3 ms·
Beyond the use of the "Hero's Journey" meta, I'm not sure what 90% of fantasy rips off from JRR. Not even Tolkien invented the concept.
by dessimus 3y ago
Beyond the use of the "Hero's Journey" meta, I'm not sure what 90% of fantasy rips off from JRR. Not even Tolkien invented the concept.
- duskwuff 3y ago> I'm not sure what 90% of fantasy rips off from JRR. Popular conceptions of fantasy races (elves, dwarves, goblins, orcs, trolls, etc) are heavily indebted to Tolkien's portrayals of them in his works. While many of them were based on concepts from European (and especially Scandinavian) folklore, Tolkien's representations of those races were much more specific and different in character. For instance, folkloric "elves" ranged anywhere from midgets to fairies to demons. Tolkien's nature-attuned immortals were a substantial departure from these traditions, and have suffused popular culture to the degree that they're now the default interpretation of "elf" in most contexts outside Christmas. The "orc" is an even more extreme example; the word was attested in some Old English texts but was long extinct in English by the time he borrowed it for a race of evil creatures in The Hobbit.
- freejazz 3y agoBut Tolkien doesn't have a copyright on the concept of fantasy races... he has a copyright on the fantasy races he wrote about. And even then, only in their specifics, not their generalities. That's the entire point of copyright. No one can copyright love stories, they can only copyright their love story.