Is Fantasy too Medieval to be Inclusive? And should it even try?
š§āāļø Space Marines 2 vs. The Rings of Power + 10 lesser-known fantasy art
Welcome back, Mellon,
We dare to adventure far today. It will be risky, but the conclusion may surprise you. Bear with me, please, till the end before spitting in my eye shouting neo-fascist pig or woke soyboy.
(There are some juicy fantasy art recommendations at the end, too.)
Origins of fantasy (and scifi)
Although Shelley undoubtedly created modern sci-fi and fantasy at the same time with Frankenstein, and Alice in Wonderland popularized a version of these stories with illustrations. In my opinion, Fantasy as we know it today was birthed by Tolkien and Lord of the Rings.
But this short discussion wonāt be about the history of the Fantasy, Iād much rather talk about the present. So if you are interested in the former, I recommend you read
this piece by us about fantasy illustrations (that ties in well with my upcoming point about the male imagination in fantasy)
and this insane comprehensive look at the literary history of fantasy by
Back to the Future Present
While popular sci-fi branched into egalitarian ideology, fantasy remained conservative. At least thatās what it seems on the surface. Every dwarf is Irish or Scottish, every black or Asian person is considered exotic. People live in autocratic societies, their lives are mostly governed by gender stereotypes, racism, classism and such.
I admit, I am not the greatest fantasy fanboy, and Iāve heard that there is a fair amount of the opposite. But I also feel like, those are not the most popular versions of the genre. My fandom consists of reading most of Tolkien, the Silmarillion even twice, and choosing fantasy (and sci-fi) over any other genre when picking a book or movie.
It seems, to me, that modern works like The Song of Ice and Fire digress from Tolkienās basics only slightly. Though after reading this series by
and maybe a lot has changed in the genreās core of fantasy stories.Regardless, I am still confident to say, that the surface, the looks remained mostly untouched. There are strong female protagonists, people of various sexual orientation and skin colour in a wide range of roles, but the overarching structure of society is mainly medieval.
And it is not a surprise, you know. Tolkien wanted to create the mythology of the UK and he, of course, created a world that worked, more or less, like the old kingdoms. That is the root, the origin of popular fantasy.
Stressing āSURFACEā
I think there is a constant struggle to cater to the current inclusive politics that largely define one side of corporate behaviour on screens. There is huge financial potential in fantasy IPs for production companies: they are well-known and have hardcore fanbases all over the world. So the giants push forward.
The promise that the genre can attract casual viewers is too enticing. Fantasy stories can be filled with all kinds of spectacle: war, romance, visual effects, you name it. Although the source materials go deeper, the modern takes on screens fall short and often remain on the surface. They are usually easy to digest fairy tales.
And these surface level changes - like throwing in hotheaded ents and entwives (!) or loving, caring orcs - add up and affect the core that Tolkien calls secondary belief.
They make us doubt the previously set laws of the imagined world.
This problem may only exist for the bookās readership. But if we take a similar franchise like Warhammer 40k, that is based on the same conservative surface level fantasy principles, it shows another side of the equation: the medium. Games vs. series and films.
The fascist dream: Space Marine 2
The point of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is that you can play as an alien-hating fanatic fascist tank-man. And based on the recent reverted patch, anything that takes away from that experience must be eradicated, just like Tyranids.1
Oh, by the way if youāre interested in why we are drawn to our dark sides, I recommend our most popular post so far:
And if you smell testosterone, you have a good nose.
In games, fantasies are rarely not biased.
Witcher, Space Marine, Cyberpunk, I can find tons of other examples that cater mainly to heterosexual menās fantasies. And whenever the opposite happens, the gamer community is outraged. Looking at you, Sony, and your $100M flop: Concorde.
The curious thing is, that these stories rarely translate well to the screens. If they get translated at all.
But why? Why canāt it be not inclusive? Do these stories of human cruelty have no teachings to us?
So I just hope that Amazon hired Henry Cavill, the apostle of geekiness as the executive producer of the planned Warhammer 40k movies, to let him do his thing and stay true to the core of the IP.
Before you burn me at the stake
There is a contrarian example, too: The Last of Us. I didnāt play the game, but I heard that the gay storyline is less prominent there than in the series. And I loved the series, especially the relating episode. It fits so well in the story and the characters are genuine.
How did they pull it off?
Okay, I might have an idea: this is a balancing game. Enough new ideas to cater to the masses and enough unchanged stuff to please the fans. I think,
explains this phenomenon well in What Makes An Adaptation Canon?But sometimes it doesnāt seem like it is about the masses, not about the story either, but corporate policies. I would not risk the brandās long-term perception for short term profits either.
Representation / historical accuracy vs. bullshit
I know I sound harsh about this, and I am pulling together so many seemingly unrelated topics, and groups, but we are really close to the conclusion. So I humbly ask for a kind suspension of disbelief.
The creators of Omnimorphs and I came to a conclusion, that the difference between representation and woke gibberish, or to balance it out, historical accuracy and alt-right propaganda is quality.
Attention to the substance, to the story, to the soul of the piece of art.
If changes have been made with care, the audience can feel it, and if the modifications smell like money, we will revolt. Because forced narrative shows as much as respectful creative additions to the story. Hell, they can even change lore if it is based in the core of the story and explained tastefully.
I bet itās not just me who craves true immersion. The kind where Iām not slammed out of Middle-Earth by politics of the real world. We, artists, and we, the audience want creative freedom. Because we want variety, we crave quality.
So did the streaming economy kill quality? Of course not, it is just harder to find in such supply.
Why does The Rings of Power S2 feel better?
How come the 1st season of Rings of Power was met with outrage and the 2nd season is somewhat praised? (Also by Huba and me.)
Maybe the answer lies in my preconception towards the art itself. Possibly it is just a representation of high expectations coming from a fanās soul. Because letās be honest: hardcore fans are impossible to please most of the time.
Because if we donāt have enough freedom, the adaptation will feel like a copy. And then where is the creative freedom of the talented and hard-working artists that work on the new addition?
Some changes are absolutely fine in the second season, but horrible in the first. Some changes I donāt care about in Game of Thrones, and some I hate in The Rings of Power.
I think The Nerdwriter solved this aspect: TV is just not fit for telling Tolkien-like, or myth-like stories.
Where the novel and the epic (not the subgenre but stories like The Illiad) meets, the story is closed. Even though there are characters that push things forward, their fates are mostly decided.
Whereas, in GoT characters can have huge changes in their development because they are free to roam the story without the finality of their destiny. If there is a sort of fate in the show, it is often misinterpreted and shifts as much as influence and power.
That is not true about Middle-Earth, it is already a finished story, a myth, that should be told more like an epic than a novel. In my opinion, the producers should have picked film or limited series as the medium. But you know, that is not subscription based and cannot go on for 10+ seasonsā¦
What is the CORE problem, then?
So Tolkien was right, the best medium for fantasy is written or spoken words, and thatās it? I agree, that it is the best way to establish secondary belief.
But I also think, that with pure heart, creativity, and way less people pleasing cinema can be almost as good for the fantasy genre.
e.g.: The Lord of the Rings trilogy achieved less upheaval from the fans and is still considered the best adaptation of the world of Middle-earth. (Also the new Dune.)
We are so spoiled with adaptations, and yet itās so rare we are content with the outcome. Maybe this is just a reflection of our insatiable desire for more. And somehow nothing is new, when everything is.
Or maybe production companies are blind to the possibility that not catering to everyone, can in fact earn them more profits. But I am in no place to know enough about that.
I just feel it in my guts, that a piece of art only speaks to me deeply, when itās true to its core. And in the end, a core can only be one thing, not many at the same time...
What do YOU think the problem is?
Tell us in a comment, so I and we can see the fault in our reasoning. Maybe you know more about how the movie industry works?
ā[ā¦] for all the agency we believe we have in our lives, we are nonetheless at the mercy of the fates, for it is often the most innocuous decisions that lead to profound outcomes.ā
quote from our narrative artbook Omnimorphs: Beyond the veil
The Fantasy List
Letās observe out of curiosity and the love to learn or even mimic like Omnimorphs.
šØ Drawing: Ted Nasmiths
When I first saw Ted Nasmiths Lord of the Rings illustrations, I was instantly hooked by them. Something about old school gouache paintings have that special nostalgic feeling that I just really enjoy.
Also when you look at all of the work he did based on J. R. R Tolkienās world, you can really sense he was also a massive fan. Itās also fascinating to see how Ted imagined the Gandalf vs. Balrog scene compared to my first introduction to Lord of the Rings: the Peter Jackson movies.
I reckon the movie was definitely influenced by him at some level, especially that he was originally invited to join them on sight as a concept artist, but for personal reasons he had to decline.
Dani
šØ Drawing: Anato Finnstark
I recently became quite interested in Magic The Gathering cards, and slowly dipping my toes into collecting and playing them. I mainly enjoy the illustrations although some are hit & miss, but when I think of a perfect art style for MTG, Anato Finnstark comes to my mind instantly.
The themes, colors, compositions are all on point and theyāre just simply put epic. Thereās also a lot of Elden Ring artworks from Anato that I really enjoy, and they were part of a reason I wanted to give the game a try. Unfortunately after 30 minutes I kind of realised that the game isnāt for meā¦ so Iāll just enjoy the art separately.
Dani
šØ Drawing: Ami Thompson
Ami Thompson is also someone who did a lot of Elden Ring artworks, and another reason I wanted to give the game a try. Her way of approaching the same world is different: fluid, comic style that I think is very unique. Awesome shapes, stylized characters that still look cool and recognisable, and theyāre full of energy.
Dani
āĀ Your art: Leave a comment
This could be the part where we recommendĀ yourĀ favorite artist, developer,Ā or maybe even you FOR FREE. If you want to fill in this place with your suggestion, send a link in a reply to this email or comment below.
š® Gaming: Nine Sols
Nine Sols is an excellent metroidvania-style game released earlier this year. It takes place in an eastern-fantasy setting, features unique art-style, great characters, fun story, and an awesome parry/deflect-based combat system that is very much in vogue right now (if we mentioned Space Marine 2 aboveā¦)
Huba
š„Ā Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
I loved the story of Rohan in the books, and in the myth of Middle-earth. I am also a huge fan of animation, and the last time we had animated art from Middle-earth was before I was born. So looking forward to this experiment.
I am talking about these two oldies but goldies:
š„Ā Movie: The Tomm Moore Trio
I could pick one of this marvelous but fairly unknown animated movie writer-director-producerās creations. They are full of magic, myth, and beauty. The stories are deep and gentle while also having unexpected twists. In my opinion they should be put on the same list as Kubo and the Two Strings.
Time to escape to your world of creativity and build!
AdriƔn
Scribe of the Omniscient
šāšØ
In short the devs made it harder to cooperate and nerfed the wrong weapons and such.
https://kotaku.com/space-marine-2-4-0-update-hard-nerf-difficulty-backlash-1851676224
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2183900/view/4530150757095178287
Thanks for the mention. Glad you found those essays useful.