I'm not a huge fan of fantasy literature, and I'm not sure
exactly what you want as a comment on the new Harry Potter film. I'm confident, though,
that fantasy will not fade into oblivion any time soon. In fact, the worse things get,
the better fantasy will seem because, by it's very nature fantasy is escape from the
realities which surround us.
Harry Potter,
of course, and now Twilight, have recently captured the
imaginations of young and old alike. In the beginning of each series' popularity, the
books were praised as providing opportunities for disinterested readers to connect with
literature. It always seemed like more than that to me. I see these as wonderful
opportunities to live in a world of "what might be" instead
of "what will be." That's the difference, for me, between science
fiction and fantasy--the former is often grounded in fear of the future, the latter is a
picture of possibilities. And, while there are still "bad guys," the "good guys" may
take a beating but they generally win. (Think Lord of the Rings,
for example.)
Fantasy is attractive and intruguing and
full of adventure; to that extent, there will always be a readership (and market) for
this kind of writing. And after the writing, the movies, the amusement park rides,
the...well, you get the idea.
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