Fantasy: Difference between revisions

Portal fantasies are often about ensuring that multiple worlds stay divided. <ref>http://bestfantasybooks.com/portal-fantasy.html</ref> In the ''Harry Potter'' series, it is a priority that Muggles have no idea the wizard world exists. Ultimately, portal fantasy is a versatile and an open-ended genre where anything is possible. <ref>http://bestfantasybooks.com/portal-fantasy.html</ref>

==Secondary World==

   

Secondary World fantasies are different fictional scenarios. These scenarios mirror the author's thoughts rather than what actually happens in the world.<ref>Walter, Damien G. "Secondary World Problems." SECONDARY WORLD PROBLEMS. N.p., 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 02 July 2015. <http://damiengwalter.com/2012/04/15/secondary-world-problems/></ref>  In the author's fictional world, situations become very intense. They have several different dimensions, locations, characters, languages, and timelines are interdependent. The author attempts to make the reader feel as if they are part of the secondary world. It seems unreal, but it explores and unveils the rules and nature of that world. Dark, Low, Heroic, and High fantasies are different types of fantasy literature that use secondary world within the narratives.

==High Fantasy==

High Fantasies include characters such as dragons, elves, wizards and dwarfs that can be found in a secondary world. The plots are serious, and the main hero fights evil forces. Contemporary high fantasies either exclude the primary world, parallel the primary world with the secondary world, or have the hero enter the secondary world from the primary world through a portal.<ref>"High Fantasy." <i>Wikipedia</i>. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 July 2015. &lt;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fantasy&gt;.</ref> ''The Lord of the Rings'' is a high fantasy novel.<ref>"The Lord of the Rings." <i>Wikipedia</i>. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 July 2015. &lt;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings&gt;.</ref> The ring symbolizes power and evil; it was created by the The Dark Lord Sauron to rule over middle-earth.<ref>"Sauron." <i>The One Wiki to Rule Them All</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2015. &lt;http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Sauron&gt;.</ref> It is more powerful than other power rings within the secondary world. The "Eye or Sauron" is a representation of darkness. The "Eye" is used to protect Mordor and give Lord Sauron the ability to see all.

==Heroic Fantasy==

Frodo Baggins, from ''The Lord of the Rings'', battles with wizards, dwarfs, and other creatures along the quest to destroy the "ring" in the fire of Mount Doom.<ref>"Frodo Baggins." <i>The One Wiki to Rule Them All</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 July 2015. &lt;http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Frodo_Baggins&gt;.</ref> The journey Frodo embarks on is a test of survival; he travels thousands of miles, on foot, escaping the black riders, and fighting off Sauron's men holding the only ring that controls middle earth. Throughout his journey, Frodo struggles with the decision to keep the ring for himself or have it destroyed.

==Dark Fantasies==

Dark fantasies are stories that use elements of horror. The focus of a Dark Fantasy is not to scare the reader, it is to expose the reader to different creatures.<ref>Anderson, Colleen."Writing: What Is Dark Fantasy?" N.p., 15 Apr. 2011. Web. 03 July 2015. https://colleenanderson.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/writing-what-is-dark-fantasy/</ref> This makes it very different from actual horror. The Hunger Games is a great example, taking place in a nation called Panem. Panem was the result of destruction of their continent’s civilization due to a tragic event.This novel is written in the voice of a 16 year old named Katniss Everdeen.<ref>"The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen: The Heroine the World Needs Right Now." Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital, n.d. Web. 03 July 2015. http://www.wired.com/2012/03/katniss-everdeen-hollywood-heroines/</ref> The hunger games is an event that is held between a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18. This is a televised battle between the two. They battle until the death.

==Epic Fantasy==

Folklore comes from tales passed down by word of mouth. It’s made up of informal expressions passed around long enough to have become recurrent in form and content, but changeable in performance.<ref>Grey, Elspeth. "Folklore: An Appeal to Fantasy Authors to Get It Right." That Character Dies. 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 2 July 2015. <https://thatcharacterdies.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/folklore-an-appeal-to-fantasy-authors-to-get-it-right/>.</ref> This sub-genre consist of myths, legends, fables, and fairy tales. Myth is that which occurs in time-out-of-time. A myth is concerned with why the world is the way it is, and so unfolds in a setting that is distinct from time or place as it is currently recognized.<ref>Grey, 2013</ref> It is stories from every culture, that, for centuries have explained natural phenomena and answered questions people have about the human condition: origin and creation stories, stories about life, death and life after death.<ref>http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-fable-folktale-myth-legend-differences-and-examples.html</ref> Legend occurs in “historical time” although it typically mixes fact with fiction. Usually with legends there is doubt about its credibility. They are unexplained tales warped by the human imagination. A legend can be either about a person or a place. For example, King Arthur, Robin Hood, Atlantis are all types of legends. Fables are described as a didactic lesson given through some sort of animal story.<ref>http://literarydevices.net/fable/</ref> In Western society, the most common fables are by Aesop, consisting of short stories like The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Ant and the Grasshopper. Fairytales are short stories, typically with no author, but it still can be recognized despite many variations of the story. A fairytale is similar to myths, legends and fables. It can be either told orally or in text, the content of the story can come from historical content, and usually have a moral at the end of the story. Fairytales typically feature European folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarfs, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, mermaids, trolls, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments.<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale</ref> These type of stories withstand long periods of time because they are an embodiment of a culture, contain fundamental human truths by which people have lived for centuries, or they are simply entertaining.<ref>http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CLit/Folk_lit.htm</ref>

==Magic Realism==

Gothic fantasy can also be referred to as “dark fantasy”, and combines fantasy elements with horror. This combination is typically a fantastical world mixed with a disconsolate, shadowy atmosphere and/or feelings of trepidation, anxiety, and horror. Gothic fantasy allows the stories to be told from the monster or creature’s point of view or can be used to lend a sympathetic view towards supernatural beings. The gothic subgenre branches off from romantic fiction and can contain similar elements. Gothic works can possess feelings of excess that border on melodrama, a mystery to be solved, or twists and turns that convolute the plot making it nonrealistic <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_fantasy</ref>. The settings provide the reader or viewer with images of darkness and decay. There is implied violence or gore, but it is never blatantly shown so as the give the impression of that which is frightening; there is nothing concrete. This aspect lends to the uncertainty and building of suspense common in gothic fantasy. Elements of the supernatural are a must: curses, haunted houses, ghosts, witches, vampires, and beasts. The gothic typically features repressed fears, memories, or desires to make the story more gripping to the characters. Secret passages and rooms, creepy, startling sounds, and screams heard off in the distance make for works that keep the viewer or reader on the edge of their seat <ref>http://www.sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=8327</ref>.

==Grimdark==

The grim and dark tone of these stories gives this genre its name. Grimdark stories are often set in dystopian or amoral societies with a violent, realistic setting. These fantastic works move away from the uplifting and idealized. Grimdark illustrates how dark and brutal life is or was. The narratives do not re-image history or past events, but instead expresses pessimism or disillusionment. Grimdark features some similar characteristics of dark realism texts and the agency of the protagonist is that they are characters that must choose between good and evil, but they are just as lost as the average person- they have no special insight to how the world works. These texts are based on human nature; elements of jealously, murder, adultery, pride, revenge, and tragedy are all extremely common in Grimdark. While set in fantasy worlds, there is more focus on the psychology of the character than the surroundings <ref>http://grimdark-fantasy-reader.blogspot.com/p/grimdark-defined_4656.html</ref>.

=Fantasy in Media=