Naked Warriors Chained to Rocks

So I was sitting on an uncomfortable chair in a three hour 'masterclass' listening to a professional director droning about theatre (though I found it hard to follow as when I'm bored my mind swims will all of these different little stories I want to tell and I drift in and out of discussions) and somewhat inspired by the sounds of Star Wars coming inexplicably from the next room, he began talking about sci-fi. He made is way towards mentioning the creation of fantasy images and although he was clearly talking about the sci-fi realm of imagery he tossed away a statement that he wasn't talking about "naked warriors chained to rocks."

This was clearly not a man who has read much fantasy, but it is clear that - at least in the minds of some - fantasy is defined by the images of Conan the Barbarian on an old video cover. I found myself taking offence at this brushing aside of high, epic or adventure fantasy and then I realised that we all have limited images we can conjure about genres we experience little. Sci-fi is, for some, evil robots, Romance; two beautiful people kissing, Erotica; a woman in an alluring pose and a bare chested man with flowing blond hair, named Fabio. This is simplifying but that is what people do, even highly intellectual and creative people.

Where I am going with this is that fantasy, for this forty year old man, remains in the pulpy crap that was released in the eighties. Magician was released in the eighties but our genre remains defined in the public sphere by those images most prevalent. It is for this reason that I am deeply pleased about the success of A Song of Ice and Fire, for fantasy is now being seen as a legitimate source for a more engaging and intellectual drama, rather than simply showing naked warriors chained to rocks.