Fantasy Violence / Hate

[=Monkey_King=]

What do you think of Fantasy Violence?
For example Lord of the Rings

In my opinion fantasy novels are creating unnecessary generalizations of one race being evil and that must be completly eradicated, and the other race being good and must NOT be completly destroyed

For example in the Narnia Chronicles - "The Talmerlanes," which come from Timur the Lame, or Tamerlane, who was a brutal Afghanistani leader who massacred more brutally than the mongols and finally created an empire, but in the Narnia chronicles they are scimitar wielding arabs. (Doesnt this give arabs a bad name?) I cannot help thinking that the Narnia Chronicles were about "Crusades," Aslan being Jesus and "The one across the sea or whatever" was God.

And remember that the crusaders were savages!!!!

[Admin]

In The Lord of the Rings humans fight on both sides.

I think that having truly good and truly evil sides is one of the foundations of most fantasy.

In the real world the bad guys don't all wear black hats -- but in a fantasy world they do. Its all about good triumphing over evil.

[=Monkey_King=]

Dont you think its giving the wrong message?

[Dyrwen]

The day I'm not allowed to imagine something bad or weird is the day I wish to die.

Without an imagination to perceive both the evil and good, one would never be capable of expressing any sort of opinion, one would just sit around all happy like trying not to be bad.

Movies merely allow our imagination to get a larger image and be shown along with a plot more often so that we may enjoy the moment of being in something larger that others can enjoy too. Wheras usually it's just in our heads.

Giving the wrong message..? If you happen to watch all the movies, like LotR for example, one can cheer for either side, but seeing as it's a "normal" Hollywood film, "good" will triumph. But what if we wanted "bad" to triumph because we found the perceived "bad" good? I believe that might be a message rarely brought up in movies, but some of us really are just a little strange and evil.

A message is only found in a movie when you think about the movie. And the ability to think about it usually explains the movie much better, allowing no wrong or right message perceived. You end up seeing it as just what it is, a movie.

[AbdoRinbo]

Why is fantasy violence/hate only 'acceptable' at best? I love it, when the blood starts to splash the walls . . . you can't beat that.

[Admin]

Fantasy is all about archetypes. There is such a thing as "good" and "evil" in fantasy.

[Azoic]

I agree with Abdo. Since when have people not been violent? Instead of trying to repress violence in all forms, why not give an outlet for violence, and maybe we'll find that fewer people will have an urge to go see and do the real thing.

[=Monkey_King=]

Ok nice arguments... I cant think of anything else

I was thinking... what causes such feeling of violence?

But still I dont like the Narnia chronicles, In my opinion it is a symbolic hatred toward another group.

zzzzzzzzzz....... back culture study :o

[Stanislaw]

If their were no violence in fantasy no one would watch movies. I like a good action movie. But what Kind of movies would people have without violence.

Here is a possibility:
The accountant,
The tax atourney,
Honey, I shrunk our credit rating.

Boriiiiiing. Lol

A little violence in the movies is okay, It may even be thereputic for peopl to vent their anger while watching Bruce Willis blow up terrorists.

[fayefaye]

yesterday I watched half a movie that was nothing BUT people killing each other. that was actually the storyline. It was basically Japanese Lord of the Flies, only done a million times better. Surprisingly good. Heads rolling, people exploding, all set to classical music. I usually don't go for that sorta stuff at all, but it actually was pretty good. If you want good mindless violence or something to mess with your head, go for Japanese movies and anime.

[Stanislaw]

Or kill bill.

[IWilKikU]

Sorry, I came in a little late on this one, and I guess that fantasy/violence/hate lovers have already presented Monkey King with arguments that he's accepted, but I think that the key word is FANTASY. If people read/watch fantasy violence such as Narnia and than decide that Arabs are evil and go and kill truckloads of them, than there is a problem (unless they're the president of the US of A!). But generally people read/watch fantasy and when it's over, they snap out of it. In this fake world, all people of one race are bad; All people of another are good. When these people kill each other, its a perfect example of Good vs. Evil. If someone watching/reading fantasy cannot snap out of it and sustains the racial profiling into their REAL lives, than Monkey King has a good point. But I don't think anyone hates Arabs because of CS Lewis's race of savage warmongers.

[#57]

I must agree w/KikU, yet i also support the veiwer's poin-of-view thing, too. If one was compelled to, he/she could choose to take the side of what is percieved as bad. Take C.S. Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader for example. The Mer ppl, though only showing up breifly, challenge the crew of the Dawn Treader, even if only by shaking a trident at them. Would you say that is unnecessary violence. Those ppl aboard the ship were tresspassing in the Mer's domain, so the Mer's could have felt it necessary to show that they were the leaders.