attackfighter
Emperor
So the first question I want to ask is, why did some ancient societies create enduring stories, while most others did not? Examples include The Iliad, The Odyssey, King Arthur and Beowulf. Surely storytelling is a universal expression of human imagination, present in every society since the invention of language. It's hard to believe that the Romans didn't tell stories, and yet no Roman story has found its way into popular culture.
The second question is, why does Northern European lore lend itself so well to modern fantasy, while, say, African or Asian lore does not? That is not to say that they did not have "fantasies" of their own, but that no modern genre has been able to grow out of their aesthetics. Thinking about what Tolkien did with fantasy, it seems inconceivable that the same could be done for any other set of lore. I mean, he came up with Barad Dur, Saruman, orcs, elves and so much more. How could something similarly as epic spring out of Native American lore?
I will forward a guess to the second question. European societies were the most erratic and varied on Earth. Europe saw the Roman Empire, Feudalism, Viking raiders, chivalry, Mongolian invasion, romance, renaissance. A whole load of crazy things. Given such an abundance of material, it was suitable for Tolkien when he went to blend everything together. Most other locales seem less interesting and I have not heard of any foreign equivalent to the fantasy genre.
The second question is, why does Northern European lore lend itself so well to modern fantasy, while, say, African or Asian lore does not? That is not to say that they did not have "fantasies" of their own, but that no modern genre has been able to grow out of their aesthetics. Thinking about what Tolkien did with fantasy, it seems inconceivable that the same could be done for any other set of lore. I mean, he came up with Barad Dur, Saruman, orcs, elves and so much more. How could something similarly as epic spring out of Native American lore?
I will forward a guess to the second question. European societies were the most erratic and varied on Earth. Europe saw the Roman Empire, Feudalism, Viking raiders, chivalry, Mongolian invasion, romance, renaissance. A whole load of crazy things. Given such an abundance of material, it was suitable for Tolkien when he went to blend everything together. Most other locales seem less interesting and I have not heard of any foreign equivalent to the fantasy genre.