Is it just me, or are we living in a new Golden Age of Fantasy Fiction? Twenty years ago this whole genre was seen as beyond the pale. Tolkien, Dungeons & Dragons, imagination in general, all seen as realm of the awkward and hopelessly adenoidal. To be fair, a lot of the crappy movies made in the genre didn't really help--anyone remember Krull? The movie version of Gor? ANYTHING with the word 'Barbarian' in it? (Not to mention Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie...I still can't think of it without a shudder...)
But now it's different. Now Fantasy is at the top of the cultural heap, or so it seems. If you go to the bookstore, there seem to be dozens of new novels out every week. Fantasy movies no longer suck...instead they take over the world with good production values (think Peter Jackson, Geek God.) Hybrid subgenre's of the field like Paranormal Romance are booming. It's taking over the world.
But...to be honest, I'm not totally comfortable with it. Back in the day, when only those who loved it paid attention, it seemed like a hidden treasure only you and few others in the know truly understood. The rest of the world didn't 'get' it, but you did...and so what if they mocked you for it? Cracking open the Dragonlance novel was like opening a door to another world,full of wonderful things not everyone could see. Now, I don't know....
So my question is...by going mainstream, does fantasy lose something that made it unique? What do you think?
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