Writing Forum

All fiction is fantasy. I don't know who said it, but I think it's a brilliant quote. All fiction is based on the on the imagination of the writer regardless of how much the setting resembles our own world, so I don't think epic fantasy is unable to depict modern conflicts. In fact I don't think the type of conflicts humans encounter really have changed during the course of history.
If anything, I would say that Matt is right, and fantasy is better at showcasing both sides of a conflict exactly because it removes the story from its recognizable setting.

As for Trump, I agree with Willcox, calling his possible election a monumental moment in the history of human civilization might over exaggerating, but it does show how the political landscape is changing not just in the US but all over the West.
Trump gets a lot of attention both inside and outside the US because of his bombastic behavior, but he really isn't much more radical than Ted Cruz (which is to say very right wing radical), but most European countries have their own less bombastic counterparts.
The Netherlands have Geert Wilders and his party, France have Marie LePen, and in Denmark and Sweden some of the biggest parties are right wing extremists, and if you move closer to where the immigrants arrive at when fleeing, you'll see even worse examples. Israel, Greece, and Macedonia have several episodes of immigrants being beaten to death or near death in the streets.

When it comes to the reason for this, I think Willcox and O'Neill is spot on. In Danish we have a word called "politikerlede". It translate directly into politician tiredness, meaning people are tired of the way politicians behave. Politician doesn't just lie all the time, but they seem to have no idea of what life is like for the average citizens in their respective countries. So when someone like Trump or Wilders or whoever comes along and seem to speak their mind and offer simple solution to complex problems people will jump on the wagon, even though they, like all politicians, lie and their "solutions" just adds to the problems.

Sadly, this might prove as an example of history repeating itself. In ancient Rome and Athens democracies became corrupt and turned into oligarchies until they finally turned into monarchies. One of the reasons Hitler's rise to power in Germany was made possible was the peoples tiredness with the politicians (yes, I know there were other pretty important factors such assassinations and an army of SA troops).

As for the death of true journalism, I agree with Willcox too. No one can stay truly neutral, but it seems, especially in the US, that the media isn't even trying. In Europe there often seems to be less political motivations behind the news (with some exception in all countries), but TV stations and newspapers still doesn't depict a very accurate view on the world.
Ex: most European medias constantly talk about the Syrian refugee crises, and though the situation in Syria indeed is a crisis for the people living there, what's meant is the crisis this results in Europe. But is you look at the numbers, the number of refugees arriving in Europe is less than 0.1% of the continent's population, and most of those who of those who can afford to flee the war zone are well educated people. It is hard to see how this is anything but beneficial to Europe if the countries would be willing to a little in the integration of the refugees.



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