Fantasy Genre
The definition of fantasy is the
faculty or activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible
or improbable. Making it so a fantasy film is a film with scenes including
themes like magic, supernatural events, make believe creatures or even exotic
make believe worlds.
History
The genre emerged in on a larger
scale in the 1990s when it became popular due to films like Harry Potter and
Lord of the Rings. These two pictures were soon followed by CS Lewis’ the
Chronicles of Narnia.
What had been happening on our
society and culture that would have allowed this genre to emerge is that it
exercises the audiences’ sense of wonder. Before this time there were so many
simple things that were to be imagined because the age of electronics had not yet
hit, preventing them from expanding their minds beyond that. But now that we’ve
discovered so much and so many things are still to be discovered, more
unrealistic ideas are needed to amaze the modern mind.
There was also a “teen fiction
movement.” When all of these book series began to be made into movies. This
includes the ones said above and another one I can think of is the Twilight
series.
Other events that occurred in the
shaping of this genre is when sound films were in the making and the Wizard of
Oz was released. The next would be in 1946 when there was an adaptation of
Beauty and the Beast. It had won praise for its surreal elements and going
beyond the range of the typical fairy tale genre. In the 1970s Willy Wonka was
released and then the genre was displayed in the super hero movies not too far
from that time.
Stylistic Elements
The elements that make a movie
fit into this genre is anything that would be considered unrealistic. Examples
being talking animals, magical powers, mythical beings or even a setting in a
medieval universe. There is also a plot as to which there is a hero a villain
and always an adventure of some kind which ends with the hero succeeding and
the villain being defeated. Using Harry Potter as an example- spoiler alert-
Voldemort is destroyed in the end after a giant battle which is also a often
found component in the fantasy genre.
The way I would describe the
style of the genre is purely imaginative and creative. It’s amazing all of the
things that can come from the writers minds. This genre is entirely fictional
which is what makes its style so unique and interesting. Each story so
different from the next a new mythical world dreamed up of for every story.
Recurring
Themes
These movies are generally about
other types of worlds. World’s consisting of talking creatures, or even worlds
inhabited by mythical populations. With Harry Potter, there’s a world of
Wizards. In Narnia the animals take the roles of humans. And in beauty and the
beast there’s talking cups, teapots, candles, and clocks. They are about
subjects that could not actually exist in reality. Another recurring theme is-
again- a “hero” on a quest to defeat evil. This hero is most often an ordinary
being that is very resistant to accept their heroic role at the start of the
movie, but then developing throughout the movie or series to become what they
thought they never could. An example would be the reluctant Frodo in Lord of
the Rings.
The way the writer’s usually see
the world is in a creative way. They can look at something and see it as
something completely different. They take in their experiences and express them
through their stories. For example, JK Rowling created the dementors in her
books, to represent sadness and depression. They are a reflection of that time
she went through in her own life, when it seemed dementors were after her. I
think the writers must be very introverted too. They live a lot in their own
minds letting their thoughts be what rule their time as they come together into
incredible, fantastical stories.
Influences of Other
Movie Genres
Other movie genres that helped to
influence this genre are the heroic, fairy tale, romance science, historical
and probably almost every other genre you can think of. Because this genre is
consistent of completely unrealistic and fictional elements anything can be
thrown into these fantasy movies. I all depends on where the writer’s
imagination leads them.
All other movies have unrealistic
elements and that can fit them into the fantasy genre also. Life doesn’t always
have a happy ending, all the “weird coincidences” that appear in these movies
are fictional and that’s really what this particular genre is all about.
Innovations in
Technology
Some technological innovations
that are used to distribute the movies are graphic effects, movie editing
technology and especially green screen effects, considering all of the out of
reality things that have to be created. These surreal things include hobbits,
talking animals and even Hagrid from Harry Potter. How else would this grounds
keeper look so large without the great advancement that has occurred in
technology.
Innovative Writers Working Within the Genre
The first trailer displays Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This fantasy series was originally written by J.K. Rowling. This is a perfect example to display the genre, for it hold all the elements that are needed to create it.
The second trailer displays the Wizard of Oz which was written by Al Frank Baum. This writer is so significant because this movie was the first to become popular in this genre.
The third trailer is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe written by CS Lewis. I find this to be a significant movie in the genre because this writer used the genre in creating a story that is meant to portray a powerful message, story and interpretation of the life of Christ.
