Caught in a Reality

In a world of fantasy and fairytales, with little to no explanation, the impossible can become reality. It’s a genre that returns the reader to their childhood playground, where rules can be made up as they go and new worlds to explore are constantly floating on the horizon. Yet many fantasies, specifically high fantasy stories, are still tethered by the grips of reality. And this is Tatiana’s main frustration with our modern myths. “I have a hard time  believing that in your world that you have completely made up, there are still black people that are still struggling.” she explained to me while we ate dumplings and chicken in Williamsburg. We’d been talking about this idea for the past hour and a half. For some reason, despite the option to create an entirely new world, many world builders make a fantasy land that mirrors our own reality. And this takes Tatiana out of most stories, which is painful for her since she has such a love for the genre. 

“What draws me to [fairytales] is the absurdism of it…it is very blunt and  gets to the point  quite quickly. There’s not always a reason or it doesn’t always have to be a moral at the end as well. And that kind of gives me good basis and freedom.” I agree with her. Stories, especially ones related to fantasy like fairytales, should be wacky and push the boundaries of absurdity. When I read a mythical novel or watch a fantasy film, I want to be transported from my problems, not teleported to an alternate reality where they exist almost identically. We discussed some movies that we felt like were a good example of this; one being Howl’s Moving Castle. It’s a story set within a world burdened by war and torn apart by intense politics…all of which is in the background. The center of the story is ultimately about aging, love, inner beauty, and humanity. “It can go as deep as we’re working with the supernatural; with typical vampires, fairies, shape shifters. [That] type of deal…but it can just be as simple as someone with flower petals for eyes going about their day…there’s no reason for you  to have created a whole political system and a magic system for there to still be similarities that reflect our world.”

It’s not that fantasy or fairytales can’t speak and give wisdom on identity, trauma, politics, etc. It’s more that it doesn’t have to be directly inspired by the immediate problems of today. Issues can be addressed without it being a one-to-one of our own climate. For Tati, she wants to keep it fun and use fantasy to explore her characters to the fullest.

There’s a lot of pressure to make something that can get noticed in a genre that is so popular. But Tatiana has thoughts on that too. “I think it’ll calm me and it’ll be more healthy for me as an artist to stop  viewing film making as a money-making career and more so like a hobby.” Because like fantasy, the making of it should be something that transports you away from this reality’s woes.