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There is no Wizard: How Epic Fantasy Fails UsEpic fantasy is not escapist literature just to be read for fun. It is a serious form of literature that tackles the big questions in a characters life (hence the epic). And in this way it helps us understand ourselves and helps us look at the big questions in our own lives. But epic fantasy uses one particular tool to help the hero find his way through the darkness of his challenges; and this tool doesn't exist for us and this is where epic fantasy fails. It's Not the Dragons or the Fantasy Worlds The fact that there are dragons or supernatural beasts in epic fantasy does not detract from the relevance of the story. This is an apt metaphor because we all face beasts and dragons in our lives. And it isn't the fantasy worlds replete with strange settings, languages and creatures because if you take a step back and look at the world we live in you can see that it too is populated with strange setting, languages and creatures. The Steps Every Hero Must Take Joseph Campbell described the steps a hero must undertake in his work The Hero With A Thousand Faces and these steps have remained unchanged throughout centuries of epic fantasy writing. If you are unfamiliar with the work of Joseph Campbell you will still recognize the steps that a hero goes through. The first step is the call to action where an average young man is called upon to take upon himself a quest. The second step is the refusal of this call. The young man can't believe that this is something that he has to do so he balks. “I can't do this. I am just an ordinary person.” Of course he soon recants this and takes up the challenge, and he moves forward through more of the required steps. These steps are very recognizable as the standard format for epic fantasy and you can even see them in many movies. All of these steps that a hero goes through are very relevant to us as human beings except for one. At some point early in his journey the hero of our epic fantasy meets with a mentor who has a deeper understanding of the world and of the challenges that our hero will soon face. This mentor is most often a wizard possessing unusual powers and abilities and he imparts his wisdom on our young hero and uses his magic to clear a path for him. But this is where epic fantasy takes a turn away from the reality that we experience. In our world there is no all-knowing wizard. Everyone on this big blue globe is just as clueless as everyone else and we are all just stumbling around in a cave looking at shadows on the wall. This is where epic fantasy fails. There is no all-knowing wizard to guide us through this epic we are all living. |
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