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[liptonrm_backup]

Been having so much fun making icons. I'm so addicted that I want to buy Photoshop just so I can make even prettier icons. So sad.

I actually have a serious(ish) question to ask you all. I would love some feedback to help me on my term paper (and, of course, if I use any quotes verbatim I will cite their authors. You could be famous!). I'm curious as to why people think magic has made such a resurgence in popular media (both visual and written). What is it about magic as a theme/subject that gives it such power and/or relevance to a modern audience? I'd be grateful for any input any of you could give.

Oh, and because I just figured out how to put images to my livejournal here's a little Bonden goodness from Master and Commander.

Comments

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh! It's Billy as Bonden! Thank you for posting, isn't he a good looking sailor? :)

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Billeh! Barret! I <3 them both greatly;-). Yes, very good looking, makes me want to go to sea... *sigh*

[hlgraban.livejournal.com]

Ooh, interesting topic for a term paper! It's something I think about on a personal level too, being a self-analytical scifi/fantasy/horror fiction junkie... Let's see...

I've always enjoyed these genres, and magic in general, just because my life is so incredibly UNremarkable. Stories like The Lord of the Rings, Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogies and yes, I suppose even Robert Jordan's frustrating Wheel of Time excite the imagination, provide an escape from the toils of our mundane lives, and give us hope. Maybe these genres are on the rise in the movie theaters for exactly that reason? I mean let's face it, right now, the nation's economy and our foreign affairs in the Middle East leave a LOT to be desired. Perhaps also it would have something to do with the particular "lack" of imagination on TV nowadays- everyone's resorting to the cheaper, easier-to-make and unscripted "reality" shows, though in reality, no one EVER acts that way, especially when they know they have a camera trained on them. Of course, these stories are also primarily an untapped resource for Hollywood, and it could be that Americans are tired of the same old crap on the big screen!

I don't know... I suppose I really can't make generalizations for the American public, but as for me... I suffer from a severe case of disillusionment. Plain and simple, life sucks! Not always of course, but for the times it does, and I just don't want to deal with it? It's always great to lose myself in a book, or glue my eyes to a screen showing a really fantastic movie! That said, I better get going... Going to see Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind... Gotta love that title!

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, interesting theory. That's been one of the problems of fantasy in high-brow 'literary' circles, the very escapist nature of much of the work. For some reason those types of people find James Joyce much more relevant then JM Barrie, I'll never understand their insane clown logic;-).

It is true, when I want to run away from the problems around me I tend to settle down with a good story, in whatever form I can find it. There's something very powerful and liberating that inhabits those magical, fantastical worlds.

The following is a wild, random guess, but the 'guesee' hopes it helps

[gtaotaku.livejournal.com]

I should imagine that some of it is a change in the times. Magic use to be quite a taboo, anyone found to be a witch or pagan was immediately arrested or killed, and witches were always pictured as evil in things like The Wizard Of Oz and Narnia. Now a days it's not so much of a thing, you can have witches in Buffy and Charmed and they're good witches. It's a change in cultural visions, probably due to a better understanding of the world in general that improved communication and education has given us.

Re: The following is a wild, random guess, but the 'guesee' hopes it helps

[liptonrm.livejournal.com]

Now this is a fascinating view on the subject. A 'change in cultural vision', that phrase is intriguing, because that's primarily what I'm trying to do in my paper, demonstrate those changes.

Magic has had an interseting course, from being the adopted religion of the people to being taboo and now, once again, it is accepted again. However, it has never, ever been forgotten and that is interesting too. I wish I had easy answers for why that is, but the more I study the more I learn that there just aren't any when it comes to the human race. *sigh* Us silly humans, so contrary and illogical;-).