Now World Fantasy Con is doing one I proposed, and I feel that's a major victory for two reasons:
1. In terms of influence in the field, WFC is huge, arguably more important than World Con.
2. I'm not on the panel. If it works, it'll be because of the subject, not me. (But I will be in the audience to ask a helpful question, if I can.)
It's happening Thursday at 8pm:
Pacific 2/3: The Role of Class in Fantasy and HorrorY'know, it's a victory for three reasons:
Science fiction often deals with class conflict. How does fantasy and horror pursue the same concepts? Are vampires and elves the bourgeoisie? Are werewolves and orcs the working class? Who are the working class heroes of our genre?John Hornor Jacobs, Jeff Mariotte (M), Kirstyn McDermott, Kari Sperring, Kathryn Sullivan
3. World Fantasy's an expensive con, by f&sf standards. I'd bet it's got a higher percentage of folks in the top 1% than World Con.
ETA: My short post about "Class Issues in Science Fiction and Fantasy" at Armadillocon.
This rocks! I often think about class issues when reading fantasy. I mean, who decided "high fantasy" meant "pseudo-feudalism"? It is one reason I rarely read "hight fantasy". The author has to be particularly compelling and crafty for me to give it a go.
ReplyDeleteI confess, I haven't read high fantasy in ages. The metaphor of nobility doesn't have to be a validation of social privilege, but it's hard to read it any other way.
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