoy ourselves.


Also, as a people, I think we're moving away from a realistic, materialistic and solid world into one that promotes imagination, the soul, and dreams. A gentle shift in consciousness that favors a more mystical world over a physical one.


I really, really hope you're right about that. :)

Jean
08-10-2007, 10:02 PM
answering the topic title question: I don't.

I have enough fantasy worlds in my own head not to have to read about anyone else's. I do not like fantasy as a genre, but I like good literature and that's the only reason why I sometimes read fantasy, too. Unfortunately, most often the author is so absorbed in creating new world that he sacrifices anything else - the plausibility of the plot and the characters, style, dialog, whatever.

Letti
08-10-2007, 11:20 PM
answering the topic title question: I don't.

I have enough fantasy worlds in my own head not to have to read about anyone else's. I do not like fantasy as a genre, but I like good literature and that's the only reason why I sometimes read fantasy, too. Unfortunately, most often the author is so absorbed in creating new world that he sacrifices anything else - the plausibility of the plot and the characters, style, dialog, whatever.


Is HP not a fantasy book??

Jean
08-10-2007, 11:25 PM
as I said, I like good literature. If it is well written, with characters I can relate to, good dialog, sense of humor, and overall logical plausibility, I don't care what genre it is in.

Letti
08-10-2007, 11:37 PM
as I said, I like good literature. If it is well written, with characters I can relate to, good dialog, sense of humor, and overall logical plausibility, I don't care what genre it is in.

I see Jean. But here are your two favourites. Harry Potter and the Dark Tower. Both of them are quite.. fantasy books. I am sure you have tons of other favourites too because you read so many books but don't you think that a part in your soul needs some fantasy?
Anyway I am not a fantasy-junkie either but it has a nice room in my soul.

Jean
08-10-2007, 11:44 PM
Nikolett: back to my first post in this thread. That part of my soul that needs fantasy doesn't need outside sources to get it.

Harry Potter and the Dark Tower are only two examples of hundreds books I would call my very favorites, and the only fantasies. The fantasy aspect of both is something that interested me least in both sagas, and sometimes bored the hell out of me.

Letti
08-10-2007, 11:46 PM
I see I see.

OchrisO
08-11-2007, 12:57 AM
I need fantasy worlds because the real one sucks so much.

Mordred Deschain
08-11-2007, 08:39 AM
I need fantasy worlds because the real one sucks so much.


That statement is probably the best factual answer to the question. If someone did a survey (not just here), you would probably find that most people bury themselves in fantasy/fiction/science-fiction for no other reason than it's better than their real life.

I have an additional answer; if you were to look at the history of the world, you would find that the catholic church has had a strong hold on the world. The last hundred years the catholic church's hold has faultered and more people feel confident about what they wish to write about, and people have been able to release their creativity. Don't forget, when the first Harry Potter book was released, there was a huge religious uproar against the book and author. And their are still bands on the book. I'm sure any kids attending a catholic shool are not allowed to bring any of the HP books to school. And if their parents are devote and ingorant, they probably are not allowing their kids to read HP. Weird at this time and age, but there is still the thing called CENSORSHIP.

Jean, sorry for throwing religion out there, but it's a true statement of what this world has censored.

Jean
08-11-2007, 08:47 AM
it's ok.

I only hope that this will not grow into other attacks on Catholics, or I will feel obliged to list books our Protestant friends have censored and banned (I am actually not sure it's "Catholic" you meant - I am a Catholic myself, and follow the developments in my church, and haven't seen any persecution of Harry Potter yet; probably "devote and ignorant" was the key-word of your post, not "Catholic"), and our Atheist friends in Communist countries actually put people in prison for very recently. Which is definitely for a different thread.
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/thank_you-1.gif

Darkthoughts
08-11-2007, 08:54 AM
On the HP site I goto a couple of the kids there attending Catholic schools have said that the school refuses to allow HP books in the school library. Similarly though, children at evangelical schools have said the same things. I guess the crux of it is that some religious school heads feel uncomfortable about the mention of wizardry and magic in the books if they're the sorts who read their bibles too literally.

Jean
08-11-2007, 08:56 AM
Absolutely. Can we all agree on that and move on?

Darkthoughts
08-11-2007, 09:00 AM
Indeed! :D

For me I think that theres almost something else to having a personal fantasy world than it just being a diversion to real life. I mean, its so powerful, the art of storytelling - which in a way is just sharing your personal fantasy - is so powerful, that I can totally be convinced at times of other worlds/whens existing outside of our imaginations.

Mordred Deschain
08-11-2007, 09:08 AM
OH ya, let's move on. Like I said to you before, I don't mean to start a religous war on this forum, but when you want to talk about why things all of a sudden start popping up, just go back to the Spanish Inquisition, which is a catholic thing. I do agree about the things not just being catholic, but a lot of other christian religions still look at the vatican to make choices for them.

Okay, I'm done now.

Darkthoughts
08-11-2007, 09:17 AM
Actually, I do enjoy a bit of religious D&D - is there anywhere we can start some here...or would you rather we didn't go there?

Mordred Deschain
08-11-2007, 09:18 AM
Jean's probably right, if we really start arguing and stuff, peeps are gona get pissed at eachother.

Jean
08-11-2007, 09:26 AM
Jean's probably right, if we really start arguing and stuff, peeps are gona get pissed at eachother.
We can argue about everything, but not in all threads at once. For example, I am sure your knowledge of Inquisition is very far from historical truth, and it is not your fault, because really very few people actually study history, as opposed to mythology, which, alas, is how most people form their ideas of the events of the past, - but it would bring us way too far from Fantasy in literature. (I wish someone started something like "History vs. Mythology" thread, although it is really very difficult to separate one from the other).

Mordred Deschain
08-11-2007, 09:58 AM
I majored in History. to be more specific Anthopology, with a minor in religous studies. I am a confirmed Roman Catholic of Irish and Italian heritage.
And yes, I base my facts on Mel Brooks - History of the World pt1!:)

Jean
08-11-2007, 10:01 AM
I majored in History. to be more specific Anthopology, with a minor in religous studies. I am a confirmed Roman Catholic of Irish and Italian heritage.

Great! As I said, there may be a very productive discussion, - in a proper thread. http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

So, how about those fantasy worlds, movies and things?

Daghain
08-11-2007, 10:05 AM
Poor Jean. They really are making it hard to stay on-topic, aren't they? :)

Actually, I wonder if the latest popularity of movies based on fantasy novels (as an example, The Lord of the Rings) has increased the popularity of fantasy novels, or if it's the other way around?

Mordred Deschain
08-11-2007, 10:06 AM
Jean's probably right, if we really start arguing and stuff, peeps are gona get pissed at eachother.

For example, I am sure your knowledge of Inquisition is very far from historical truth, and it is not your fault, because really very few people actually study history, as opposed to mythology,


I'm sorry, but this was an ill statement. I may put my opinion down about how I feel about the world in general, but I also don't go blasting individuals that I do not know. Unless it's towards CK, then it's just fun and games.

Darkthoughts
08-11-2007, 11:11 AM
Actually, I do enjoy a bit of religious D&D - is there anywhere we can start some here


We can argue about everything, but not in all threads at once.
By here I meant on the forum, not in this thread ;)

Letti
08-11-2007, 11:19 AM
I think we need fantasy worlds to have a place to escape. That's all.
It doesn't mean (for me) that life sucks.

Jean
08-11-2007, 12:09 PM
Mordred,

I am very sorry if my remark seemed to be directed against you personally, while it was directed only against your statement about the Inquisition, which seemed to me mythological - as opposed to historical. I am, however, willing to apologize for whatever inadvertent offense I've made, and I have to beg everyone to reserve any attacks against people's religioins, - even those which might seem mild or based on common knowledge, - to religious threads. Especially since we've just given an example of how explosive the topic is.


Actually, I do enjoy a bit of religious D&D - is there anywhere we can start some here...or would you rather we didn't go there?
There is no such place right now, but you can always create one.


I think we need fantasy worlds to have a place to escape. That's all.
It doesn't mean (for me) that life sucks.
It may be so, but why do we need fantasy for that? Can't any other kind of literature help us escape if we need that? Any story is not the story of our life, so, logically, any writer describes another world where we can go, away from our every-day life?

Letti
08-11-2007, 12:15 PM
Some people escape here some people escape there. Maybe I don't have a fantasy world because I write.. I don't know.

Jean
08-11-2007, 12:26 PM
Some people escape here some people escape there. Maybe I don't have a fantasy world because I write.. I don't know.
I think that may be the reason. When I write, I notice that the part of my soul responsible for maintaining those fantasy worlds becomes dormant. (isn't it time you wrote and posted something new, by the way?........)

Letti
08-11-2007, 12:46 PM
;)

Mordred Deschain
08-11-2007, 10:30 PM
Jean, I cry yer pardon.:grouphug:

Wuducynn
08-11-2007, 10:39 PM
Unless it's towards CK, then it's just fun and games.

And good for your health too don't forget!

Jean
08-12-2007, 12:07 AM
Jean, I cry yer pardon.:grouphug:
thine is a noble soul, sai!
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bears_friends.gif

Letti
08-12-2007, 12:13 AM
This pic above Jean rocked my heart. :wub:

Daghain
08-12-2007, 01:43 PM
Damn. Major teddybear cutness. I will die from the cute!!!! :lol:

Letti
08-12-2007, 09:25 PM
Damn. Major teddybear cutness. I will die from the cute!!!! :lol:

Oh please don't. :wub:

Daghain
08-12-2007, 10:35 PM
But it would be a happy death. :D

Letti
08-13-2007, 04:49 AM
But it would be a happy death. :D
Cry your pardon, sai but not for me. :rose:

Wuducynn
08-13-2007, 07:11 AM
Okay speaking of death, the lovey dove-ness and sweetness in this thread is about to kill me.

Jean
08-13-2007, 08:42 AM
why am I not surprized???

Daghain
08-13-2007, 09:13 AM
Poor CK. Too many warm fuzzies in the world. :lol:

Letti
08-13-2007, 09:56 AM
Okay speaking of death, the lovey dove-ness and sweetness in this thread is about to kill me.

:lol: Poor Matthew. I am so sorry. *goes to look for an axe* ;)

Wuducynn
08-13-2007, 11:38 AM
:rofl:

Erin
08-14-2007, 03:32 PM
I need fantasy worlds because the real one sucks so much.

:lol: I second that emotion.

MonteGss
08-14-2007, 08:40 PM
In our fantasy worlds, things can be like we want them to be. We can feel, live, do whatever we want. No limitations! In my real life, I don't have a frickin choice sometimes. It can just plain suck, as other people have already mentioned.

Letti
08-14-2007, 09:08 PM
Can we say that our human mind is not able to accept that there are things we can't get?
I know it's a bit philosophical but I would be interested in your answers.

MonteGss
08-14-2007, 09:49 PM
Hmm, I think it can accept that fact. It doesn't mean liking the fact though.

Darkthoughts
08-15-2007, 09:07 AM
A weird thing I have sometimes though, is that I try and limit myself in my fantasy worlds too sometimes. Like say I wanted to be able to fly AND shoot lasers out my eyes AND be psychic, I'll find myself thinking "C'mon, you can't have ALL those things! Maybe I'll just go with the flying." Helloooo!! Its fantasy Lisa - you CAN have anything you want!! :lol: Does anyone else do this?

MonteGss
08-15-2007, 09:25 AM
I would totally want all of Superman's powers (not his weakness though...but shit, there really isn't such a thing as kyptonite, so who cares?) but I would also really dig telepathy. Being invisible would be totally fun as well. :)

Letti
08-15-2007, 09:42 AM
I wouldn't like to have superpowers... I would be able to handle them well. Big reponsibility...

Erin
08-15-2007, 04:46 PM
"With great power comes great responsibility" /Spiderman :doh:



:lol:

Mordred Deschain
08-15-2007, 04:55 PM
Give the POWER to ME! :)

Letti
08-15-2007, 09:42 PM
"With great power comes great responsibility" /Spiderman :doh:



:lol:

Oh..
I have never read Spiderman in my life I haven't seen the movies but as I see... we agree on it. :lol:

Matt
08-30-2007, 09:21 AM
I actually love that line, it is a lot of what I base decisions on.

YAY!! for pop culture

I didn't actually ever have a fantasy world but I did dream/wish I was a mutant sometimes

Letti
09-01-2007, 01:33 PM
Matt..
let me ask a personal question..
so..
in fact..
why the blue hell would you like to be a mutant sometimes??

Matt
09-02-2007, 06:43 AM
:rofl:

"Mutant" as in "marvel comics superhero"

Like wolverine for instance.

Letti
09-02-2007, 08:00 AM
:rofl:

"Mutant" as in "marvel comics superhero"

Like wolverine for instance.

Oh I see. I didn't mean the same by that word.

For me this is a mutant:

http://www.funmansion.com/images/AnimalMutants6.jpg

or this:

http://www.funmansion.com/images/AnimalMutants8.jpg

So I am sorry. :lol:

Matt
09-02-2007, 08:22 AM
:rofl:

That is exactly what I thought you may have thought

Or even worse!! Slow Mutants. :lol:

Jean
09-02-2007, 08:34 AM
Matt: what prevents you from becoming the mutant of your dreams?

(for example, I've always known that I am a bear... and I am a bear, and everyone knows I am one http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_cool.gif. There's also a werebat... a fascinating lemur...)

Letti
09-02-2007, 09:32 AM
I am the most horrible mutant ever...
























... a human being. ;)

Matt
09-02-2007, 01:54 PM
Matt: what prevents you from becoming the mutant of your dreams?

(for example, I've always known that I am a bear... and I am a bear, and everyone knows I am one http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_cool.gif. There's also a werebat... a fascinating lemur...)

Not a thing, in fact, I am often a nice version of the terminator to my friends and family :lol:

I think cybernetics could be as cool as mutant power.

razz
12-08-2008, 10:10 AM
wow. old thread :lol:
necro-post time :evil:
i think the reason these are so popular now is because back when films were new, we didn't need other worlds to imagine things, we just thought of the future. but now it's getting harder to imagine getting more and more advanced, with how we are now. basically, we're just bored with this one.

alinda
12-08-2008, 11:20 AM
My thinking is this, 100 years ago, I believe folk were happy the way the world was going, now tho' folks would he happier somewhere different *meh*:unsure:

Arthur Heath
12-08-2008, 01:05 PM
Its an escape from reality. Especially as things in the economy get tighter/hectic people need far off lands to escape to. Be it TV, video games and book/comics.

Powdered Water
12-25-2008, 08:08 AM
Kewl thread... I still think the poster back on the first page nailed it pretty well. The world stinks today, who wouldn't want to escape to a mythical and fantastic new world?

John_and_Yoko
12-25-2008, 08:32 AM
I don't know how much truth there is to this answer, but Joseph Campbell suggested that fantasy fiction substitutes for a mythology for us in this day and age where the old religions are becoming obsolete. Think about it--how can we identify with a mythology set in Israel two thousand years ago? Myths need to be updated in order to continue to have relevance with each new generation, and in our global society (which is unprecedented) we lack a global myth and, feeling this lack, we try to fill it however we can, and a common way is with fantasy fiction. Fantasy fiction (GOOD fantasy fiction) has a lot in common with mythology, as witness The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Yes, it's an exercise in imagination--always a good thing for us human beings as it allows us to expand our brains--but just as important if not more so is that it relates to the real world somehow, serving as metaphor for the beliefs and values of the author and his/her culture (just as true mythology does). In other words, GOOD fantasy fiction is NOT just escapism from reality but just the opposite--it gives us a guideline for living in reality.

jayson
12-25-2008, 09:10 AM
Well said J&Y. Much of that was the basis of my academic work.

flaggwalkstheline
12-25-2008, 10:17 AM
ah yes but one of the greatest questions the dark tower asks us is What is the difference between reality and fiction? and if you were fiction you would think you were reality

John_and_Yoko
12-25-2008, 07:30 PM
ah yes but one of the greatest questions the dark tower asks us is What is the difference between reality and fiction? and if you were fiction you would think you were reality

Exactly.

"Reality" and "fiction" are convenient labels, but where do you draw the line? Winners write the history books, so those aren't accurate even though they're in the "non-fiction" section, and even though certain stories are in the "fiction" section, they're still real because someone thought them up (I think of Dumbledore saying "of course it is happening in your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?")--plus some of them are plausible enough to be in non-fiction sections (more plausible than, say, the Bible, anyway).

Honestly I think every name we give is a convenient label and nothing more--the boundaries are not fixed and unchanging, and ultimately are meaningless.

flaggwalkstheline
12-26-2008, 10:06 PM
exactly, sai king completely warped my perception when he inserted himself and his writing as a part of the story
he gives justification to listen to that nagging little voice in you head that whispers "r u sure this isnt real?"

Twilights Fire
06-23-2009, 03:10 PM
I do agree with the "to escape real life" version but this doesn't exactly mean that real life sucks...

I think this is more an addition to real life...

I mean; I have had an huge imagination since I was little and I think I have expended on it due to reading novels, watching movies and playing video games...
I haven't lost sight of reality (yet... :panic:) and I think we do "learn" a lot from these so called fantasies...

Also "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" comes to mind...
It doesn't matter how satisfied or happy people are there's always something they would like/want/need that they don't have now... Even if it's a subconscious desire...

A fantasy might be a way to reach (in a way) these so called desires that may or may not be in reachable in real life....

Slaying dragon's,
Finding true love,
Being a mad and homicidal king (Hey to each his own)

That might be a reason why fiction/a fictional world can provide satisfaction for people...

Myste
10-05-2009, 07:52 AM
Like there have been said earlier, for me too, it's a way of escaping the "reality" - forgetting everyday troubles. It can be a book, movie, a game but books are the best for me...

cozener
12-28-2009, 11:41 AM
I don't really know how to answer the question for others. Maybe we should ask the Saudis...

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/24/saudi-arabia-witchcraft-and-sorcery-cases-rise :lol:

But for my part, I think that if its true that more people are into fantasy worlds these days than they have been in the past (although, frankly, I'm not entirely sold on the idea that, pound for pound, they are) it might be because people long for simpler, slower times...like way simple...like Medieval simple but with romance, titles, and magic to cover all of the dirt and grit involved with living during such a "simple" time. Everyone fantasizes about being a knight or a wizard or a princess; no one fantasizes about being a serf living in some straw hut held together with dried sheep shit. This was the reality for most folks back then. Fantasy is a way of going back to that slow simplicity while sidestepping all the misery and discomfort that comes with it.

On the other hand, it might just be the simple fact that more people read these days than they did in centuries past.

pathoftheturtle
01-04-2010, 01:51 PM
Well, there's something to what you say. Although there was hardship in the past, our age has more stress. Maybe that is because so many people have grandiose fantasies, and aren't satisfied with these things which those olden folk didn't have. (Even non-readers may have power fantasies.)
However, it seems like you're only considering "fantasy" as a very narrow classification. I think that it's true enough that there's more interest just in pseudo-medieval fiction than there was 100 years ago, but it'd be even easier to show that speculative fiction in general has been growing more popular.

answering the topic title question: I don't.

I have enough fantasy worlds in my own head not to have to read about anyone else's. I do not like fantasy as a genre, but I like good literature and that's the only reason why I sometimes read fantasy, too. Unfortunately, most often the author is so absorbed in creating new world that he sacrifices anything else - the plausibility of the plot and the characters, style, dialog, whatever.*nods* However, let me ask you this-- did you need to read fantasy in the past, in order to develop the imagination that you have now? It's an honest question: I feel much the way that you do, but I'm unsure about why. I know my experience, but I have little basis for comparison. I first saw Star Wars when I was 4 years old. I loved fantasy when I was young, and I seriously thought that more people should get into it. That has actually happened, as I've grown up, but now I'm not so sure that it is such a good thing. As you say, it is a shame to see literary values sacrificed.
I don't know how much truth there is to this answer, but Joseph Campbell suggested that fantasy fiction substitutes for a mythology for us in this day and age where the old religions are becoming obsolete. Think about it--how can we identify with a mythology set in Israel two thousand years ago? Myths need to be updated in order to continue to have relevance with each new generation, and in our global society (which is unprecedented) we lack a global myth and, feeling this lack, we try to fill it however we can, and a common way is with fantasy fiction. Fantasy fiction (GOOD fantasy fiction) has a lot in common with mythology, as witness The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Yes, it's an exercise in imagination--always a good thing for us human beings as it allows us to expand our brains--but just as important if not more so is that it relates to the real world somehow, serving as metaphor for the beliefs and values of the author and his/her culture (just as true mythology does). In other words, GOOD fantasy fiction is NOT just escapism from reality but just the opposite--it gives us a guideline for living in reality.It seems accurate that this rise of interest in fantasy has occured at the same time that an erosion of Christianity has, but I'm unsure about correlation. Some fundamentalists would argue that reading this stuff leads to disinterest in church, rather than the other way around. (As witness Cozener's link.) I'm Christian by choice, though, and I place high value on religious freedom. I don't try to force my beliefs on others, I wouldn't want them doing that to me. I do think that you're onto something, but when you say that fiction gives us "a guideline" for living, that seems too rigid a term. My opinion is more that it just helps us to learn how to imagine. (Or, perhaps, just to retain our imagination.) Books about different worlds encourage us to think about how the world could be... maybe even think about why it is that our world is the way that it is. At some point, we may see that instead of being escapists, we can be involved.

Lily-sai
01-04-2010, 03:09 PM
.. and you never know - if you stop imagining, Fantastica will be dying again and Atreyu will never be able to finish all the stories.

(The Neverending Story. just in case someone didn't know. :) )

Jean
01-07-2010, 02:44 PM
answering the topic title question: I don't.

I have enough fantasy worlds in my own head not to have to read about anyone else's. I do not like fantasy as a genre, but I like good literature and that's the only reason why I sometimes read fantasy, too. Unfortunately, most often the author is so absorbed in creating new world that he sacrifices anything else - the plausibility of the plot and the characters, style, dialog, whatever.*nods* However, let me ask you this-- did you need to read fantasy in the past, in order to develop the imagination that you have now? It's an honest question: I feel much the way that you do, but I'm unsure about why. I know my experience, but I have little basis for comparison. I first saw Star Wars when I was 4 years old. I loved fantasy when I was young, and I seriously thought that more people should get into it. That has actually happened, as I've grown up, but now I'm not so sure that it is such a good thing. As you say, it is a shame to see literary values sacrificed.
It is such a good question I don't even have a ready answer! http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/0134-bear.gif

::musing bear::

The first impulse is to say "no" - I don't remember any fantasy (like, you know, fantasy, in the narrow sense of the genre definition) ever being published here in the Soviet Union (I read my first Moorcock or Zelazny when I was about 25), but somehow it doesn't sound like the right answer; surely American fantasy of the post-war 20th century isn't all there is? There must have been lots of factors contributing to the development of a kid's - American or Soviet - imagination; it's certainly something to think about.

mystima
01-07-2010, 06:25 PM
not sure if it was mentioned earlier or not but it all started with the stories from ancient times like the Epic of Gilgamesh, the stories from Homer (The Odyssey and The Illiad,) One Thousand and One Nights also known as Arabian nights and other stories of that nature. I think as a people we need a way to escape all the hoopla of the everyday grind.