Book contents
- An Introduction to Fantasy
- An Introduction to Fantasy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Introduction
- 1 Fantasy, Language and the Shaping of Culture
- 2 The Value of Iteration
- 3 Root Formations
- 4 Enlightenment and its Shadows
- 5 Fashioning Worlds
- 6 Fantastic Communities and Common Ground
- Envoi
- Acknowledgements
- Select Bibliography
- Index
6 - Fantastic Communities and Common Ground
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2023
- An Introduction to Fantasy
- An Introduction to Fantasy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Introduction
- 1 Fantasy, Language and the Shaping of Culture
- 2 The Value of Iteration
- 3 Root Formations
- 4 Enlightenment and its Shadows
- 5 Fashioning Worlds
- 6 Fantastic Communities and Common Ground
- Envoi
- Acknowledgements
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The final chapter turns its attention to considering how fantastic forms facilitate productive exchanges between creators and audiences. It contends that fantasies are made both in communities and for communities – sometimes as gifts, sometimes as challenges, but always with the idea of adding something new to a shared commons that can in its turn be taken up, valued and built upon. The chapter begins by discussing the importance of craft and exchange in Fantasy culture, considering how Fantasy diverges from conflictual models of influence articulated by critics like Harold Bloom and exploring how fantasies such as Jo Walton’s Among Others and Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story express a deep faith in the power of readers and reading. It then explores fan-cultural exchanges, touching on Critical Role, Archive of Our Own, A Very Potter Musical and the practice of modding video games. Finally, the chapter turns to questions of inclusion, discussing works by Patricia A. McKillip and Ursula K. Le Guin, the representation of race in genre fiction, and the changing ways that contemporary communities play Dungeons & Dragons.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- An Introduction to Fantasy , pp. 374 - 431Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023