Fantasy: Difference between revisions

Fantasy (view source)

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Added Urban, Gothic, and Grimdark fantasy sub-genres

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 Romance fantasy stories share the same basic story line. The heroine has lost her place in society and must form new relationships, including social, political, and romantic relationships, in order to gain acceptance elsewhere.  The heroine usually possesses magical powers and falls in love with a man who is also capable of performing magic. However, the magic in romance fantasy is much gentler. The heroine and the hero discover together how their powers can be used in order to restore good. Unlike realistic novels, romantic fantasy novels can end unhappily. Although there is little to no violence, non-graphic sex is common.<ref>"Romantic Fantasy." Best Fantasy Books. Web. 26 June 2015. http://bestfantasybooks.com/romantic-fantasy.html</ref>
+==='''Urban Fantasy'''===
+Urban, or modern, fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is characterized by setting or place. The location is almost always somewhere on Earth, in the city. Urban fantasy is the opposite of high fantasy- which is established in a fabricated world. Urban fantasy consists of contemporary settings featuring supernatural elements. These stories can exist in a historical, modern, or futuristic period, but the majority of the story must be mostly based in a city. Urban fantasy can include aliens, issues of human and non-human beings coexisting peacefully or otherwise, and/or the involvement of paranormal or mythological creatures <ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_fantasy</ref>. Urban fantasy depicts the influence of modern society on the fantasy elements included in the story, such as an alien driving a truck or a wizard using a telephone booth. Magic is an aspect that is out of the ordinary for the vast majority of the people in the story, and the majority will live normal lives that are ignorant to the fantastical elements around them. Urban fantasy often crosses paths with gothic punk, horror, magical realism, or paranormal romance <ref>http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UrbanFantasy</ref>.
+==='''Gothic Fantasy'''===
+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==