Fantasy with Friends – hosted by Pages Unbound – poses questions each Monday about fantasy, either as a genre as a whole or individual works.
This is a really fascinating question and one that requires a lot of consideration. Before we dive in though, I want to say a big thank you to Pages Unbound for hosting Fantasy With Friends – it’s not always easy making sure there’s prompts in advance enough and maintaining these sort of memes, and I really appreciate how much thought there is behind this one!
Fantasy With Friends:
Fantasy as a Real World Mirror
Sometimes people talk about fantasy as allowing readers to see or realize things about our real world that they would not otherwise have seen (that is, they argue that fantasy can more effectively help us see reality than realistic fiction or even nonfiction can). Has this happened to you? Is there something you think about differently now because you were initially inspired to by a fantasy story?
I think all fiction can allow you to see/realise things about the real world that you would otherwise not consider or understand. But I do think fantasy can often do this in a strong way and even draw in readers who may not seek out the more ‘realistic’/contemporary fiction. People might not want to read – or always read – contemporary books that deal with very real issues, such as homophobia, transphobia, racism, misogyny and sexism etc in a direct way, but these can be mapped onto a fantasy world in a way that makes it (unfortunately) more likely to reach people who avoid books that more obviously deal with those topics.
Now, my own personal perspective is, where possible, if you are part of a majority – white, cis, etc – it is definitely worth reviewing your reading habits and ensuring you’re reading diversely within the genres you enjoy. Maybe that is picking up contemporary works by authors who don’t look like you. Maybe, instead, it’s making a conscious effort to do the same with fantasy. Not because you might learn something, but because there are fantastic writers who often get overlooked in all genres because they don’t match the default. Anyway, I think it’s incredibly boring to only read works by white, cis het writers.
Now, looping back – I think fantasy is an excellent vehicle for exploring current issues in society, but it works best when it’s handled well. There has to be a balance; some writers choose not to bring in racism or homophobia or other forms of bigotry into their fantasy worlds, but I’ve seen criticisms of this approach where the worldbuilding isn’t strong enough to sustain it. Others take the approach of using historical fantasy to explore various issues – one that comes to mind is A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians, in which the French Revolution and the abolitionist movement are tied up with the use of magic. I think H. G. Parry handles this very well, and it definitely provides a deep insight into the historical events, bringing them to life in an interesting way while giving them a different aspect with the use of magic.
I think if they’re looking to tackle ‘issues’ through fantasy second worlds, a lot of authors need to do a lot of research to avoid coming across as clunky or preachy, and to avoid getting things wrong. They also need to consider if they are the right author to tackle these issues in these ways. And it’s not just about ‘issues’, either – many authors combine fantasy with real world experiences, and match it with a character in a second world or even an urban fantasy/paranormal version of our world. The fantasy might add another layer, but the real world experience of humanity and life influences this and allows the fantasy to serve as a vehicle to explore the human condition, in ways some readers might not click with in contemporary.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there who refuse to seek out and read books where a main human character doesn’t look like them, and the more used someone is to seeing themselves reflected in characters, the less likely they are to pick up something else. Fantasy can be a way to reach these people and if done well, can help better understand someone else’s POV, even if the main character looks like them on the surface, or is an elf, dwarf, hobbit (but, importantly, still resembles them).
For those of us who are marginalised, I think we become so used to reading about people who don’t look like us, who don’t have many overlapping life experiences, that often it means we’re a bit more open about reading from multiple different points of view. The less you see yourself reflected, the more you learn to relate in different ways – which is why “I can’t relate to that character” is so infuriating! Of course you can relate to them, someone doesn’t have to be exactly like you not to relate to them and their struggles. However, in fantasy, at least, it’s almost like, if you do it well enough, you can kind of ‘trick’ those readers into learning something, even if it’s against their will.
