This millennium has been far more fantastic
than the last one. I’m talking about the Fantasy genre here; in books, movies,
games, and other media. Fantasy has crept into other genres like action,
comedy, and even romance. Superheroes have never been more popular, each with millions of Facebook fans. Even long dead politicians and religious messiahs are being resurrected to fight vampires and
zombies.
Our heroes are truly
becoming become heroes… axe,
baseball bat and all!
What happened and how did this insane glut of
the hyper-real and super-normal invade our lives and imaginations? I hereby
propose my theory of the Great Fantasy
Renaissance.
The Birth
Opinions and accounts vary, but for me, the
beginning came at the turn of the millennium with a cult movie directed by the
Wachowskis (no longer brothers)… The Matrix. I speak merely of the
first movie and not the controversial sequels. Apart from the myriad influences
and allusions that made the movie oh-so-profound, what really fascinated people was
the concept that reality was negotiable. It could all be a simulation, and
anything is possible in a simulation.
If you could see the world, you could reprogram it!
We were awestruck by the possibilities as we
watched Neo kick, punch, leap, and fly through the movie, defying physics,
belief, and even death. It captured the imagination of the masses, beyond
exclusive basements of nerd clubs. It inspired writers, artists, and designers new
to sci-fi fantasy to unleash their creativity beyond the constraints of
reality. And thus it began!
The Awkward
Adolescence
Fantasy was beginning to stir again, it was still
mostly for kids (‘childish’ nerds included). One literary phenomenon changed
that. Joanne a.k.a J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter built an everlasting bridge
that blurred the boundaries between children’s and adult
fiction. Other, less noteworthy but still very successful writers blurred those
lines some more and soon enough, it was OK for anyone to read anything.
That’s close to half a
billion copies worth of sales right here!
On the movie side, special effects were coming
of age, allowing directors to paint greater and more splendid canvases. Peter
Jackson showed the world how to make epic fantasy with The Lord of the Rings, designing
a world of swords, wizardry, and dragons that one could take seriously. Apart
from that series though, movie maturity was still very PG rated, and the first
couple of Harry Potter movies proved that. Movies still felt cartoonish, but
some series like Spiderman and X-Men still became more popular than superhero movies ever had. DC’s Batman franchise
was a joke though (the shameful age of the nippled batsuit) and it looked like
the Fantasy renaissance would sputter out before it ever took off.
Why!
But times were a changing, and a new breed of writers
and filmmakers were taking a long, hard look at a vision of grown up, serious
fantasy.
The Glorious Youth
Much as I hate to admit it, the second author
to follow Rowling’s act and make Fantasy even more popular was Stephenie Meyer.
Polarising and critically slammed, but undeniably popular and successful, the
Twilight series worked in tandem with the Harry Potter movement to spread the
word that monsters can be human too. A whole legion of authors rode the wave
and found encouraging if not comparable success. The inspirations and trends on
the other hand were quite disturbing.
Sparkling vampires…
Buff werewolves… Need I say more!
The movies were growing up too. The Prisoner of
Azkaban was complex, scary, and a lot better than the first two. Batman grew
dark and brooding in Nolan’s series, evolving into an epiphany with Heath
Ledger’s Joker in the Dark Knight. The words ‘gritty reboot’ became the mantra for introducing fantasy to a
whole new generation of fans. What these movies accomplished was incredible.
They humanised fantastic powers and made them relatable. They focused on the
logic, science, and history behind these quirks and gave fans a world that felt
natural while still being incredibly awesome. Marvel took charge of their
movies with their own studio. Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor paved the way
for the blockbuster Avengers and their success is proof of how well that worked.
That’s 7 blockbusters
in 1… one of them Hulk sized!
The Golden Age of
Fantasy
We are truly poised on the verge of a
revolution. Fantasy has become the mainstay and, along with its cousin Sci-Fi,
it is becoming the foundational premise
for non-fantasy stories. Movies like Let the Right One In and Under the Skin actually look at relationships and
conflicts; sure the central characters is a vampire or an alien, but that’s
incidental. Creative license does allow you to roam free with your setting and
characters, and that is exactly what writers, artists, and designers are doing
now. They’re having fun letting their characters power up and go wild in a
world where anything is possible. The implications and consequences are
exhilarating. What is to come in the next few years, will be utterly enchanting
and fantastic!
