Trends and Traditions in Fantasy Storytelling

 First off, I apologize for not posting anything last week nor mentioning anything about it till now. I honestly, didn't have anything I wished to discuss last week. As a writer, it is important for me to feel a passionate energy in what I write or discuss. Now, granted there's a lot like discrimination found in the Harry Potter books, and I could even talk about the themes of love and death found within the text. I could talk about the theme of balance in Star Wars, but I wasn't feeling the energy about diving into these discussions at the time. If I don't have the passionate energy needed, then the writing will not be at its peak, my argument will be weak, lacking proper evidence, and, in the end, it won't be fair to any of my readers because you deserve strong, well-written discussion topics.

So, now that is out of the way, I want to talk about something that has been on my mind since I decided to forgo a post last week. I had been wrestling with this quire a lot recently, and I also touched on this in my Youtube vlog.

Now, normally I would like to avoid discussing things too close to my writing here because I want to keep these two things separate, but trending genres seems to be applying to both sides of the board - the readers and the writers. I discussed more in-depth on the writer's side, but I would I will expand on this and add more the reader's side in.

In the process of querying, one of the common points writers must be mindful of are topics trending in the market. This doesn't mean we need to write what is trending because the trend can change by the time a writer gets their book published, and even what they write could change the trend. In other words, become the new trendsetter.

These are current struggles, I am facing, but I am doing my best to be unfazed by the trending market. However, as a reader, it is becoming difficult for me to find books that I genuinely enjoy and look forward to reading the sequel. Okay, I'm not saying I don't enjoy many of the books I read, but I haven't enjoyed them as much as I've enjoyed Harry Potter or the Green Rider series or something along those lines.

I suppose, I'm someone who enjoys the classic fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings and the stories I grew up in the late 90s and early 00s. That was the trend during the time. Searching the Hogwarts castle for clues with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, or stepping into the wardrobe into Narnia with the Pevensie children, or flying on a dragon's back with Eragon.

Then those days ended with vampires falling in love with humans, yes I'm looking at you Twilight. Then shortly after teenage apocalyptic novels like Hunger Games, Divergent, and the Maze Runner took center stage saturating the market with teenage game stories taking place in a future world. I've read the Hunger Game novels, and while I found them jarring and at times annoying, I grew to respect them. Now, I didn't read the Divergent novels, but I've seen the films. While they're different in the themes and morals, they are similar in regards to the apocalyptic world being segregated into groups. Regardless, the vibe is still beating in similar beats. Even one of the recent stories I read, Caravel felt similar with the whole game feel, but it also uniquely did something different. It also belongs in the current trending market.

Today's trend is romantasy. Stories the blend both the fantasy genre and the romance genre. One of the most popular ones is A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. You can add Outlander, A Discovery of Witches, and Fourth Wing into this new trending genre. I did watch the A Discovery of Witches show on Netflix. It was intriguing and engaging, and the romance felt more or less realistic, if not a tad predictable. Keyword "tad", meaning not by a lot. The happily every after is there along with a few other elements I will not mention.

I, personally, am not a huge fan of romance. The idea they blended the two is making me cringe. As I said in my vlog, I've never enjoyed romance stories because of the constant pining for each other and the obsession they have for one each other. Its like they forget there are other important things out there, too, aside from each other.

My struggle dealing with this new trend has never felt so real till recently due to me querying my own manuscript, which isn't a romantasy, and finding ideal stories for me to read in bed or watch in a TV series format. Some would be nice in a film, too, but it seems those days have come and gone. I love traditional fantasy stories where real-life themes like plutonic love, death, balance, good vs evil, discrimination are placed in a high or epic fantasy adventure or political intrigue. At the same time, the worlds need to be lush, beautiful, and immersive.

While, I do enjoy the classic tropes, I don't mind them changing and twisting to tell a better story, but that doesn't mean they need to be gritty and edgy. I have yet to find a new story to love, aside from some of the Star Wars content that has been coming out in recent years. Changing the old, tired tropes is understandable and is certainly needed, but don't compromise what makes those traditional stories beloved to do so.

This is what I am hoping to change by adding something that pays homage to what is beloved most in the high and epic fantasy stories, but doing something different and giving something new and fresh. My current manuscript is exactly this with magical creatures, sword fights, political intrigue, but heavily dissects a mother-daughter through the themes of class, nature, and finding hope through failure.

So, this is my view on the current trends, and also my own personal tastes and hope for the future. Granted, many of you will not share my personal tastes and opinions on this, but that's what makes the world all so colorful. Please share your thoughts and feelings below, and remember to be polite and respectful the thoughts and opinions of others.

Film Review: Snow White (2025)

Upfront, this film has received a lot of backlash, especially with its choice casting of Rachel Zegler as Snow White, and other aspects like CGI dwarves. However, I am make my opinion on this film solely on the film itself - story, setting, CGI, casting, and the whole shebang. This means I am putting aside popular opinions negative and/or positive aside. Now this doesn't mean I will completely ignore it. I will certainly acknowledge and address them, but I will do so with the other aspects into consideration.

This past Friday night, I sat down and watched Snow White (2025). Off the bat, it isn't a bad film, but it isn't great either. In other words, nothing to write home about. For Disney, adapting one of their most iconic classics that made history, it is kind of disappointing. However, standing on its own, it was satisfactory.

There were certainly things I enjoyed about about this film, in terms of how it addressed many of the outdated issues of the first one. Now, I'm aware many found this is very annoying, considering the film being woke to many people and destroying what made the original Snow White film what it is. I get that we won't get the feel of the nostalgia, but honestly, I feel this world has become a little hypocritical. People constantly slander the original Beauty and the Beast for displaying Stockholm Syndrome, which it doesn't, The Little Mermaid for telling girls that they need to change for their man, and while I see the angle, people forget Ariel wanted to be human before seeing Eric, and of course, Cinderella gets attacked for making children believe that love at first sight is real, and you can marry that person the next day. The latter, I am happy to back that claim one 99%.

There's nothing wrong in addressing outdated themes. One example I loved was that Snow White had the dwarves clean their own home, and she helped them. So, she wasn't above joining them in the labor of cleaning their home, but neither beneath them in doing it all for them. Snow White was equal to the dwarves in this way.

The one worry I had prior to watching this film was that Snow White would be too far removed from her Hufflepuff qualities found in the original. Thankfully, they kept them, and the changes they made only strengthened those values, rather than weakening them.

While, I can't speak for others on this matter, but I am glad that they tweaked Dopey's character. I was apprehensive, but it seemed to work well here, and really helped represent those with learning disabilities or people like Dopey, who feel more aptly represented in an empowering way.

These were certainly the film's golden qualities, but not I wish to address the areas where I am feeling rather mixed about and feel aren't working in the story's favor. One of which are the clothing of the bandits. They appeared too modern for my liking, especially Johnathan's, which felt jarring in this fairytale setting set in a German-like location.

Upon the casting of Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, I originally expected the setting to be in Spain rather than Germany. There's nothing wrong of changing a setting to film that never truly specified, and felt more generic. However, from some of the tunes to the architecture, it is very clear that it is set in Germany or a setting inspired by Germany. So, the casting choices now make little sense. While, I don't mind their point of fairness is something found within you rather than being the color of your skin, but Snow White has always been associated with fair skin. Zegler is not deeply tan, of course, but not fair enough in complexity for me to kind of feel irked at times when I watched the film. Returning to the setting issue, I found the forest to be very German. I visited the Black Forest once, and the setting reminded me of that very real forest. Yes, so did the cuckoo clock in the dwarves' home because I know cuckoo clocks originated from Germany. Yet, many of the new tunes and the cast are not German.

The bandits with their modern clothing didn't help with the setting either. Even their presence was a little confusing. It was difficult to get a feel of their purpose in this story. The plot since encountering the bandits, honestly, became more rushed and confusing. I understood what was happening, but I couldn't understand why. Why was it taking Snow so long to journey to another kingdom to find out if her father was alive or not?

On the downside, the newly added musical pieces were not catchy and fell flat. Snow's and Jonathan's relationship felt rushed and not so passionate as I found in the other Disney remakes. Snow was placed to rest on a big rock. I'm surprised Snow didn't complain about it after waking up. On the other hand, some of the nods I loved, like Jonathan imitating the Snow's funeral scene during the song. Though when that did happen, it felt like a checklist item rather than a plot point. Honestly, Maleficent did this better.

In conclusion, this is why I am giving this film a satisfactory middle mark. It was reasonably entertaining, but there were certainly areas that could be improved like the CGI animals and dwarves. I get the animated cartoon feel for them, but it just didn't work for me, and it would have been nice to cast some actual little people for the roles.

While I'm aware this wasn't the most beloved live action remake, I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on the film with politeness and textual evidence to back it up (meaning specific examples from the film).

Hero Analysis: Padme Amidala

In honor of 4th of July I have decided to do a hero analysis. Last night I rewatched The Phantom Menace. So, I will do a hero from Star Wars. Now, I could, honestly, do any of the heroes from Episode I, but many of these characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan have been studied and analyzed thoroughly in the last 25 years. Yes, it celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. I decided to analyze my favorite Star Wars character of all time - Padme Amidala (Naberrie/Skywalker).

So, why Padme do you ask? Why not Jar Jar or another hero that has often been left in the dust. Well, the funny thing is Padme was not intended to be like those characters due to the significant role she plays in the overall arc of the six episode story. Yet, she is constantly treated like a minor character rather than the major character she is. The reason behind this, I feel, is largely on how George Lucas wrote her character across the three films. This I will touch on more in a bit.

First, what really inspired me to discuss her today is because earlier this week, there was a Youtube video I watched about ways to introduce your main characters and open up your story. This got me thinking about Padme's unique introduction to Star Wars. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Anakin all got some pretty interesting introductions in Phantom Menace. Padme's is by far the most intriguing.

The scene she gets her first introduction is when their outside the main hangar where the "queen" has to decide whether to stay on Naboo with her people or leave with the Jedi. The queen turns to her handmaiden who simply says "We are brave, Your Highness." That's it. That's all we got. Honestly, in most films, it would have simply have been an extremely minor character getting their one moment in the spotlight. Yet, in Padme's case, her role continues to increase as the film progresses from cleaning up Artoo to then finally revealing herself as the queen. Later, she goes on to represent Naboo in the senate before and during the Clone Wars, marries Anakin, fights in a number of battles, and eventually, gives birth to Luke and Leia.

Such a move certainly makes you scratch your head as to why Lucas decided to introduce her in such way, where we are meant to assume she's simply a minor character. I personally feel that Lucas did this is to show who she is. She was a queen disguised as a handmaiden in plain sight. We were meant to overlook her and not give her second thought. It goes back to the academic paper I wrote in college about Star Wars (Yes, I wrote a paper on it), which was about the visual meanings and representation in the Star Wars universe. One of the first things I mention, is that Obi-Wan in A New Hope, says to Luke "Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them." This echoes the entire Star Wars story. Every visual element is important in Star Wars. This includes that well-known brief interaction between a queen and her handmaiden outside the main hangar. Padme made you think she was nothing more than a handmaiden, but throughout the film, she slowly revealed herself to not be a mere handmaiden.

Honestly, I could go on all day about this, but now I want to focus on her as a character and hero in the Star Wars universe. George Lucas did showcase Padme splendidly as a politician who is different than others in her field because of her kindness, intelligence, strong morals, and fierce combatant on the front lines. Timothy Zahn, the creator of Admiral Thrawn, best described Padme as someone who has a toolbox with her. Depending on the situation, she will either use her negotiating skills or she will charge into a situation with her blaster firing. These are things that Ahsoka Tano admires about Padme and even learns to apply after a year in hiding in the reign of the empire. Hence, Padme's legacy continues even after her demise.

However, I myself found her character arc in Revenge of the Sith, disappointing. As did, I'm sure, others. I fell in love with Star Wars through Padme's personality whether it be her way of talking her way out of situation or fearlessness to join the fight alongside her Jedi comrades. She was not a damsel in distress as I had believed most Disney princesses to be when I was nine-years-old. Though I hadn't gotten into Star Wars officially till I was eleven. Yet, she became a romantic, damsel in Episode III. My cousin argued that she was pregnant and a character who was convinced that Anakin could do no harm, especially to younglings. Pregnancy, fine, I get you will be out of the action, but that doesn't mean your entire character growth over the past two episodes is to slide backwards. Also how could she not believe Obi-Wan saying he saw a holo-recording of Anakin killing younglings when Anakin had confessed to killing Tusken Raider children alongside the men and women in Attack of the Clones. Also, I refuse to believe she just lost the will to live. Anakin Force-choked her, and I don't believe Force-chokes can leave medical marks on the body.

Thankfully, Clone Wars redeemed her character. She was the woman I grew up admiring. In addition, I learned about her personal weakness and struggles, which made her more human and relatable. That empowering speech she made about defeating the bill for more clones was mind-blowing and certainly left the one she gave Boss Nass in Episode I in the dust. What made that speech every impactful was that she still respected and honored the clones that currently served on the front lines, and that it got under Palpatine's skin.

Sadly, this does little to make up for the damage Episode III did to her because it is still part of her arc. However, her legacy continues. As we saw in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" show and the Star Wars: Ahsoka novel by EK Johnston. She lives on through her children. Obi-Wan ensured that Leia knew this, though he didn't share Padme's name with her. A year after Order 66, Ahsoka struggled to find a way to live in a galaxy that no longer welcomed Jedi, of any sort. Ahsoka tried applying the teachings Anakin and Obi-Wan taught her, but they failed her. Through meditation, Ahsoka discovered that she had to rely on Padme's teachings because Padme was never a Jedi, but the noble senator survived countless battles using her own strengths and understanding the situation before acting. Ahsoka applied this in her current situation during the Empire's reign and it worked. Padme also taught Ahsoka about the politics of the galaxy, which allowed Ahsoka to become mindful how political systems can affect the entire galaxy and its people.

Padme Amidala deserves far more credit and love than she had received. While Lucas's writing of her character kind of went downhill in Revenge of the Sith, but she is still a major character that has done so much service to the galaxy during her lifetime and even beyond. The last part doesn't just apply to her children and Ahsoka, but also to the Rebel Alliance. She had urged Bail after Palpatine gave his speech, which brought in the age of the empire, to obey and keep your head down, but in secret work against the empire and all it stands for. Hence, the birth of the rebellion.

While I'm certain many of you might disagree, feel free to share your thoughts on Padme's character. Do you feel the same as I? What are your hopes for her character in the future of Star Wars? Also, once gain remember to be nice and civil like Padme herself because she would not approve of foul play, nor would I.