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Why I Love Fantasy
- Robert Bouffard
- Jul 4, 2018
- 3 min read
There’s just something about the fantasy genre that really piques my interest. From the first time that I saw Star Wars as a kid, to when I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings, to reading and watching Harry Potter, to reading and watching Game of Thrones when I got older, fantasy has been something that I love.
Being transported into a different world – whether it’s in a book, a movie, or on TV – brings such a sense of wonder. It gives me the feeling that there are endless possibilities according to the rules of the world I’ve been engrossed in.
It’s one thing to read a supernatural story about something that is taking place in the real world, but it is a whole other thing entirely when the world has been fabricated from the creator’s mind. Entering into a world where hobbits, elves, dwarves, wizards, and men all coexist is so appealing to me. All I want to do is learn more about the mythology and the lives of my favorite characters.
Series like LotR and Harry Potter are good for finding out more of the mythology. Tolkien wrote many other works that take place in Middle Earth other than LotR and The Hobbit that allow the readers to sit and get lost in his world. J.K. Rowling has even expanded the Harry Potter universe with books like The Cursed Child and the Fantastic Beasts movie series. For some people, the story can get tired and they see it all as a mindless cash grab. But for people like me who love the characters and the world, we can’t get enough.
Using stories to escape from everyday life is a very common occurrence. But there is something special about fantasy.
The best fantasy stories have characters that modern audiences are able to relate to because they go through the same sorts of struggles and joys that any other person would. The difference, though, is that they exist in this made up world. They’re for the people who let their imagination run wild and who think of things that don’t actually exist or that can’t happen. It allows these people to project themselves onto these characters to think about what they would do in these fantastical situations.
In each of the four series I mentioned at the beginning, there is a main character that is easy for just about anyone empathize with. Luke Skywalker is just a farm boy who has big dreams but doesn’t think he will amount to anything, Frodo is a normal guy with an extraordinary mission thrust upon him, Harry Potter is a kid living a miserable life with no hope of escape, and Jon Snow has grown up as an illegitimate child who doesn’t have any rights to anything.
Everyone can relate to being in a seemingly hopeless situation the way these characters all were. When we see how they get out of those situations, we imagine ourselves doing the same thing. It is escapism at its finest. That is why I keep going back to stories like this and why they continue to be so popular today. And I do not see it stopping any time soon.
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