Before I get into showing off some new art, I do have to say that I love the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. His Middle-Earth is so fascinating, and the adventures he painted can be so endearing, it totally wraps up the imagination (Shoot, now I have to read LOTR again!). What fascinates me is the races and creatures he crafted for this legend of his; from Elves to Orcs, and from Ents to Hobbits, each group of beings is just a wonder to study. Which brings me to the point of this blog entry,
FANTASY TODAY IS ABSOFREAKODICULOUSLY UNIMAGINATIVE IN CREATURE CREATION!!
Don't believe me? Well then, let's list off some of the races that Tolkien used for his epic series: elves, dwarves, men, hobbits, orcs/goblins, wraiths, etc. I challenge you to go online, look up a major fantasy franchise that arose sometime in the '90's to today, and tell me that not one of them used at least three of these creatures for their universe. Heck, I can list a couple off the top of my head; World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls, Dungeons and Dragons, the list goes on.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind it if people use one of the above races in building their fantasy world. What does get me is if they don't try to find some way to present them in a way that's new and innovative; when I find the words elf, dwarf, and orc in fantasy fiction today, what I usually find is the same thing that Tolkien came up with; elves are pointy-eared, graceful, die-hard killers that are usually the hottest people in the kingdom, dwarves are short, hairy guys who can make really cool stuff out of metal, while orcs are going to be the bastardized version of the elves, while keeping the pointy ears (Honestly, that never made sense to me; what purpose, other than distinguishing the species, do pointy ears serve?). Oh sure, they do some things to their wardrobe (I can't believe how much designers go out of their way to dress up the she-elves like prostitutes when it really wouldn't make sense in the context of their world), but other than that, it's still the same freaking stereotype!
I do have to acknowledge, however, that Tolkien did base his versions of these creatures off of Norse Mythology, and didn't do much to change their overall image. And I also recognize the existence of archetypes; some characters, and sometimes entire species, are going to fulfill certain roles in the story, I know that, and I understand that it can be unavoidable, sometimes. I'm not saying do away with the archetypes, I'm just saying do away with the stereotypes!
Personally, I am tired of hearing the words elf and dwarf and similar jargon popping up everywhere I go, though; for the most part, it shows that the author doesn't have a lot of imagination when he has to resort to using Tolkienian elements to spice up the story. Come on, people, this is FANTASY we're talking about; the very definition of the word implies that the author did whatever the heck he wanted! Writers and artists should have the guts to not just base their worlds and creatures off of a preexisting mythology, but to make their own. One of the best examples I can think of off the top of my head is The NeverEnding Story, by Michael Ende. I haven't read the book or seen the movie myself, but just listen to some of the creatures he's come up with; things like rockbiters, nighthobs, greenskins, and more! Why can't we have stuff like that??
And I know what you're saying, "Oh MovieDragon, if you're so annoyed by that, why don't you just come up with original creatures, yourself?" Well, as a matter of fact, I am. But that's for another day.
And now, here's the art I promised:
Until next time, this is MovieDragon009, signing out!
I do know of some fantasy series that use some originality.
ReplyDelete1. Beyonders by Brandon Mull. I found out in the second book he's used some stuff from existing mythologies, but for the most part everything in the world of Lyrian came from his mind. Some of the races include the Amar Kabal and the Displacers.
2. Leven Thumps by Obert Skye. I feel that this guy was really imaginative when he was writing this series and creating the world of Foo. From what I understand many of the creatures came as a result of dreams and work to preserve the hopes and dreams of mankind.
3. Farworld by J. Scott Savage. Okay he does use some pre-made creatures like elementals, but he also made some creatures of his own. I think you might creatures like the summoners and the skyte.
4. The Adventures of Dod by Thomas R. Williams. I'm still reading it but I haven't encountered one creature that we have in our mythology. In fact, I don't think there are humans as we know them in the world. I first thought there were, but now I'm having my doubts. All I can say is this book is proving to be an interesting read.
I did just want to add that Edgar Rice Burroughs also came up with several original races in the books he wrote. Some of them as a result got very weird (and if you don't count a creature that looks like a combination between a sheep and a gorilla weird then you would be fine). Also even though Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series had a lot of creatures from various mythologies he still took the time to come up with creatures of his own like Dullions and Alcetaurs. I have been thinking of maybe including more original species in my books that are more animal based because I noticed that a lot of the magical creatures are either humanoid or half-human. I was thinking it might be a little more fun to have more animal-based critters. I was even considering coming up with new species of dinosaurs that are native only to Dymos, just like the crew of Peter Jackson's King Kong and Douglas Dixon in his book The New Dinosaurs did.
Oh, and I can see why the first is called Stage Fright. They have to perform in front of what appears to be a never-ending sea of spectators, and they're all alone on stage. It also looks that the second was inspired by Bambi, and I know that boars can be very vicious animals. Makes sense as to why they would be the real prince of the forest.
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