Medieval Fantasy in Popular Culture

How authors portray the world in their own stories can give us great insight on how they perceived the real world that was around them. It can also help give current readers an explanation or reasoning as to why the authors made certain choices in their writing. An instance of this occurs in J.R. Tolkien’s novels, where current day scholars and fans are trying to understand the use of certain racial stereotypes of characters in his novels. An example of this is the polygenesis theory. Polygenesis theory describes the origin of different races as independent/non-related species. The polygenesis theory has shaped folklore and modern day racial dynamics, which of course echoes into some of our favorite author’s works. It creates a hierarchical society where one ‘species’ dominates over the others. This can clearly be seen in The Silmarillion where each of the species have different origins and creators. Their hierarchal status and racial characteristics are dependent on who...

The Racial Hierarchy      In the mind of Tolkien race is a hierarchy and is a determinant to how each individual is treated and treats others. White people are are floating on top of the scale while people of color are sinking beneath it. He demonstrates this ludicrous hierarchy in his famous novel The Lord of the Rings. However is race just a myth that is being glorified and accentuated by the people who created the ideology itself?      The whitest characters are the Elves as they are credited for the characters’ whiteness. As stated in his novel Frodo’s white skin is described as “fair of hue…pail but beautiful with an elvish beauty.” This quote justifies that the only form of beauty and acceptance is having extraordinarily white skin. Another example is how the men of Gondor, the whitest humans, are on the top the hierarchy because they speak in Elvish tongue. Frodo is given the ability to identify men from Gondor because “it was the elvish tongue t...

Quick! Think of a fantasy map! What do you see? I would be willing to bet that the image that popped into your head has a few key features. There's a long line of mountain ranges, deserts to the east or south, a frozen north, a huge land to the east extending far beyond the map, and an ocean or sea to the west. Examples of this include: Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings Trilogy Alagaesia from the Inheritance Cycle Faerun from Dungeons and Dragons So, why is this? Why are so many of these maps so obsessed with just showing the west coast? I think there might be several reasons. The first and most obvious of what might have influenced this is, as with many things in the Fantasy genre, J.R.R. Tolkien. As the father of nearly everything in fantasy, it's very likely that the maps in his books inspired later worlds and maps just as his interpretation of folklore races did. However, while that might be the direct connection, nothing is ever truly, completely origina...

          Most of the Silmarillion is severely lacking in strong female characters. Normally dominated by men only with the occasional damsel in distress, it comes as a breath of fresh air whenever a woman appears that takes charge and can handle herself. When Lúthien is first introduced in the Silmarillion, I assumed that she would be like all the other devastatingly beautiful but-oh-so delicate women in Tolkien’s world, and for the most part she was nothing more than a pretty face and a good singing voice. “Then memory of all pain departed from him, and he fell into an enchantment; for Lúthien was the most beautiful of all the Children of Ilúvatar,” (165) “and suddenly she began to sing. Keen, heart-piercing was her song as the song of the lark that rises from the gates of night and pours its voice among the dying stars, seeing the sun behind the walls of the world,” (165).             However be...