Fastastical things

The last week I was in school, I was at my friend Sarah's apartment, when we got into a debate about the merits of fantasy. One of my friends said he thought that it was a waste of time and has no value today. That made my heart sink, because I think in this day and age, we need that fantasy more than ever. Something to take us out of reality and transport us to a place where the impossible can happen, where dreams are real. As someone who loves books, the theatre and movies of all kinds, fantasy and the shift in reality is something near and dear to my heart.

"The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real... for a moment at least... that long magic moment before we wake. Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey, cinnamon and cloves, rare red meat and wines as sweet as summer. Reality is beans and tofu, and ashes at the end. Reality is the strip malls of Burbank, the smoke-stacks of Cleveland, a parking garage in Newark. Fantasy is the towers of Minas Tirith, the ancient stones of Gormenghast, the halls of Camelot. Fantasy flies on the wings of Icarus, reality on Southwest airlines. Why do our dreams become so much smaller when they finally come true?
We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the song the sirens sang. There is something old and true in fantasy that speaks to something deep within us, to the child who dreamt that one day he would hunt the forests of the night, and feast beneath the hollow hills, and find a love to last forever, somewhere south of Oz and north of Shangri-La.
They can keep their heaven. When I die, I'd sooner go to Middle Earth." George Martin (Author of A Song of Fire and Ice)


My brother actually found this quote today which is what sparked this, and I think it touches on why we need fantasy, what makes it great, and hell yeah, I'd pick Middle Earth too.