[dragongirlG]

Oh, my! Quite some good rants!

When you finish reading this, tell me if it makes sense.

I agree that there are too many imitations out there of Tolkien. Kids today (youngesters like me who make up the Joystick Generation) read too many of the imitations first and dislike them, therefore thinking of the whole fantasy genre as bad, trite, boring, and all the same. This may be what puts off a lot of people, because they do not know the original fantasy, the starting point; they only know the cheap spinoffs. What I'm trying to say is, since there are so many banal books out there in the fantasy genre, and since they are more recent and people read them first, before Tolkien, and dislike them, they don't even give Tolkien and the other good fantasy, the original fantasy, a chance.

Did the success of LotR give rise to some of the lamest excuses for epic fantasy?

Yes, I believe LotR's success inspired many mediocre fantasy books. The authors may have believed that because LOTR was doing so well, and it was fantasy, then they would do well too if they wrote fantasy.

What do we have to do to complete the integration of fantasy into the mainstream?

Get people to read Tolkien first, not the lame excuses of fantasy. Unfortunately, people don't read Tolkien first. They read the newest releases, the lame excuses, instead of the old, classic, original work, of LOTR and Earthsea.

And as for the Oscar, A Beautiful Mind was a better film than the Fellowship.

Controversial, Oliphaunt! A Beautiful Mind was not the sort of movie that makes me, personally, want to see it again. Fellowship, on the other hand, did, and not just because I liked the book (I wasn't even a fan back then, not yet.) A Beautiful Mind was well done. Fellowship was awesome. But that's just my opinion.

I think the enduring magic of well-written (and I emphasize) fantasy and science-fiction generally has little to do with the fantastical or scientific elements.

I agree. I believe that the authors simply wanted to teach wisdom in a way that wouldn't offend people (a real-life setting.)

It IS hard to get people to understand that Tolkien books are NOT like that at all, that they are "emotionally driven" (as someone said already) profounnd and meaningful and full of wisdom.

Yes, it's very hard, because people generally read the "newest releases"--the banal attempts at fantasy, rather than Tolkien's works, the origination of much of the other fantasy. I've sort of mentioned this before.

I know that we shouldn't let the "mindless masses" bother us and affect us, but i do admit its hard not to be frustrated and annoyed when people revere books like "A Beautiful Mind" just because it seems like it's the "right" thing to do in order to seem mature. These narrowminded people, who just want to LoOK good, just want to LOOK mature and profound, these people reject fantasy/scifi/etc because to them it seems "childish" and juvenile and superficial...they discard the genre because books like "A Beautiful Mind" are JUST sOO much more meaningful.[sarcastically] In their race to look wise and mature, they don't even give anything else a chance.

Very good, Jessica Jade! I agree. I have to be around the "mindless masses" at school and I hate it. A Beautiful Mind didn't touch me at all. LOTR did.

And the one thing that struck me during years of study is how very much man of the 20th/21st century regards himself/herself as so superior to any other time and age. Never mind that the 20th century saw bloodshed on an unprecedented scale!

I agree! I'm still amazed at how others in the past had such ingenuity without electricity, and other 20th/21st century devices. I believe that they were actually a lot smarter than us! Just look at the Pyramids of Giza. They didn't have construction cranes to build that!

And what I'm asking is this ... are there valid criticisms of the genre and its protagonists?

Hmm...I'll get back to you on that.

I am convinced that the difference is simply this: Tolkien took his mythology seriously. Creating a world was not something Tolkien forced himself to do; it was not something he did for money; it was not something he did to entertain others (though this was an important byproduct.) It was something he did because he wanted to, and because he believed that there is power in such myths.

That's so accurate. I feel like other authors do it because of money, it's their job, etc...they might enjoy writing fantasy or made-up mythology, but it's just for fun. Not something incredibly important to them. Tolkien's belief was correct. There IS power in such myths that have such incredible ingenuity, time, and effort, put into them.

This is the way most authors write; they think that their works have no inherent truth or meaning, unless it be conscious allegory.

Agreed. Aiwendil, I agree with your whole post. It's true. You hit the nail on the head.

I might write more, but that's all I can think of for now. Hope you enjoyed reading.