Political issues in fantasy

Dimentio

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Should subjects like terrorism, gender equality, unemployment, left-right ideologies, ethnic conflicts, racism, political correctness/political incorrectness, animal rights and economic inequalities be avoided in fantasy litterature?

What is your opinion?
 
I think it's impossible to write a SFF story without addressing some issue. It doesn't have to be as obvious an 'if this goes on...' as something like Harrison's 'Make Room! Make Room!,' and it doesn't have to be as explicit about its ideas as LeGuin's 'The Dispossessed,' but all fiction--including genre fic--addresses some sort of issue.

Now, if the question were 'Should the author's biases drive the story to an absurd degree?', then the answer is obviously no. (That's why Goodkind is so despised by many people.) But that's a separate issue altogether than political issues.

Science fiction is probably better equipped to address big issues than is fantasy, by dint of its being an extension of reality, as opposed to fantasy's alternate reality. But there's a place for real world issues, be they analogues or something more removed, in fantasy as well.
 
I think it's impossible to write a SFF story without addressing some issue. It doesn't have to be as obvious an 'if this goes on...' as something like Harrison's 'Make Room! Make Room!,' and it doesn't have to be as explicit about its ideas as LeGuin's 'The Dispossessed,' but all fiction--including genre fic--addresses some sort of issue.

Now, if the question were 'Should the author's biases drive the story to an absurd degree?', then the answer is obviously no. (That's why Goodkind is so despised by many people.) But that's a separate issue altogether than political issues.

Science fiction is probably better equipped to address big issues than is fantasy, by dint of its being an extension of reality, as opposed to fantasy's alternate reality. But there's a place for real world issues, be they analogues or something more removed, in fantasy as well.

The question remains how interesting a 20th century-style alternate world is (not an alternate version of our own world, but an entire fantasy world on the 1950's level in technology)? Especially if it relies heavily not on a conflict between good and evil, but a conflict between the young generation and an authoritarian government?
 
There is no inherent reason to avoid such topics in fantasy. Throughout the history of fantastic literature (I am using the broader definition of fantasy, rather than that so prevalent these days of the "epic", quasi-feudal/mediaeval/pre-Industrial Revolution-etc.) writers have addressed various concerns, political, philosophical, metaphysical, religious, or sociological, and I see no reason why it can't be done in something such as you describe.

I would caution, however, that such concerns not override the storytelling and the quality of writing; else you end up with a sermon or diatribe rather than a story or novel and, while such things can sometimes be very interesting (e.g., passages in Pratt's The Well of the Unicorn and The Blue Star; Balzac's Seraphita; Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus; Eddison's Zimiamvian books; and so on), the audience for such is likely to be much more limited these days. Essentially, such must come from within the work itself, not be imposed on it. If it emerges naturally from the conceptions of that world and the characters, then it should work just fine. If not... it's one dickens of a pitfall to stumble into....
 
Should you include them, you say? I'll reverse that question on you. Is there a reason they shouldn't be included?

Because they might offend people? So might portrayals of violence, sex and various other things. Should these be avoided to? If they were, we'd end up with pretty boring fantasy worlds, don't you think?

I feel that it would be unwise to think you can set hard and fast rules as to what should or should not be included. Everything is appropriate at the appropriate time. Everything is inappropriate at certain times.
 
Of course not! (IMHO)

I think including political issues could even make your character more relatable, the unreal world seem more real.

But who says you have to stick with modern(real)political issues?

Maybe your king marries a lady centaur and the realm is divided by their own prejudice?

Political differences are an every day common thing, irritably unavoidable. Even if you made it a point to avoid all things political, indifference would most likely still find itself into your story on it's own.

like I said, in my honest opinion.
 
Should subjects like ...ethnic conflicts,... be avoided in fantasy literature?

What is your opinion?

I would think that at least 75% of fantasy includes these, in their broadest sense...
 
Of course not! (IMHO)

I think including political issues could even make your character more relatable, the unreal world seem more real.

But who says you have to stick with modern(real)political issues?

Maybe your king marries a lady centaur and the realm is divided by their own prejudice?

Political differences are an every day common thing, irritably unavoidable. Even if you made it a point to avoid all things political, indifference would most likely still find itself into your story on it's own.

like I said, in my honest opinion.

Well, my "fantasy realm" is not a monarchy, but a federation of member states and provinces ruled by an assembly elected by the citizens and a highest executive.

If you would define it, I would say it would be some sort of constitutional mixture between the European Union, the United Nations, the Third Reich, the USA, the Roman Republic and South Africa during the Apartheid Era.
 
Surely just by choosing a governmental style you've already crossed into the realm of political issues? It's a bit late to back out now. Stop worrying!
 
The problem with being blatantly political is that today's hot button issues eventually become yesterday's news and not interesting any more.

I created an entire science fiction world as a background to a story that would be an allegory on the War on Terror. Nobody cares about the War on Terror any more so its too late to write my story.
 
The key is to be political (or to discuss political issues and themes) without being topical -- that is, without limiting it to contemporary referents, but rather dealing with the underlying or larger issues, which are often things which recur throughout history, albeit taking different forms.
 
Surely just by choosing a governmental style you've already crossed into the realm of political issues? It's a bit late to back out now. Stop worrying!

The entire first book is almost finished (and translated into English, I just want to polish it a little).
 
Should subjects like terrorism, gender equality, unemployment, left-right ideologies, ethnic conflicts, racism, political correctness/political incorrectness, animal rights and economic inequalities be avoided in fantasy litterature?

Terry Pratchett.
 
I love to read about politics, both the real and fictional varieties. But when I think of "politics," I think of it in the modern sense: personalities, rhetoric, backroom negotiations, etc. The motivations could be either noble or shady (or both.) I like it when I can sympathize with both sides of an argument. I think its the personalities that are key. If you're going to write about politics in an interesting way, you're going to be creating interesting characters that hold various political positions. It really doesn't matter what those positions are or whether they're right or wrong. What's interesting is how the character came to believe, and what they are willing to do about it.

I think of politicians as being academic types, philosophers, detached from the foot soldiery where the real visceral action (the story) takes place. A lot of fantasy features battle scenes and violence, and I don't think of this as "politics," even though, in real life, politics and war usually go hand-in-hand. Not that politicians can't also be warriors. But I'm going to find it contrived if a character is spouting off his political reasons for being on the field in the heat of battle, rather than just trying to survive. The good-vs-evil stuff doesn't count either. There wasn't a political subtext going on between Aragorn and Sauron. (Though Gandalf was a fine politician.)

So, I'm pro politics. Although I second the advice about not being didactic if your story is going to feature "real life" politics. If you preach, you're going to alienate anyone who doesn't agree with you, and bore anyone who just wants a good story.

But I can imagine some fantasy readers complaining (You can hear the voices too, right?) that they read for pure escapism, and please keep the boring politics out of a good sword 'n' sorcery story.
 
If Rowling can touch on nanny state issues in Harry Potter books then I think it's safe to say any genre can touch on political subjects.
 
There is no inherent reason to avoid such topics in fantasy. Throughout the history of fantastic literature (I am using the broader definition of fantasy, rather than that so prevalent these days of the "epic", quasi-feudal/mediaeval/pre-Industrial Revolution-etc.) writers have addressed various concerns, political, philosophical, metaphysical, religious, or sociological, and I see no reason why it can't be done in something such as you describe.

I would caution, however, that such concerns not override the storytelling and the quality of writing; else you end up with a sermon or diatribe rather than a story or novel and, while such things can sometimes be very interesting (e.g., passages in Pratt's The Well of the Unicorn and The Blue Star; Balzac's Seraphita; Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus; Eddison's Zimiamvian books; and so on), the audience for such is likely to be much more limited these days. Essentially, such must come from within the work itself, not be imposed on it. If it emerges naturally from the conceptions of that world and the characters, then it should work just fine. If not... it's one dickens of a pitfall to stumble into....

What he said.

I agree, completely.

If written well, it'll be a poignant, thought provoking look.

If not, it'll be The Sword of Truth.

Walk the razor's edge.
 
1984, Fahrenheit 451, the Time Machine, Animal Farm, it's what fantasy and sci-fi were invented for. Gulliver, Alice in Wonderland, LOTR.

If it's not about politics then it must be about sex. Which are you most squeamish about?
 
Ambivalence is a problem. In 1984, it stands clear who is morally right and wrong. In my book, it is more fuzzy.

The wisest character in the entire story is probably the Villain, who is upholding a personalised martial religious philosophy remniscent of traditionalism of the evolian style.
 
The wisest character in the entire story is probably the Villain, who is upholding a personalised martial religious philosophy remniscent of traditionalism of the evolian style.
Now that sounds interesting. That's the key - it's OK to talk about any issue in your book, as long as your readers can't tell what you, the author, feel about them. In fact, it's necessary for your characters to justify what they do.

I personally can't imagine writing without discussing moral issues, but then, I couldn't have written Twilight no matter how hard I tried. :D
 
Ambivalence is a problem. In 1984, it stands clear who is morally right and wrong. In my book, it is more fuzzy.

The wisest character in the entire story is probably the Villain, who is upholding a personalised martial religious philosophy remniscent of traditionalism of the evolian style.

Um, you might want to take a look at Fletcher Pratt's The Well of the Unicorn. The sorcerer, Dr. Meliboë, is probably the most level-headed person in the entire novel; he's certainly the most pragmatic. The protagonist, albeit an idealistic young man, makes some horrendous choices along the way (often because of his idealism conflicting with reality)... and the good doctor (his mentor) often holds views quite despicable by most moral standards. Yet no one really has the corner on right or wrong here (which is part of Pratt's point -- being an historian himself, he knew quite well the muddledness of our ideals and actions, allowing him to be very realistic in his presentation of people and nations within the framework of a world where magic and the supernatural are very much a part of the structure of the universe), and it is partly this that allows for the pleasure of this novel, and allows one to revisit it many times over the years without being disappointed....
 

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