Upon introspection, I must acknowledge a rather contradictory relationship with the fantasy genre. Growing up, I wouldn’t have considered it as my preferred reading; yet there is no denying it formed a significant part of my literary repertoire. Some of my favorite series fell into the classification, such as The Prydain Chronicles, the Redwall series, Lord of the Rings, and of course, The Chronicles of Narnia. There were limits to my exposure, however; Harry Potter was strictly banned from the household, as was anything Dungeons & Dragons related. I developed my own conceptions as to the problems with these franchises, and speculated as to the differentiation between them and those that I was allowed to engaged with. Now that I’m older, I’ve further analyzed these presumed standards and refined them according to my increased understanding of the underlying reasoning. My resulting conclusions have been somewhat conflicting, and center around what I’ve come to believe about “fantasy” itself.
At a surface level, the fantasy genre is often characterized by setting elements, featuring a world with altered rules of reality compared to what the audience is familiar with, usually focusing on magic and supernatural powers. Such stories often favor an aesthetic reminiscent of Medieval history, but can also be futuristic or more literally otherworldly. Such marks are merely accidentals, however, ultimately proceeding from that first underlying element of the altered reality. This is the true theme of fantasy, the foundation upon which stories of its classification are built; in some way or another, the truth of the real world is markedly different within the confines of the story, thus allowing for greater freedom on the part of the storyteller in its crafting.
Theoretically, the increased freedom of fantasy should be a boon to the purpose of storytelling, allowing greater versatility in portraying intended themes. It is much more common, however, for fantasy to be utilized as a form of wish-fulfilment for the crafter; the vast majority of lesser-fantasy, most of which is doomed to obscurity but is nonetheless existent, consists of non-thematic flat arcs wherein the world itself is more important than character growth or other form of real-world application. The more successful endeavors within the genre avoid the extremes of such pitfalls, but still expose their lack of productive focus by inordinate attention to the fantasy aspects of their stories in comparison to the supposed core of their themes.
Putting aside concerns of authorship motivation, the potential impact upon consumers is equally concerning. Even the most balanced and well-intentioned fantasy stories can be abused by the undiscerning audience. For someone desiring to escape from reality, fantasy is an easy source of inspiration, feeding an unrestrained imagination with ideas increasingly detached from real life. Such sin (for sin it is) lies with the one who thus engages therewith; yet it must be acknowledged that no genre is more suited to escapism, even if a specific instance does not outright encourage it. Thus fantasy may appropriately be noted as a means of temptation, not necessarily a sin itself but easily leading into it.
For those whose hope is in Christ, we are called to examine our lives consistently to keep ourselves honorable before God, even in defiance of worldly standards; Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) This extends to every part of our lives, not merely our actions but our hearts as well. When it comes to means of temptation, it is usually safer to eschew completely rather than risk a fall. However, it is ultimately between God and the individual how they will be convicted in such matters, and there are instances of Christians endeavoring toward the employment of fantasy for His glory. Having established my concerns, I desire to address this aspect and the potential for redemption therein.
Be of sober mind. TTT