Fantasy in Pop Culture
We can talk until we’re blue in the face about the roots of fantasy being steeped in whiteness, and many others have. However, in recent years, readers have called out for diverse voices and have been receiving them. Authors like R F Kuang, N K Jemisin, Rachael Atalla, and Rebecca Roanhorse have risen to satiate our taste for imaginative, diverse, and incredible stories. However, let’s take a look at fantasy outside the world of novels, short stories, and publishing. Fantasy as a genre seems to be one that grows only from its literary roots and is unable to break from them. Tolkien’s world, as we have explored before is a warped foundation, yet from it, we get so many other forms of media.
It is no secret that the works of J R R Tolkien have had a huge impact on the development of Dungeons and Dragons and its creator Gary Gygax. Characters, races and classes were all taken from the Tolkien world and expanded upon for the purposes of the game. When the game was eventually purchased by Wizards of the Coast, they launched a huge publishing campaign to add a more grassroots canon. This launched the careers of many well-known fantasy writers, such as R A Salvatore. Dungeons and Dragons, and its subsidiary materials, became the basis for fantasy in all other media. And yet it was all still built on the foundation of Tolkien’s work, which is white, Anglo-focussed, and lacking in female characters (to put it lightly). The result is a cultural landscape in fantasy that extends beyond the world of books and into other formats.
When fantasy stories are adapted into things like video games, films, and TV shows they all inevitably revert back to this heritage. Think about the films, TV shows, and video games that have brought fantasy out of the niche and into popular culture. They all speak the same language. The costumes are all vaguely a Medieval Western Europe flavor, the characters are either white or not human. The power structures usually revolve around a basic king-serf format. The most obvious example of this is in accents. I can’t even think of a single elf that has been portrayed without not only an English accent but specifically an RP accent. Meanwhile, other and less impressive races are delegated more uncouth accents. Scottish or Welsh accents go to the dwarves while hobbits/halflings are Irish or West Country (unless of course, you are a Baggins). Orcs and other evil or disgusting creatures are given Cockney or Northen accents. This reiterates the classist structures that the UK and Ireland are still struggling against today. Need some examples? Look to the Rings of Power series, the Witcher or World of Warcraft games, and even audiobook renditions of fantasy novels. (Note that I have not mentioned Game of Thrones here because George R R Martin has explicitly said that he was inspired by UK history for his plots.)
So, what the hell is my point? Mainly that while the publishing world opens up to more diverse explorations of fantasy, the rest of pop culture is stuck in a UK-focussed and ultimately classist rut. And for no apparent reason as well. There are mountains of diverse, creative, popular examples of fantasy that break this mold, yet we do not see them on our screens. Why is this, do we think? Let’s say it all together now: CAPITALISM. Those in charge are still not confident that these stories will sell in popular media (read: won’t make as much money). It is the responsibility of these companies and creators to take risks. And yet, we know what they will do every time. Money and whiteness are inherently linked forever anyway. But I still want to scream: these are FANTASY WORLDS for fuck’s sake! One black elf might set off a few racists on the internet, but does he also have to have an RP accent?
[originally posted to Patreon on 10/3/25]
