Medieval Fantasy in Popular Culture

Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon is the first novel of an anticipated trilogy. And, in a drastic change from every other fantasy series, his world features a colored majority, so much so that there are literally no white characters , a drastic departure from the hyper-white normative of the genre. Despite his clear descriptions of skin tone and very Middle Eastern setting, for whatever reason, readers, and even fans, still seem to think the characters are white. How do we know this? Take a look at the second image that pops up when you google the book's title. The artwork is clearly intended to be the main three characters of the book: Doctor Adoulla Makhslood, an aged ghoul hunter, Raseed bas Raseed, the Doctor's assistant, and Zamia Banu Laith Badawi, a "tribeswoman" who can take a holy form known as the Lionshape. This was likely produced by a fan, as it is not cover art, and we can make the assumption that people do not usually create such de...

Game of Thrones is a book written by George Martin. In this medieval fantasy tale, there are many references to blood and violence. This is because Game of Thrones is a type of fantasy referred to as gritty fantasy. Gritty fantasy is known for its blood, war, violence, grey lines, and rape. Sexual violence is very common and very present throughout the book. In fact, there is a theme of rape as a common thing among some cultures. Specifically, more in the Dothraki culture than in the White culture. Often in fantasy, there is a common theme of “Whiteness.” This is what Helen Young refers to as “Habits of Whiteness.” This idea is that the White race and their traditions and culture are put at the center of the book. In fact, the “Whiteness” is put above all other non-White races. A common theme in fantasy is that the White characters are often the good and well-respected characters and the non-White races are depicted as “savage-like.” For example, in Game of Thro...

There are many loveable characters as well as  unlovable characters in Game of Thrones, one of my personal favorite characters is Khal Drogo. Khal Drogo is the warlord of the Dothraki the famed nomadic horse-lords of the eastern continent beyond Narrow Sea. The Dothraki are known for their fierce warriors, their skills when it comes to battles and finally also the fact that they are savages to those who are not Dothraki. The last point is very important to the point I will be trying to make when it comes to Khal Drogo the warlord of the Dothraki. Khal Drogo is can show his power by the length of their hair which is custom to be cut of if you fail, but in Drogo’s case he has not failed since his hair is very long and has not been cut. Drogo as well as the Dothraki are picture as a very savage people, this is drawn by stating that they are nomadic, they have darker skin and finally the simple notion of not having the words thank you in their language. As Young claims in her F...

In medievalist fantasy, a common trope under the influence of Tolkien and Howard is exoticism and sexualization, especially of people of color. George R. R. Martin does this in his novel A Game of Thrones especially through the description of the Dothraki as a culture. Using this description from the reading, one can draw the conclusion that Martin eroticizes and sexualizes the Dothraki people as a problematic means to make the characters more interesting and with this, allows for Habits of Whiteness to remain a consequence. In the A Game of Thrones , Martin describes the Dothraki as “big men with red-brown skin, their drooping mustachios bound in metal rings, their black hair oiled and braided and hung with bells,” (Martin 36). As one can understand, some of these things are quite exotic. The bells in the hair along with savage style of socializing are used to create a more exotic vibe when the Dothraki are brought up. It was discussed in my class that the Dothraki a...

A Netflix-licensed series, Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins) is a medieval fantasy anime that began airing back in 2014, with the second season to be released to western viewers sometime this year (any day now, Netflix). The show follows the adventures of Princess Elizabeth and Meliodas, captain of a legendary order of the Holy Knights known as "The Seven Deadly Sins", as they seek to find the missing Sins and more or less save the land from its corrupt military and some demons, more or less stemming from the gist of every Hero's Journey plot ever. And it has to be the least Japanese anime I've seen in my life, in case you couldn't tell from that synopsis. Even King Arthur makes an appearance. Without a doubt, Nanatsu no Taizai is an example of just how embedded whiteness and western culture are into the medieval fantasy genre: a Japanese television program with a medieval fantasy setting has an all white main cast and a europe-like white k...