A Qualified Genre: The Magic Behind Fantasy/Action
A Qualified Genre: The Magic Behind Fantasy/Action
by mdf. escarcha
As a writer begins to bend the reality of any narrative, he or she oversees the creation of a world that is unique and specific to his or her personality. What we see, as the audience, is the writer's dreams and nightmares. We, as the audience, take the chance to explore the writer's construct with the intention to understand beauty as well as the horror that such a world offers.
Fantasy alone is not a genre. Rather, it is a qualification of a genre. For example, the term family/drama qualifies the genre drama in terms of dramatic problems and solutions that refer to family related experiences. The same is true for fantasy/action wherein it qualifies the action in terms of problems and solutions that refer to fantastic experiences.
The Wizard of Oz is a good example of fantasy/action. The main character travels in a world created by the writer of the material. This world reflects the dreams and nightmares that are unique to the said author. And as the main character moves through this world, we as the audience discover the beauty as well as the horror that such writer offers through his world.
Fantasy/action is not for those who like to copy the works of other authors. As a qualified genre, it takes a lot of brain power as well as extreme originality to pull off such a unique construct that is so specific. I always tell my students that the decision to specialize on this type of qualified genre requires an individual to consciously avoid reading or watching materials related to the said qualified genre. Or else, you end up copying the elements of other materials.
Determining whether or not a material is fantasy/action depends on how the world is constructed from which the story and the character will move. Superman and Spiderman are not fantasy/action movies. In fact, these are compounded genres. The difference is that the world is not a unique and specific construct. It is familiar and general almost similar to that of the real world. What I see is different is the construct of the characters in the physical level considering that they have supernatural powers.
Generally, one important characteristic of a fantasy/action is that the main character is uprooted from the real world and transported to a fantasy world that is unique and specific. With emphasis on the character as a construct that is completely human with no supernatural powers at all. In the movie, Never-Ending Story, an average kid is transported to a fantasy world. This particular kid tends to assume a generic quality. Making it possible for the audience to assume the role of the kid at any point as the material unfolds.
It is vital that when a character moves from the real world to the fantasy world that the said character begins with no supernatural powers at all. As the material unfolds, a character may or may not acquire fantastic skills or weapons that are utilized as tools in achieving whatever end. But these skills or weapons are temporary and are only available within the parameters of the fantasy world.
A material may tackle the politics within a fantasy world. Meaning, the action is limited within the bounds of the said world. In this case, supernatural powers are translated within the context of the said world. Thus, flying beings are not extraordinary but are part of the usual workings of the said world.
The magic of any fantasy/action is not the monopoly of either character or story. The magic is a function of how the fantasy world is constructed. Meaning, the more unique and specific the said world, the more engaging it is. Thus, it is all about location, location and location.
If the fantasy world is not magical, no matter how good the story or the character is, it will not work. So when we develop and manage a fantasy/action, the first thing to do is to define the construct of the world. We do not talk about the characters nor do we begin to establish the story. The world will define its characters and story. If the fantasy world is a vast desert, then the characters will look like desert dwellers. If the world is a chain of buildings suspended in the air, then the story will be about why the buildings are suspended in the air.
There are no physical references with regards to fantasy/action. The qualified genre relies heavily on the mental references of an individual or a creative team. In the end, the name of the game is to come up with something that is so fantastically original. If the viewers will see that the elements in the material are just second rate copies, then the magic will immediately disappear.
In my opinion, a good fantasy/action is measured by a question. What element in the movie you fell in love with? If you fell in love with the character or the story, then the genre did not work. But if you fell in love with the fantasy world and you craved to be part of that world, then the genre did its job.
by mdf. escarcha
As a writer begins to bend the reality of any narrative, he or she oversees the creation of a world that is unique and specific to his or her personality. What we see, as the audience, is the writer's dreams and nightmares. We, as the audience, take the chance to explore the writer's construct with the intention to understand beauty as well as the horror that such a world offers.
Fantasy alone is not a genre. Rather, it is a qualification of a genre. For example, the term family/drama qualifies the genre drama in terms of dramatic problems and solutions that refer to family related experiences. The same is true for fantasy/action wherein it qualifies the action in terms of problems and solutions that refer to fantastic experiences.
The Wizard of Oz is a good example of fantasy/action. The main character travels in a world created by the writer of the material. This world reflects the dreams and nightmares that are unique to the said author. And as the main character moves through this world, we as the audience discover the beauty as well as the horror that such writer offers through his world.
Fantasy/action is not for those who like to copy the works of other authors. As a qualified genre, it takes a lot of brain power as well as extreme originality to pull off such a unique construct that is so specific. I always tell my students that the decision to specialize on this type of qualified genre requires an individual to consciously avoid reading or watching materials related to the said qualified genre. Or else, you end up copying the elements of other materials.
Determining whether or not a material is fantasy/action depends on how the world is constructed from which the story and the character will move. Superman and Spiderman are not fantasy/action movies. In fact, these are compounded genres. The difference is that the world is not a unique and specific construct. It is familiar and general almost similar to that of the real world. What I see is different is the construct of the characters in the physical level considering that they have supernatural powers.
Generally, one important characteristic of a fantasy/action is that the main character is uprooted from the real world and transported to a fantasy world that is unique and specific. With emphasis on the character as a construct that is completely human with no supernatural powers at all. In the movie, Never-Ending Story, an average kid is transported to a fantasy world. This particular kid tends to assume a generic quality. Making it possible for the audience to assume the role of the kid at any point as the material unfolds.
It is vital that when a character moves from the real world to the fantasy world that the said character begins with no supernatural powers at all. As the material unfolds, a character may or may not acquire fantastic skills or weapons that are utilized as tools in achieving whatever end. But these skills or weapons are temporary and are only available within the parameters of the fantasy world.
A material may tackle the politics within a fantasy world. Meaning, the action is limited within the bounds of the said world. In this case, supernatural powers are translated within the context of the said world. Thus, flying beings are not extraordinary but are part of the usual workings of the said world.
The magic of any fantasy/action is not the monopoly of either character or story. The magic is a function of how the fantasy world is constructed. Meaning, the more unique and specific the said world, the more engaging it is. Thus, it is all about location, location and location.
If the fantasy world is not magical, no matter how good the story or the character is, it will not work. So when we develop and manage a fantasy/action, the first thing to do is to define the construct of the world. We do not talk about the characters nor do we begin to establish the story. The world will define its characters and story. If the fantasy world is a vast desert, then the characters will look like desert dwellers. If the world is a chain of buildings suspended in the air, then the story will be about why the buildings are suspended in the air.
There are no physical references with regards to fantasy/action. The qualified genre relies heavily on the mental references of an individual or a creative team. In the end, the name of the game is to come up with something that is so fantastically original. If the viewers will see that the elements in the material are just second rate copies, then the magic will immediately disappear.
In my opinion, a good fantasy/action is measured by a question. What element in the movie you fell in love with? If you fell in love with the character or the story, then the genre did not work. But if you fell in love with the fantasy world and you craved to be part of that world, then the genre did its job.
posted by akira's nightmare at
1:29 AM
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