What's up in fantasy?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well, not sure how to rephrase - wouldn't want to imply HDM would offend anyone religious but it's very much against certain forms of submission-based religion.

I think the only people who could be offended by the series are folks who go into it thinking it's going to be the best thing ever. It's a self-important bit of business with weak plotting and a real difficulty differentiating character voices by any means other than the most clumsy methods.

 

[S'mon]

I think the only people who could be offended by the series are folks who go into it thinking it's going to be the best thing ever. It's a self-important bit of business with weak plotting and a real difficulty differentiating character voices by any means other than the most clumsy methods.

It's definitely self-important but so is most fantasy; including most good fantasy. The Chronicles of Narnia are extremely self-important but none the worse for that (I like CoN just as much as I like HDM BTW).

 

[S'mon]

Suggesting that anyone is a 'fanatic' involving their relegion if they take offence to an idea is usually considered bad form. It has nothing to do with suggesting that a book might offend.

Um, ok... sorry, I didn't mean to say that only religious fanatics would take offense to HDM. I was trying to say that at least 2 groups are likely to find HDM offensive:

1. Devout Catholics - because the on-screen bad guys are essentially the Catholic church (with Calvinist influence) in a parrallel universe.

2. Religious fanatics of any monotheist submission-based religion (which could be Christianity, Judaism or Islam) because the novels present unquestioning submission to a divine power as 'bad' and free thinking as 'good'.

 

[Numion]

I think you should write a lord of the rings version where they use the falcons to drop the ring to the crack of doom. That would kick ass.

 

[Wild Gazebo]

The thing is I don't think most fanatics consider themselves fanatic. The word fanatic has some decidedly negative connotations--regardless of definition. Perhaps I'm being a bit too sensitive though...not really worth this response--sorry. Nothin' to see here.

 

[S'mon]

Re HDM - there's an interesting discussion between Pullman and the Archbishop of Canterbury (who seems to like the books) here:
http://weather.telegraph.co.uk/arts...7.xml&sSheet=/arts/2004/03/18/ixartright.html

 

[Hand of Evil]

Constantine concerns:
[sblock]Constantine worries me, the director removed a whole character from the movie, that from the write ups was semi-important to the character of Constantine, you have to wonder how that will effect the movie.[/sblock]

 

[rounser]

Having said that, it'll be a few years before Hollywood figures how much fantasy is crap (whoops, forgot about the D&D movie there for a second) since they have decades of good stuff to plunder, now that special effects are cheap enough to make even the most over the top fantasies doable, and relatively cheaply at that.

I don't think Hollywood gets it. They've responded to the success of Lord of the Rings with historical epics (Troy, Alexander, another King Arthur thing of some sort), what looks like another Conan knock-off ala The Scorpion King (Elektra)...and Narnia (a children's book series, arguably in the same studio-appeal vein as Peter Pan).

Unless they start turning out proper bookstore-novel-section fantasy soon, I think it's beginning to look like the studios lack the wit to recognise the potential...and are responding in the old tried-and-tested movie territory ways that they're familiar with. Are there any movie projects going on that match the definition of mainstream fantasy novel? Narnia and Conan don't count, and neither does Harry Potter.

 

[S'mon]

What's a mainstream fantasy novel? Thomas Covenant? "Stormbringer"? "Hour of the Dragon"? Does it have to take place entirely in an alternate universe, have a lengthy quest, sword fights, wizards in pointed hats and sub-human pseudo-orcs?

 

[Turanil]

I'm a writer, and I feel that my calling is to entertain people. But I don't want to just feed what I perceive to be this growing sense of directionlessness. What can I write in the realm of fantasy that is entertaining -- that makes the world seem appropriately meaningful -- without simply creating escapism? The Hero's Journey is classic, but how do I make its core story resonate with readers today?

Aaaah! All this long thread is in essence a writer's survey? "What should I write to be successful?" Mmmmh... Well, you must write about something which is really important to you, and then something which is important to society at large. Then, turn it into a metaphor so it become an entertaining fantasy-action epic adventure.

What's up with fantasy, nowadays? What do we want?

Well, what I DON'T WANT is medieval knights wearing a trenchcoat and a katana...