tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771589069545279175.post3582107801281380766..comments2023-09-20T09:08:24.505+01:00Comments on Remember It's the Future: The Bones of Long-Dead GiantsBeckyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16677076598470332030noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771589069545279175.post-28471571574330856262012-01-26T12:35:45.914+00:002012-01-26T12:35:45.914+00:00Hmm... it's interesting (and probably correct)...Hmm... it's interesting (and probably correct) to draw the parallel with paragon-type characters, although fantasy as a genre certainly has its fair share of paragon-ish types (Aragorn, anyone? Gandalf the White? ;D). Still, there must be some other way than ancient civilisations to fulfil the same need...Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16677076598470332030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771589069545279175.post-23478513532915854852012-01-26T07:34:28.079+00:002012-01-26T07:34:28.079+00:00I think it's more about being aware that we...I think it's more about being aware that we're not perfect and would like to be. That somewhere, someone might just have got it right. In real life we know that just won't happen, if we're being honest with ourselves so we look to fiction to fill that gap. In fantasy the ancient civilisation is usually one that was better than us in some way, or more powerful. And if that power led to their downfall you get a life lesson throw in as well - Yippee! I don't think it's limited to fantasy, though it's called something else in other genres. In Action movies/books it will be an impossibly good elite fighting unit or a Segal-type man of iron, or the uber-hacker in Teccie movies and the Mr Darcy types in Romance. We know we're never really going to get the whole package but we can't stop hoping. It's kind of sweet, really.Lynne Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00597476448824690870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771589069545279175.post-29227112439400263742012-01-25T17:06:40.240+00:002012-01-25T17:06:40.240+00:00Vonna: That's a good point, at least in respec...Vonna: That's a good point, at least in respect of the prevalence of ancient civilisations.<br /><br />All: I think I need to rewrite this post. I'm not really protesting the way that all fantasy settings have defunct civilisations; I agree with Lironah that a setting without defunct ancient civilisations is going to be unusual. My issue is really more why there always seems to be an ancient civilisation that's cleverer, wealthier, more benevolent, or just generally better than the modern one. History very rarely moves backward that dramatically (or at least, so it seems to me), but almost every fantasy world I can think of seems to have such a history.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16677076598470332030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771589069545279175.post-62177379323370395612012-01-25T00:14:05.637+00:002012-01-25T00:14:05.637+00:00Perhaps in a realistic setting, ruins left behind ...Perhaps in a realistic setting, ruins left behind by older cultures are inevitable. Even in the largely unclaimed wilds of North America, you can find earthworks spanning miles of countryside. I've walked on some - there's a certain fascination to them, wondering what purpose the construction may have served originally.<br /><br />The fact is, cultures grow, evolve and die, and even within a culture buildings decay or fall out of use, or the land is abandoned due to drought, flood or natural disaster. Why, I myself lived in a house which was later buried by volcanic ash (Manila AFB).<br /><br />I think that if a setting were to include no ruins or signs of an older civilization, rather than that being natural there would have to be some sort of explanation for the lack.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771589069545279175.post-7967095305519309632012-01-24T05:04:53.632+00:002012-01-24T05:04:53.632+00:00(my bizarre 2 cents)
Well, certainly many high f...(my bizarre 2 cents) <br /><br />Well, certainly many high fantasies have that ancient civilization/world setting, since setting a fantasy in a real, normal, everyday, setting would seem a little off the point, make it less fantasy-ish, if you please. Personally, if you are going to call it a fantasy go the whole distance and make a whole world. You get to "play creator" and mold the world as you want for the purposes you want...even if they are based on ancient real civilizations. I giggle at the thought of Hobbits on the L train. Wouldn't quite work. xDCheryl M.http://www.writezalot.weebly.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7771589069545279175.post-38713491970636273272012-01-23T21:27:34.506+00:002012-01-23T21:27:34.506+00:00I think, perhaps more important than nostalgia, is...I think, perhaps more important than nostalgia, is that the ancient civilization sets up a basis for contrast. People today can view our current world in contrast to epic time periods--prohibition, the great depression, the sixties. Having knowledge of a defunct ancient civilization gives depth to the current world.Vonnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17228707287799345805noreply@blogger.com