While we have been discussing Tolkien and his abhorrence to age restrictions on fantasy novels and how most believe that they are mostly for children I can’t help but think about how we as young adults are “forced to face reality” in our everyday lives. It often starts with what we are “allowed” to read as teenagers and adults, up until recent years, it has been frowned upon for an “adult” to read what we consider to be fantasy books, that it is a childish thing to do. I feel as though this is because as “adults” people’s fantasy and ability to imagine a fantastical world is put into a metaphorical box labeled for children only.
My question to the world would be why is this the case? Why is it only children should be allowed in society to read about dragons, elves, unicorns etc.? The people who write these are “adults” so why is it they seem to be directed only at younger kids? The reason for this I think is that these books are for dreamers, or a time where anything is possible. In my opinion however, there is never a time in someone’s life where they should stop dreaming about limitless possibilities, which the fantasy genre has. Tolkien had every right to be upset with those who were of the opinion that only a certain age should read his books, why not? Why should only a certain small group be allowed this privilege? Let me also make a point in saying that this is not some statement about sticking it to the man and hating society for keeping these unspoken rules, but I would like people to alter how they see fantasy.
Anyone who reads this post might also ask why I keep using the phrase “adults”, the reason is I don’t believe that there is a certain time where someone just wakes up and thinks from this point forward I shall live in adulthood. People often say how having a childlike curiosity or enthusiasm is a good thing, but draw the line at the types of books we should read after a certain point. So again, my question is why is it only okay for certain age groups to read fantasy? Why must it stop at childhood?
As someone who enjoys fantasy novels, comic books, and video games for their narratives, I ask this question EVERY day. Time and time again, I've seen how all these storytelling mediums have the power to really touch someone's heart and influence their perspective just as much as the "deeper" and more "adult" pieces of literature do! as Peter Pan once said, " Keep back...no one is going to catch me and make me a man." =)
ReplyDelete