Why we shouldn't read fantasy books

[Anne]

1 - Fantasy encourages lies.  Everyone knows that we shouldn't lie, but we don't seem to have a problem reading a book with several fictional races possessing magical powers - isn't that lying?  If I went around telling everyone I had fairies at the bottom of my garden I'd be locked up, but if I wrote a book about it that would be OK?

2 - Fantasy encourages wishful thinking.  Not so much "with one bound he was free" as "with one wave of the wand his enemy was destroyed".  If only life was that simple.  Fantasy reading taken to extreme could damage our ability to think reasonably.

3 - Fantasy encourages lazy reading.  We don't expect the fantasy world to be logical because it is a fantasy so we accept nonsense plot lines, shallow characters and illogical outcomes.

[Beleriel]

Hardly, there is nothing wrong with escapism.  Fantasy writing is also an excellent way to cover serious topics in a non threatening way.

GOOD fantasy doesnt have shallow characters and illogical outcomes!! 

As for thinking reasonably... I seriously dont think so!  Who wants to think reasonably I certainly dont! 

[Anne]

The point about not thinking reasonably could be a valid one I think.  From the drivers on the motorway who treat their car like their XBox to young person who sees life as a series of dungeons and dragons challenges to the mum who spends more time looking after her tamagotchi.  At what point does our behaviour cease to be unacceptable and outside the norm and how much is that cross over influenced by such things as fantasy writing?

[Beleriel]

Unacceptable behaviour Anne?  I think that is a very subjective question.  Personally, I like people who are individuals and therefore who disply behaviour that maybe not quite what others consider the norm.  But is normal the same as acceptable? 

The fact that one is visiting this site one more, and loving it every bit as much as years ago, shows a desire to live in a fantasy world!  Some people may say that is unacceptable, but I see living in this country under this government as unacceptable, so as you can see a fair debate could well arise from such a question!   

[Pipsqueek]

There are a few people who cannot distinguish their fantasy world from the real one and possibly reading certain types of fiction or participating in certain types of game might influence them to behave in an odd, anti-social or even criminal manner.  Most people who read fantasy do understand that they are novels.  I've been reading a lot of nineteenth century fiction lately and it hasn't had any impact on my contact with reality.  I'm just off now to iron my crinoline. I must also see the GP because whenever I spy Mr. Farquhar from the big house striding out of a morning in his britches I keep having attacks of The Vapours* and I want a prescription for chicken feathers to burn under my nose.  And a poultice.


However, I have seen how disturbing it can be when an individual loses that sense of reality.  Back in 2005, on a walk in the Alton area of North Staffordshire, I do recall one of the Hobbits admitting that whenever she walked in the country, she made a mental note of any possible places of concealment, lest Black Riders should arrive.

*Didn't they have a hit with 'Turning Japanese', she asks?

[Anne]

Never knew you could get chicken feathers on prescription.  Do Boots do eye of newt and tongue of bat too?

Noting places of concealment from Black Riders would probably be (just) within the bounds of normality.  Normality can cover quite a wide range of emotions and behaviours, with normal behaviour defined as, I guess, anything that didn't harm the greater good.  So dressing up as a hobbit, hunting for Gimli in a cave or standing in front of your friends shouting "You shall not pass" are all normal(ish) if worrying for those not in the know.  Snatching rings off random strangers and shouting "It's MY precious and I wants it" - not normal.

[Pipsqueek]

Indeed 

I took a walk around Stafford Castle today, and kept my eye out for such hidey-holes on the woodland trail.  I also pretended I was one of Robin Hood's Merry Men as I climbed the hill, but on the drive home I decided to be a hard-boiled LA cop tailing a perp

[Theo]

  Anne!  *shakes head*

  Reading fantasy/ sci fi novels is a great way to use your imagination!  It's a way to sort of escape from the troubles and woes of "real life" circumstances; where one can delve into spectacular worlds and befriend wonderful characters..  There's nothing wrong with reading, or maybe even obsessing over a little, books that are in fantasy lands and that encourage imagination..  Longing for the idealism and the equality that is in these novels is a fairly normal reaction..

  However, as said above, there becomes a problem when a person can't tell the difference between reality and fiction; when a person lives and operates on an unhealthy plane is when we should become worried..

  I don't agree with your definition of normal..  Normal to me is when behaviors are common occurrence for society..  I don't know about where you live, but generally speaking a person dressing up as and acting as a character from a fictional book is sort of frowned upon by society..  It's acceptable, maybe, but it's not the norm..

  So to conclude, I think that almost anything which promotes imagination and self-sufficient thinking is a good thing for people..

[Anne]

    I don't know about where you live, but generally speaking a person dressing up as and acting as a character from a fictional book is sort of frowned upon by society..  It's acceptable, maybe, but it's not the norm..

Depends on the character you've dressed up as    I went to see Wizard of Oz last week and there were quite a few Dorothey's in the audience.  No flying monkey's or Wicked Witch's though.  Kind of wish I'd gone as the scarecrow now.

[Theo]

  I suppose so..    Never really thought about that.. 

[GG]

This is an interesting topic. In my opinion, fantasy literature and movies are just fine if they inspire your imagination. There seems to be some disagreeing, however, on where the line is drawn between having a highly active imagination and being delusional or otherwise incapable of distinguishing reality from fantasy.

In its simplest analogy, to look at a cloud and instantly perceive that it looks like a poodle or a laughing face is imagination. To look at that cloud and believe it actually is a poodle or laughing face is a serious problem.

I am interested to know more about "broken" imaginations.  Just as young childrens' brains need stimuli to form critical connections that help them develop and refine basic sensory perceptions, I suspect there is a certain need for make-believe that, when not met, can lead to numb or broken imaginations in adults.

It might be worth some psychological institute's time and grant money to do a survey of fiction and fantasy authors, artists and other creative types and learn how they were played with and read to as youngsters. Then for the sake of science, survey a group of CPAs, call center workers, network administrators and my 6th grade reading teacher and find out what in heck went wrong.

[Theo]

  I would bet that adults who have a stifled/ broken imagination also have issues elsewhere..  Unfortunately, the imagination probly isn't the only place where those parents failed their children..  Adults who can't think outside the box would be hard put to succeed in a job where creativity is a must..  And, on top of that, how would they be able to teach their own children how to play make-believe and have an imagination?  Answer is, they wouldn't..