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Message: <blockquote data-quote="polyhedral man" data-source="post: 9572166" data-attributes="member: 6901380">I'd argue that if we wanted to go out of our way to find concepts that are 'potentially problematic' in fantasy. We could very easily do that with any setting. And absolutely any aspect that is fantastic, anything could be 'potentially' problematic. Anyone that disagrees, here is my challenge: Pick any aspect of your favourite setting, and I guarantee you people can pick holes in it, and find something that 'may offend others, somehow, somewhere'. But if we succumb to that kind of thinking, the end result is self-censorship. People generally detest the idea of burning books. But I'd argue self-censorship has a similar effect - it means that we don't explore ideas, that books don't get written... not because the author feels that there is something wrong with them, quite the opposite, they would really like to explore an idea* (especially in fantasy or sci-fi, same as children do)... But because other people might be offended by a certain tenuous link. In the end, we as a whole (i.e. the culture) are missing out.*By the way this is how Birthright started. The creator wanted to write his own fiction, inspired by Tolkien and that novel became the setting. Which I personally am very fond of. And never found any reason to draw analogy to real life conflicts - same as when I watch Krull I don't think that monarchy should be abolished etc etc.</blockquote>