Most Fantasy Worlds Are Pretty Crappy, Actually

[rowyn]

I first saw this meme on Twitter via Geoge Takei, but here's the image:



And I had to stop and think: would I actually want to LIVE in any of these places?

Let's start with places I definitely don't want to go to:

* Westeros: are you INSANE? It'd be like moving to medieval England during the War of the Roses. No. Hell no. Why is this even on here?
* Camelot: Okay, now it's medieval England just BEFORE the War of Roses, which will ruin everything forever. Still hell no.
* Wonderland: I think mixing LSD and mescaline would be safer and less terrifying. Pass.
* Neverland: The fairies only liked little kids, and I am not one. So I probably wouldn't get to fly. This setting was at best rustic and primitive for adults, assuming the pirates don't get you. Pass.
* Middle Earth: Elves get to be immortal or nearly so, which is cool if you're an elf. But the general society is still rustic and primitive and I'm still going to be a human. I don't think women even get to be wizards in this world. Also, is this before or after Sauron trashes everything just prior to his defeat? Either way ... I think I have to pass.

That leaves:

* Narnia: It's been about thirty years since I read the Narnia books. The biggest plus here was the talking animals, and IIRC magic usage was not confined to a tiny number of people. I think I need a refresher course before I can decide if I'd want to live here or not. Do I get to go to perfected version of Narnia that exists after the last book or do I have to survive the war in it first? I am not sure I like my odds.
* Hogwarts: am I going to be a Muggle? Then pass. If I can learn magic -- is this before or after the final confrontation with Voldemort? If it's before, maybe I can warn Harry et al before various disasters hit. Well, Harry probably wouldn't listen. Dumbledore might, though. Anyway, this setting is slightly suckier than the real world if you can't use magic (because you will randomly get killed by Death Eaters and whatnot), and perhaps slightly better if you can, assuming you don't get tortured by Death Eaters or those happiness-devouring jailers or killed during a brutal wizard war that decimates the population. Umm.

I have the bad feeling that I'd be happier staying home. The modern world is surprisingly awesome. I think I'd probably take the Hogwarts option, though. I'd never forgive myself if I wimped out on seeing magic at ALL, just because it was dangerous and I might be horribly tortured or possessed or compelled to kill my friends or ... yeah. I don't think those were *normal* fates in the setting. Maybe. It was hard to tell. Anyway. I'd re-read both sets of books first and make sure I don't want to go for Narnia, and try Hogwarts if not. Wish me luck. I'd need it. O_O;;;

Comments

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

Eek. Star Trek is too far overrun by god-like entities, and even time itself is unstable. ;) All it takes is a starship to whip around the sun a few times, or the next J.J. Abrams to be signed on to reboot the franchise, and your timeline just crumbled! And the temporal anomaly of the week can really ruin your existence. The Star Trek crew seems to mostly get by because they have the magical power of throwing technobabble at problems until something sticks, but Joe Everyman who sets foot into the universe won't necessarily have that power. For certain fictitious settings, it's important to consider: "Will I be visiting this universe as a Red Shirt, or will I be treated as a Sympathetic Main Character?" Certain settings are very kind to its heroes, but rather cruel to the random extras in the background.

[rowyn]

The reverse is also true!

In original series Star Trek, I think the average Federation citizen (not security working exploration vessels) had a good life, with a democratic government, integration across cultures and species with comparitively little racial/cultural discrimination, and access to great medical care, not to mention replicator & transporter technology. There may have been threats of war from the Klingons, but I think this had no more impact on individuals in the Federation than terrorist threats today, or Soviet ones during the Cold War. Certainly regular people occasionally suffered, but that was rare. It's not like working on the Enterprise when you were going out looking for trouble. I actually think the stars on ST got way more abuse than the average person on a science vessel, as well as more than their share of good luck getting out of it. Probably the typical science/exploration vessel had a much duller time of it. :)

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

My opinion wouldn't have always been this way, but after re-watching the original series fairly recently (Gwendel insisted), I think I'd rather live in the classic series time period than the TNG era.

"Holodecks" might be seen as a plus, but the whole concept strikes me as a bit under-thought and bizarre -- more a convention created for a low-budget alternative to having another "time travel" or "alternate Earth" episode than a sensible treatment of just how you might handle virtual reality -- especially in light of how often those things malfunction. I have to wonder at how in the world they schedule those things, and whether they have to deal with "holo-addiction." Anyway, the TNG folks just seem to be unbearably SMUG compared to their original series counterparts, so there's another knock against it. ;)

And the J.J. Abrams era? Hmm. Too little information. Too much lens flare. ;)

[rowyn]

J.J. Abrams blew up a HOMEWORLD. I do not want to live in the Abrams era! That is WAY too dangerous!

The original series was the least inclined to doing wholesale slaughter of Federation populations, IIRC, so that's the one I'd go with. :)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

I view Star Trek and the Culture both as aiming at making things better for their citizens though. Most people have access to what they want and can pursue their hobbies, rather than scratching for a living (most fantasy milieus) or living under the cruel and capricious hands of their overlords (Wonderland). I'm looking at 'standard of living' as it were.