Fantasy has recently pushed its way back into the mainstream with HBO’s adaptation of GRR Martin’s doorstopper A Game of Thrones. Not having Sky Atlantic, I have been unable to watch it, but I have read the first two books in the Song of Ice and Fire series. What intrigued me about the TV adaption, and provoked this blog post, were the press releases. David Benioff, one of the writers, described it as: ‘The Sopranos Meets Middle Earth’. One magazine article I read simply said: ‘It’s The Lord of the Rings with sex’.
The Lord of the Rings with sex? Does it need sex? Would the story have been massively improved if Aragorn had taken Eowyn for a roll in the hay? Would we have empathised more with Frodo if he had stopped to shag the occasional elf? Would Sauron have been a more effective villain if he had manifested to rape a character or two?
I have read two books from A Song of Ice and Fire and the sex scenes were easily the worst thing about them. They had all the erotic feeling of a biology textbook. If anything was pornographic about them, it was the violence. A Clash of Kings, the second book, was particularly bad in this regard. It seemed that Martin could not let a chapter pass without a reference to murder, torture or rape. Which begs the question: whose fantasy is this?
A Song of Ice and Fire is sometimes referred to as ‘dark fantasy’, to set it apart from ‘heroic’ or ‘high’ fantasy such as The Lord of the Rings or the Shannara series. ‘Dark fantasy’ is usually characterised by graphic violence, plenty of sex and its morally grey anti-heroes. All of these things have their place in fiction but I would question whether that place is in fantasy.
Do not get me wrong. I am not arguing that all fantasy should be sanitised or child-friendly. Fritz Leiber’s Lankhmar series of short stories are some of the best examples of fantasy I have ever read and they concern two morally ambiguous thieves, whose adventures often feature sex and violence. The key is how the author treats them. A Song of Ice and Fire seems to be out to make fantasy ‘dark’ and ‘gritty’. Martin wants to write a ‘mature’ fantasy story but his books come across as immature, equating ‘adult’ with graphic sex scenes and copious violence.
It is not even particularly realistic. There is no doubt that the Middle Ages were a brutal time to be alive, with much violence, exploitation and hypocrisy. But life was not totally joyless: people still fell in love, formed friendships, told jokes, celebrated holidays. There was culture too. The Middle Ages produced some astounding works of art, music, literature and architecture. Science, philosophy and theology continued to advance. There were monsters, undoubtedly, but there were also saints. There was still light in the darkness. A Song of Ice and Fire all but snuffs out that light in the name ‘grim and gritty’ story telling. Again, this begs the question: whose fantasy is this?
This is not supposed to be an account of real people or events. This is all being dreamt up by the author. So why do these dreams look more like nightmares? They might be entertaining nightmares; the horror genre is all about creating new nightmares. But is that what fantasy is all about? Thrilling us with bloodshed? Just because a story contains dragons and wizards, does that automatically make it a fantasy? Is the genre more than its tropes?
I once read that one of the reasons that Harry Potter is so popular is because it presents its readers with an ideal boarding school; a world of charm, mystery and adventure. It is the world ‘as it should be’ or, at least, as we wish it could be. To me, that is the core of fantasy: it is a genre where we can explore our deepest desires. A Song of Ice and Fire does not do that. It is a story so dark and bloody that it is neither truly realistic or fantastical. It does not inspire readers or reach for something better – it wallows in the worst aspects of our history and our natures.
G.K. Chesterton said that: 'fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.’ That, to me, is the core of all true fantasy. We read The Lord of the Rings because it tells us about the strength and nobility of little, unimportant people like you and me. We look in our wardrobes for the way to Narnia because it reminds us that there is magic and wonder in even the most ordinary places. We read about the knight slaying the dragon because it tells us that the dragons in our lives can be slain too.
At its best, fantasy affirms the deep truths of the universe and inspires us to continue to hope and dream. It tells us that heroes are real, that evil can be overcome and that there is still wonder and enchantment in the world.
