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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Guest&nbsp; 85555" data-source="post: 9605980">I doubt we can get into the whole messaging thing without crossing the no politics rule. But I will just say, I do think there has always been messaging, exploration of philosophical, moral and social issues in the genre (and it wasn't all conservative, there were plenty of writers who obviously were informed by things like the counter culture). I do feel like there is a narrow set of sensibilities catered to these days in publishing on that front. At the same time, I think people react to that narrowing by wanting a past that never existed (either they want it to all another very narrow set of ideas, or no ideas). So am very cautious about throwing out the baby with the bath water, simply because things have gone down a path I find a little too restrictive (i.e. I don't want a more restrictive path, but in a different direction). Also I think how artfully one handles messaging is important. A lot of my reaction to that in newer media isn't so much the message itself but how organically it fits into the storyJust as an example of what I am talking about with the backlash I see (one I don't think is especially in danger of veering into the political) is how I see a lot of folks talk about GRR Martin. He is sort of used as an argument for fantasy moving away from morally gray or more nihilistic themes and returning to more aspirational and traditional ones. To me that is an overreaction. I don't have a problem with the themes Martin was tackling. And I don't think it is healthy any end of the political spectrum to have a monopoly on what themes get addressed</blockquote>

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