Line #15 Quotes/StandardFantasySetting


1	->''But a part of my mind remained plugged into what I might call the consensus fantasy universe. It does exist, and you all know it. It has been formed by folklore and Victorian romantics and Creator/WaltDisney, and E. R. Eddison and Creator/JackVance and Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin and Creator/FritzLeiber -- hasn't it? In fact those writers and [[Creator/JRRTolkien a handful]] [[Creator/TerryBrooks of others]] have very closely defined it. There are now, to the delight of parasitical writers like me, what I might almost call "public domain" plot items. There are [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], and magic users, and [[FantasyWorldMap far horizons]], and [[TheQuest quests]], and [[McGuffin items of power]], and [[AdventureTown weird cities]]. There's [[SceneryPorn the kind of scenery]] that we would have had on Earth if only God had had the money.\
2	To see the consensus fantasy universe in detail you need only look at the classical TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons role-playing games. They are mosaics of every fantasy story you've ever read.\
3	Of course, the consensus fantasy universe is full of cliches, almost by definition. [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elves are tall and fair and use bows]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves are small and dark and vote Labour]]. And [[FunctionalMagic magic works]]. That's the difference between magic in the fantasy universe and magic here. In the fantasy universe a wizard [[MagicalGesture points his fingers]] and all these sort of [[PowerGlows blue glittery lights come out]] and there's a sort of explosion and [[ForcedTransformation some poor soul is turned into something horrible]].''
4	-->-- '''Creator/TerryPratchett''', ''[[http://www.ansible.co.uk/misc/tpspeech.html Why Gandalf Never Married]]''
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6	->...I grew up on ''Franchise/TheTwilightZone'' stories and they were as fantastic as they got and were always grounded in humanity and human emotions. I think modern fantasy, and Tolkien's work took off right after ''The Twilight Zone'' was cancelled, began in the 60's and hasn't changed since. Withholding judgment, I find that to be a remarkable and depressing fact....\
7	By the conventions handed down:\
8	A Tolkien-type fantasy, the only kind allowed, must take place in something resembling the Middle Ages.\
9	It must have the usual folk accoutrements of trolls, elves, etc.\
10	There must be an [[AncientEvil Evil Force]] that everyone once thought had long been vanquished, but which now has returned (which raises a question of whether it could keep returning).\
11	There must be [[TheQuest a quest]] to find or return something.\
12	There must be an [[ConLang invented mythology/language]] to support the whole business. Note: the writer is free to borrow. For example, I believe there is a relationship between [[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung Wagner's Ring]] and Tolkien, though I hasten to add I am not accusing the latter of plagiarism.\
13	There must be lots of characters with minimal or no sense of humor.\
14	There must be a disconnect from everyday reality, at no point is the reader to be reminded of the everyday realities of bill-paying, work, and/or family squabbles. Fantasy is to escape. And yes, [[Creator/RodSerling Serling's]] fantasies were not about escape.\
15	There must be no allegory -- and here I salute Tolkien. I think that was an absolutely correct decision. Allegory is like satire -- nobody understands it and nobody cares about it. By dispensing with allegorical interpretations, Tolkien freed him to write something that anyone could readily interpret for their own purposes (In the 60's I recall, Orcs = Narcs was all the rage)\
16	These I believe to be all necessary conditions. But the question is: are they sufficient?
17	-->-- Science fiction author J. Kel, author of ''Shedding Grace'', on "The Tolkien Template"
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19	->''"There's something terribly ''weird'' about the standard fantasy setting, not least of which that ''''Standard Fantasy Setting'''' can be uttered completely without irony. Look at us; we're a civilization so steeped in escapism that we've managed to find mundanity in something that doesn't exist and never will (no matter what your [[UsefulNotes/{{Otherkin}} Otherkin]] friend might say). Why is it accepted fact that Elves fire bows and arrows and commune with trees? That was [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkien's]] thing; without him, elves would just about be qualified to sell Rice Krispies. And he made Dwarves wear braided beards and wield battle-axes. Real dwarves don't do that, they get hired by Lucasfilm or take corporate office jobs because they're an equal-opportunity bonanza. Are we all but children, playing eternally on the same swingset while JRR is the grumpy dad watching from the park bench and trying not to get aroused?"''
20	-->-- '''[[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee]]''' [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation in his review of]] ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''

Context Quotes / StandardFantasySetting