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In a world where fantasy creatures live among us in coexistence, like Netflix's Bright movie, what would count as "Fantasy"?
- Thread starter Dayu
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- folklore lore world building
Queshire
Istar
*cough* Not sure if you want to compare it to Bright.
As for the actual question.... Hrm, well probably similar sort of stuff only with completely custom creatures.
As for the actual question.... Hrm, well probably similar sort of stuff only with completely custom creatures.
Nighty_Knight
Troubadour
Yes. It's just modern fantasy. Shadowrun did a great and fun job of it.
Mad Swede
Auror
Well, maybe fantasy would be a world with only one type of creature?
You could look at Luna Lovegood and all the stuff from the Quibbler in Harry Potter.
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Well...of course its fantasy...
But maybe expand this a little bit. I say everything is fantasy if I squint my eyes enough. If I lived in a world that actually had Ogre's and Pixies in it, I suspect the story with them would enter into a non-fantasy realm, but since they don't, any level of make believe makes something a fantasy. A high level of make-believe and I will have to put it in the fantasy section at the book store (what's a book store?). My guess is anything with fantasy races, no matter how depicted, will end up in the fantasy section.
Maybe anything with a book store is fantasy as well.
But maybe expand this a little bit. I say everything is fantasy if I squint my eyes enough. If I lived in a world that actually had Ogre's and Pixies in it, I suspect the story with them would enter into a non-fantasy realm, but since they don't, any level of make believe makes something a fantasy. A high level of make-believe and I will have to put it in the fantasy section at the book store (what's a book store?). My guess is anything with fantasy races, no matter how depicted, will end up in the fantasy section.
Maybe anything with a book store is fantasy as well.
Never even heard of the show (haven't watched television in years), but a big issue I see with most Urban Fantasy tales these days is the contrast between -
1 - keeping the paranormal world secret at all costs from the mundane,
and
2 - supernatural creatures engaging in flamboyant, often destructive, acts that run directly contrary to point 1.
The other thing is a tendency to utterly discount the mundane element, to the point where all the primary characters and almost all of the secondary ones are paranormal/supernatural. (And the secondary mundane characters are almost always cops, kids, close relatives, or homeless people)
1 - keeping the paranormal world secret at all costs from the mundane,
and
2 - supernatural creatures engaging in flamboyant, often destructive, acts that run directly contrary to point 1.
The other thing is a tendency to utterly discount the mundane element, to the point where all the primary characters and almost all of the secondary ones are paranormal/supernatural. (And the secondary mundane characters are almost always cops, kids, close relatives, or homeless people)
Coal Glitter
New Member
The concept is fantasy, even if it's in a modern setting. You can have peaceful or semi-peaceful coexistence of fantasy races just in different time settings. I think it's a pretty interesting thing for a story since it opens a huge space for history-building of interactions between fantasy races, no matter the time setting you use.
Queshire
Istar
I was under the impression that Dayu was asking what kind of books would be found in the Fantasy section of a book shop in a world where orcs, elves, fairies, etc openly lived amongst humans and have all throught history. Basically urban fantasy only the masquerade never developed.
pmmg
Myth Weaver
Well...at some point you would have to find a line where some critters existed and others did not. So, those that did not make the cut would still fit in the realm of fantasy. But if we lived in a word with Elves, we might imagine even more fantasy races, perhaps even more tailored to them. Paranormal stuff would still be fantasy. But I think fantasy would still be anything make believe, and still gravitate to stories that carried big themes and could ask big questions the real world (even including elves) could not lend itself too.
A tale like Gulliver's travels, or gormenghast, or the princess and the pea would still be stories even if the world included elves. And the lessons of them would still be important.
The big questions of Man might be different. The question would stop being what it is the nature of the universe and what is man's place in it, and become more what is all of our place in it?
But I think Fantasy would remain alive and well.
A tale like Gulliver's travels, or gormenghast, or the princess and the pea would still be stories even if the world included elves. And the lessons of them would still be important.
The big questions of Man might be different. The question would stop being what it is the nature of the universe and what is man's place in it, and become more what is all of our place in it?
But I think Fantasy would remain alive and well.
If it's pre-Science, then most everything in SF would qualify. Travel to other worlds. Creatures coming from other worlds. Automatons and other invented or created beings that were made not by magic. Tales from the past, where other things existed that now do not.
There's plenty of room.
There's plenty of room.
Big tent. Lots of room. Come on in! My team's world is a hidden one, and yet our dragons drive sports cars. You do you and don't worry about what other people are doing as long as it's plausible - and I do love the word 'plausible.'
Prince of Spires
Istar
One definition I've found of Fantasy as a genre is "It's the impossible made plausible". Of course a lot can be said about the definition, and it's not complete by any means, but I think it offers a nice guideline for what would constitute fantasy in a fantasy world. A fantasy world still has laws of nature and things which do and don't exist, even if there is magic involved.
For instance, in the world of Harry Potter the Lord of the Rings and The Stormlight Archive would both still count as Fantasy. The magic and the creatures in them would be very different, and still impossible.
For instance, in the world of Harry Potter the Lord of the Rings and The Stormlight Archive would both still count as Fantasy. The magic and the creatures in them would be very different, and still impossible.
StrawberryCat
Acolyte
Are you asking whether the setting itself would count as fantasy? Or what the characters would consider fantasy?
The setting would certainly be fantasy. As for what the characters consider fantasy, I guess it would be anything they believe is impossible. Concepts from their fairytales. Just because they call things we would call fantastical mundane doesn't mean they don't have their own stories. Had flight never evolved on Earth we would consider bird fantasy. But even with birds around we still have a wealth of fantastical stories.
The setting would certainly be fantasy. As for what the characters consider fantasy, I guess it would be anything they believe is impossible. Concepts from their fairytales. Just because they call things we would call fantastical mundane doesn't mean they don't have their own stories. Had flight never evolved on Earth we would consider bird fantasy. But even with birds around we still have a wealth of fantastical stories.
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