[ SECRET POST #4436 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4436 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 21 secrets from Secret Submission Post #635.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. https://i.imgur.com/JJmAex1.png

[(Anonymous)]

avatar WAS that bad, don't worry

[(Anonymous)]

Have you watched Dragon Prince??

[(Anonymous)]

Why this comparison? Is it from the ame creators?

[(Anonymous)]

Some of the same staff, same season format, same demographic and style

[(Anonymous)]

NA

It wasn’t until this comment that I realized that the secret was referring to Avatar the TV series, not Avatar the movie. Lol. It makes a lot more sense now. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Counterpoint: Medieval fantasy stories with settings and elements from non-white cultures of the same period.

Defeat pirates with a swashbuckling captain modeled after Zheng He on a massive treasure ship. Wander with an ascetic on a journey across the river valleys to beseech the gods of an Orisha inspired pantheon. Join a caliph and their army in defending the holyland from invasion by knights riding out of a plague-ridden wasteland.

The difference between fantasy and sci-fi for me is direction of time projection, the future obviously being scientific, but just because fantasy is in the past doesn't mean it has to exclusively use European elements.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, etc.

[(Anonymous)]

how is this a counterpoint?

"standard fantasy settings" are VERY much a stripped-down whitewashed version of medieval europe as imagined/transmitted to us by the victorians stuck in a blender with a somebody's vague memory of a DnD manual that was itself based on lovingly ripping off Tolkein lovingly ripping off the very european Eddas/Beowulf/etc

if it's doing cool multicultural now-western stuff, it's NOT Standard Fantasy With Elves and Stuff?

[(Anonymous)]

Because you can still have all the standard features like kingdoms, elves, and a magic system, just through a new cultural lens.

Hereditary feudal rulers, inhuman supernatural folk of the woods, and the practice of rituals and spells are universal to the middle ages of virtually all civilizations.

The problem isn't the Standard Fantasy story mechanics, but the cultural stagnation they're under. Sagas and epics where a wise man with magic powers leads a motley mixed crew of mortals and magical beings on an adventure to defeat evil is paralleled across the globe.

Journey to the West especially comes to mind.

[(Anonymous)]

That's... an oddly reductionist view of Journey to the West, tbh.

"Defeating evil" isn't the point? At least not in the original.

[(Anonymous)]

Defeating ignorance, then. I mean, I think it's a bit reductionist to imply that the heroes of Journey to the West defending themselves from evil demons hasn't been a big draw for its audience over the centuries, especially in stage productions and visual media where flashy fight scenes are so appreciated.

Besides, the "point" of LotR arguably isn't defeating evil either, but friendship and maintaining a fellowship in the face of war.

[(Anonymous)]

tbh I don't mind the messages so much as the constant self conscious quippiness, it feels like they have a specific limit for how much time can pass before there has to be yet another 'funny' line and it is so distracting. When the show gets serious I really enjoy it but then someone has to make a stupid joke and I get annoyed again. Avatar managed to balance the humor and drama so much better.

[silverr]

They've noted that they feel that they need to be mitigating the darkness on a regular basis, considering that it is a kid's show.

My only complaint is that S2 didn't have NEARLY enough Rayla or Amaya.

[(Anonymous)]

It's like people don't realize that fantasy doesn't actually have to include elves, and mages, and whatever else. (done in pretty much the exact same way every time)
Just because LoTR was popular doesn't mean that everyone else needs to copy it.

[philstar22]

I'll take whatever fantasy I can get. Variety is nice, but I also love the tropes when done right.

[(Anonymous)]

Just don't be boring about it tbh

[philstar22]

This. The tropes can work well when done right. But they also can be terribly boring. It isn't the tropes themselves, it is how they are used.

[(Anonymous)]

I mean.. yes, on one hand I agree. But on the other hand, I'm not sure how much I'd like American/western companies taking on non-western fantasy stuff. It tends to backfire spectacularly in the few cases they try. And I'm not usually one to cry "cultural appropriation" at things but when western authors try to do non-western things, it sometimes gets pretty cringey and you can bet they'd get shit for cultural appropriation, and not entirely undeservedly either.