First of all, let me just say that I am no media critic. My commentary is limited to quips like, “Damn, look at the production value on this thing,” or “I’m not feeling this characterization,” or just “Whoaaaaaaa!” So, not really hard-hitting deep thoughts. But I love watching television. And recently, between House of the Dragon, Rings of Power, The Sandman, and a belated viewing of Good Omens (yes, I’m working through Neil Gaiman’s oeuvre), I’ve been on a bit of a fantasy kick.
I haven’t read much fantasy, and I had to be forced into watching Game of Thrones, but there’s something about it that’s just hitting the right buttons for me right now. Like many unanswered questions in this season of my life, I wonder if it has to do with the general unrest of the time, or something like a global pandemic? Living a life largely indoors has limited the stimulation my brain needs, perhaps, and fantasy fills in some of the gaps.
None of this is new, I suppose. Why have people been reading fiction since seemingly forever? There is however, something a little dismissive in how I’ve seen fantasy and similar genres described as “escapism.” And sure, maybe I shouldn’t take it so…personally? But there’s a part of me that bristles at the idea that imaginative worlds are something outside of reality, that the realness of reality is in its seriousness, in the stark black-and-white of daily headlines, in work and chores and obligations and responsibilities. What separates humans from other species is how we’ve constructed our realities based on our beliefs. I mean, look at the concept of capitalism. It’s real, but we also made it up.
Fantasy is a reminder that our minds are still one of our most powerful assets. We can dream up so much, and our mindset can make our life. We’re thinking about travel in the wrong direction. We don’t have to escape anything. We can bring the tenets of fantasy into our own lives. Even setting aside the idea that fantasy tends to speak to universal truths, it’s also a powerful reminder that: it doesn’t have to be this way. It can be better. It can be beyond our wildest dreams, and I hope to one day have even half the imagination.
And, as a designer, it is literally my job to figure out how I can do this—to come up with something that doesn’t yet exist, to dream up a better future, even if it’s just in one tiny corner of the world, with one pixely medium. And I know this might sound self-aggrandizing (and I suspect this may be an easy trait to slip into as a designer), but let’s just say, sometimes I need the reminder that things can really change, and I’m the one that can make it happen. Maybe it’s magical thinking, but I need it all the same.