3 weeks ago
17
I'm a 20 year old female college student in a literature class right now, and we have brought up an interesting discussion based around fantasy and realism in literature. For a long while, literature often revolved around gods and monsters and fantastical elements. These stories were passed down orally, and they were taken very seriously and used as teaching devices- they are tokens of culture.
But at some point, western influence struck and basically drilled the idea that fantasy was childish and stupid into people, and that we should always stick to what is real. Thanks to this, older generations tend to scoff at fantasy stories and tend to enjoy more historical and strictly realistic stories.
I brought up how that is not really true so much anymore regarding younger generations. Yes, we were told bias towards realism, but because we have more at our fingertips than ever (the internet). We were able to access other cultures and their literature unlike older generations and got inspired by all of these fantastical writings that we have started to shift back towards appreciation for fantasy.
I think it is truly interesting. It is also a big reason why book bans happen and why they should not happen. Literature is so important to teach us about other cultures and give us a wider world view. Without that, we stay stuck in a world with bias towards what we are told is real and right.
What do you think?
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