My Thoughts on Fantasy Movies

I have watched many Fantasy movies and read many fantasy books, but I must say I prefer many other genres over fantasy because I, like most people, read and watch fiction in order to escape reality and to imagine what another reality and the characters in that reality are like, however I find that I like to imagine realities that are plausible to occur either in the future or that may have happened in the past. I find it hard to imagine a reality in which dragons, wizards, and magic exists, and therefore am able to connect to the story less as it is less relatable to me in the real world. I have watched many fantasy movies like the Lord of the Rings series, the Harry Potter series, and a bunch of other superhero and magic stories. Overall I found them intriguing but does not bring about real world questions and concerns like sci-fi or realistic fiction does. Also I find that other genres of fiction have a lot more to do with controversial interactions between characters and their environment that cause us to wonder what we would do in that situation where as fantasy has to do more with characters overcoming magical and unrealistic obstacles and challenges. For example one sci-fi movie I watched was passengers and after I watched that I was forced to wonder if I would have woken the girl up in order to improve my life but end up destroying hers where as a fantasy movie like the Lord of the Rings provides a much less interesting question of wood I survive if I were to fight a dragon or something like that. This is most likely due to the fact that Fantasy is primarily based on the interaction between "human" like creatures and monsters which would be a lot harder to create a love story or anything of real emotion since we have a much harder time thinking of loving a dragon or something where as other fictions are based on "human" on "human" relationships which generally bring about more emotion and interesting interactions (at least to me).

Tolkien Review

Today I will be reviewing Tolkien by the Hobbit. I give a 6.9/10. Personally, I do not like the fantasy genre as a whole and much prefer other fiction genres. The book the hobbit does not vary much in regards to tropes used in standard fantasy. It tells an interesting story filled with action and mystical creatures but it has a rather unfulfilling ending. This is because even though Bilbo, the main character (btw if you don't know who Bilbo is why tf are you even here), and his squad end up gaining back the dragon's treasure, defeating the goblins in an epic battle, and overcoming many other seemingly impossible tasks, Bilbo ends up returning home and instead of being treated like a hero for his accomplishments, he is disregarded as strange.

Martian Chronicles Review

Alright, so today I will be writing a review for The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, and I'm sure all of your are dying to hear it so here it is. I honestly liked this book a lot better than Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. One of the reasons I think I liked The Martian Chronicles better than Dandelion Wine is because of the topic. Not only do I find sci-fi stories about Mars to be more interesting than historical-fiction stories about the early 1900's, but I also think that it's a lot easier to relate to the stories because both Ray Bradbury and I have a similar point of view about mars. Let me explain, from the early 1900's to now a lot has changed regarding how a person born in the early 1900's views the time period and how a person born in the 2000's views the same period, but it also creates a gap of knowledge between the relevant politics, fears, language, and even  popular customs and clothing during that period because while Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine may be able to relate to an audience born in the early 1900's as his references will be relevant and understandable to that audience while I will be left wondering what the heck Dandelion Wine even is (I later learned it was simply Wine made from Dandelions but I had never heard of that before and I'm sure most millennials haven't either.) The Martian Chronicles on the other hand... Because, neither Ray Bradbury or I have actually been to Mars, we both still have the same view point on the red planet, and science hasn't advanced so far since the 19th century  to drastically change anyone's view point on mars drastically, plus if you add in the fact that his book is based more on fiction than on science, it is a lot easier to accept and read. And once I was actually able to read, understand, and relate (intellectually) to the stories of Mars, it was a lot easier to understand and think about the deeper meaning hidden in the stories. Overall I think that The Martian Chronicles is definitely a better read, especially for teenagers.