The Sunlit Hearth: 3 Colossal Problems of Modern Fantasy

A brown fireplace with a roaring fire in the middle. Above the fireplace are 2 blue windows with sunbeams going towards the fireplace. The background is a blue gradient from a darker blue at the top to a lighter blue at the bottom. The Sunlit Hearth explores a variety of topics such as classic fantasy and modern fantasy.
Picture of Sunfire

Sunfire

CONTENTS

The Premise

Modern fantasy has it all, from elves to orcs to dark lords. It is packed to the brim with worlds that seem like they have a lot to offer for those who wish to explore their every nook and cranny to unravel their secrets. If it has all of these things, why do people choose classic fantasy over it most of the time?

In this article, we explore 3 likely reasons why this is the case and the first one is a feeling of a lack of originality in modern fantasy. That sentiment ranges from stories that feel too familiar to the audience, worlds that imitate popular ones like Middle-earth in appearance and overall vibe, and even characters who act like beloved ones such as Aragorn and Gandalf.

Another pitfall of modern fantasy is its over-reliance on classic tropes. Some tales make extensive use of them which deter from the main plot, decreasing the audience’s enjoyment and hurting their ability to fully immerse themselves into the worlds where they take place in. Most of the time, the tropes are too obvious and laid out too far in advance.

Some creators of modern fantasy have the idea of making their worlds too realistic. Essentially they attempt to make it feel too similar to the real world by having more real world elements instead of those that are magical or fantasy-oriented. What they fail to comprehend is that by doing that, they risk them losing that indescribable fantastical charm that draws people in.

This is the second article in the Sunlit Hearth series. If you want to check out our other articles, you can find them on our blog page!

The Lack of Originality in Modern Fantasy

A constant criticism of modern fantasy is that a good number of its stories and worlds are not wholly authentic. That is, they lean too heavily on beloved ones and borrow a generous number of ideas instead of having them have their own identity. In other words, they are copying them which makes people wonder why they should bother exploring them when they can just go back to the original.

While many fantasy creators grew up learning the secrets of popular worlds such as Hyrule or Skyrim and want to make the worlds they create a homage to them, the problem is they essentially make carbon copies of them. While they use different names for the countries and cities that appear in their worlds, they use too similar architectural styles or showcase a history that is too close to the original.

An example of the hero's journey. Here, the hero, a black haired man stands at the edge of a green plateau, looking at the blue castle up in the skies above the mountains. The hero's green jacket is over his red shirt. He has on gray pants and brown shoes. A mountain range runs from left to right with each having snow tips. Several white clouds are visible around the picture. Groups of black birds are in flight. In the upper center of the image is the blue castle, with two towers on each side, connected to the castle by an archway. The two towers have red roofs while the castle has only blue. Blue windows don the castle.

The issue of originality even affects the main characters. Nobody wants to see a wizard who looks like and acts like Gandalf but goes by another name in another world. Some modern fantasy creators look at the most popular characters in the genre and try to place them in their own worlds and stories while giving them different names instead of focusing on coming up with their own unique characters.

The best fantasy stories feature the conflict between good and evil as a central theme, showing how it drives the plot in various worlds. In modern fantasy, this theme is relegated to secondary status as creators choose to focus on ideas they consider more important. They don’t realize that the inherent drama between both sides is fertile ground for storytelling and constructing a stellar fictional world, giving them tremendous opportunity to shape it to their advantage in their realms.

The last issue of originality revolves around the use of artificial drama. In this vein, drama is overly exaggerated to create conflict between different characters for the sake of the plot instead of having it be spontaneous or organic. Many people can spot the difference between real and manufactured drama and the latter only enhances it whereas the former harms it.

Overusing Tropes in Modern Fantasy

A key problem that afflicts modern fantasy is relying too much on tropes or making them play too prominent of a role in the story. While tropes are ageless, dating back centuries, they were sprinkled into the plot in a way that made the audience curious to learn more about the world and the characters. In short, they enhanced it which is something you sadly don’t see all too often nowadays.

One particular trope that has drawn widespread ire is the notion of the protagonist essentially cruising through the story without experiencing meaningful character growth. Here, he or she always seem to have just the right answer to deal with an unexpected situation or challenge. As such, this trope has become known simply as the “Mary Sue” or “Gary Stu”. Not having the hero learn how to deal with adversity and finding a way to overcome it does not endear him to the audience since they want to root for someone who’s down and out to come back stronger.

A black silhouette of a character with a blue-green background. The silhouette represents a blank canvas to use one of several types of character arcs in the story.

Some times creators make tropes far too obvious or lay them out too far in advance. In the former, it ruins the mystery swirling around a character who the audience has heard of but not seen to the point where he makes his proper entrance in the story, they know everything there is to know about him. Regarding the latter, dropping hints early in the tale about an idea that doesn’t become prominent later on runs the risk of the audience forgetting all about it by the time the plot reaches the point where it’s ready to take center stage.

Tropes, when used correctly, are a powerful asset to storytelling. They explore themes that shape the plot of the story while not showing everything outright, leaving some room for speculation. Sadly in modern fantasy, making too much use of them destroys the mystique of the world and the characters. By the time the answers are revealed, the audience is not surprised one bit, having already figured it out way beforehand.

Modern Fantasy: Too Realistic or Not?

Building an imaginary world from the ground up comes with its own set of challenges. One such is how realistic should it be? Straying too far in either direction is fraught with peril which is why many creators find a good spot in-between where they can showcase their worlds and still have that whimsical charm associated with the genre. Unfortunately for some bizarre reason, there are a number of those who have taken it to a new extreme.

Some tales in modern fantasy make their worlds too realistic to the point that the audience feels like what they’re reading or seeing reminds them too much of the real world. Fantasy is meant to serve as an escape from the world, a chance to show them a world unlike the one we call home. Essentially making it feel like our world makes it difficult for them to fully immerse themselves in it since there are constant reminders of the real world everywhere.

Anarchy in fantasy depicts a lawlessness world. This image features a city with a castle on a hilltop above it. The city has both rectangular- and square-shaped buildings with a wavy roof on each one. The buildings come in four colors: light yellow, brown, light blue, and white. The roofs come in the following colors: dark blue, red, light black, and dark brown. Many of these buildings have windows and some have a visible door. The road itself runs down the middle of the image, swaying to the right and then the left, ending at the doorstep of the castle. The road also meets two others, one that runs to the left, and the other to the right. Behind the city is a grassy field with blades of grass scattered throughout. A river cuts through the field, meandering from the left edge to the right edge of the image. The castle itself is white with gray shadows. It has four red turrets and diamond-shaped windows. Smoke billows forth from the buildings and castle, as if they're on fire. The grassy field is yellow-orange and the sky is a pale yellow with gray clouds. The castle and town being on fire is an effect of the fantasy military and war. It can also be used for time travel in worldbuilding.

The typical fantasy world has that indescribable magical charm that just makes you feel like anything is possible when it comes to your imagination. That charm extends to the talking animals like Cinderella or the talking household items in Beauty and the Beast. That warmness pulls you in and transports you to a realm unlike any other.

Stories set in the real world are an exception to this — think Harry Potter as an example — but this shouldn’t be the norm. People don’t want to explore fantasy worlds if they all have automobiles and smartphones because otherwise what’s the point of learning about them if they are just carbon copies of the real world? Putting more real world elements instead of those exclusive to fantasy takes away from that charm.

Modern fantasy can change for the better by looking at what made worlds and tales like Lord of the Rings timeless and strive to learn all the right lessons from them to make amazing ones that have the potential to truly become as great as the ones we all adored growing up. It’s time to put let go of the things that are harming the genre and get back to basics, telling stories set in rich worlds that pull people in and keep them invested all the way to the end!

Let me know what you think in the comments below. (Note: this is an account-exclusive feature).

If you don’t have one, you can register here. It only takes a few moments of your time!

Liked this article and want to subscribe? All you have to do is fill out the form below and that’s it!

Thanks for reading this and until the next time,

Sunfire

DON'T MISS A POST!

Subscribing means you receive:

  • notifications when a new post’s up!
  • our monthly newsletter!

You can always unsubscribe anytime.

Share

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Print
Subscribe
Notify of

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Scroll to Top

Join US

Do you want to build the fantasy world you’ve always dreamed of?

Subscribe to receive notifications when a new post is out and for our monthly newsletter! 

You can always unsubscribe anytime.

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x