- Location
- Orlando, Florida
(Note: to all those who recognize what I'm riffing on, don't spoil the joke)
Preamble
A specter is haunting fantasy. Something has awakened that every single "thought leader" of the fantasy genre has not yet grasped. They, of course, will be confined to the dustbin of history by the force that shall sweep across the popular consciousness. Everything solid that has been taken for granted in fantasy shall melt into air, dissolved by the inexorable dialectics of history. I am, of course, speaking about the movement I call "Mecha Fantasy."
Introduction
What is Mecha Fantasy? It is the next stage of the fantasy genre: a natural, inevitable evolution. First, there was the primordial, authentic tradition of mythology that was passed down for generation upon generation until it was elevated to its most developed form by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. This was the thesis of fantasy that spawned countless worlds and works set within, ones that filled the shelves of enthusiasts for decades. These embody the beliefs of society's past, an almost reactionary impulse to counteract the alienation of modern life.
Inevitably, this would create an antithesis: the works of "dark fantasy" spawned by Warhammer and popularized by A Song and Ice and Fire. Where traditional fantasy embodies pre-modernism, "dark fantasy" embodies the cynical deconstructivist ethos of postmodernism. Dark fantasy takes the narratives of traditional fantasy and strips them of their legitimacy and meaning. Instead of "timeless messages," dark fantasy's only purpose is to make the reader feel hollow, miserable, and aimless. Thus, it embodies the beliefs of Hegel's "unhappy consciousness": the brahmins, misfits, and influencers of society.
Yet, there is something crucial that has been ignored. The authors of fantasy have skipped over the most essential stage of social evolution: modernity itself! Now, we come to the negation of the negation. Mecha Fantasy is the synthesis of the fantasy setting with the themes of science fiction: the genre that embodies the hopes and strivings of mankind. In Mecha Fantasy, the prison of stasis that usually restrains a fantasy setting is unlocked, allowing for unlimited progress and transformation.
"But wait!" you ask, "haven't science fiction and fantasy been mixed a million times before? What about SCIENCE FANTASY?!" This is the surface-level reasoning of an Anglo midwit who cannot perceive the underlying essence of Mecha Fantasy. Slapping a crashed spaceship dungeon in a Tolkienesque world or putting a wizard in a space opera does not make a work "Mecha Fantasy." Mecha Fantasy takes place in a fantasy setting transformed by the forces of modernity. It is the past colliding with the future, reflecting the present.
Principles of Mecha Fantasy
The basic principles of Mecha Fantasy are the following:
I've shown you my vision of Mecha Fantasy, and now I have a message to you:
Mecha Fantasy is rising. Not just rising leisurely, but soaring into the stratosphere and leaving every cringe-ass loser behind. We are entering a new era where all that is solid evaporates into air, and you who refuse to adapt will be swept away by the tides of progress. We Mecha Fantasy supporters are not mere enthusiasts, but partisans, and we are suiting up to do battle with all the slimy, worthless genre reactionaries. All you tree-hugging Tolkienistas and midwit, latte-sipping, degenerate ASOAIF "theorists" will be thrown into the dustbin of history.
We have the most powerful vibes known to man. Our aesthetic transcends all genre boundaries, rooted in both humanity's past and future. We will win over the hearts and minds of the public by creating a new reality like none they have ever seen before. The banners of progress will guide the masses towards our vision, and the worth of it will be shown on the television screen, game console, and bookstand.
The battle has only just begun. To my fellow Mecha Fantasy partisans, I wish you good luck in the struggles ahead. To the reactionaries, I wish you nothing but ruin and misery. This is Mecha Commando Gutza, signing off.
Preamble
A specter is haunting fantasy. Something has awakened that every single "thought leader" of the fantasy genre has not yet grasped. They, of course, will be confined to the dustbin of history by the force that shall sweep across the popular consciousness. Everything solid that has been taken for granted in fantasy shall melt into air, dissolved by the inexorable dialectics of history. I am, of course, speaking about the movement I call "Mecha Fantasy."
Introduction
What is Mecha Fantasy? It is the next stage of the fantasy genre: a natural, inevitable evolution. First, there was the primordial, authentic tradition of mythology that was passed down for generation upon generation until it was elevated to its most developed form by Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. This was the thesis of fantasy that spawned countless worlds and works set within, ones that filled the shelves of enthusiasts for decades. These embody the beliefs of society's past, an almost reactionary impulse to counteract the alienation of modern life.
Inevitably, this would create an antithesis: the works of "dark fantasy" spawned by Warhammer and popularized by A Song and Ice and Fire. Where traditional fantasy embodies pre-modernism, "dark fantasy" embodies the cynical deconstructivist ethos of postmodernism. Dark fantasy takes the narratives of traditional fantasy and strips them of their legitimacy and meaning. Instead of "timeless messages," dark fantasy's only purpose is to make the reader feel hollow, miserable, and aimless. Thus, it embodies the beliefs of Hegel's "unhappy consciousness": the brahmins, misfits, and influencers of society.
Yet, there is something crucial that has been ignored. The authors of fantasy have skipped over the most essential stage of social evolution: modernity itself! Now, we come to the negation of the negation. Mecha Fantasy is the synthesis of the fantasy setting with the themes of science fiction: the genre that embodies the hopes and strivings of mankind. In Mecha Fantasy, the prison of stasis that usually restrains a fantasy setting is unlocked, allowing for unlimited progress and transformation.
"But wait!" you ask, "haven't science fiction and fantasy been mixed a million times before? What about SCIENCE FANTASY?!" This is the surface-level reasoning of an Anglo midwit who cannot perceive the underlying essence of Mecha Fantasy. Slapping a crashed spaceship dungeon in a Tolkienesque world or putting a wizard in a space opera does not make a work "Mecha Fantasy." Mecha Fantasy takes place in a fantasy setting transformed by the forces of modernity. It is the past colliding with the future, reflecting the present.
Principles of Mecha Fantasy
The basic principles of Mecha Fantasy are the following:
- Unleash the forces of production: Fangorn Forest will be felled. The Shire will be paved over with factories and blockhouses. Nothing will be left untouched. We will enter a new era of unrestrained industry, and all the cringey tree-hugging reactionaries will be left in the dust. We draw our power not from the infestation that is "wild nature," but from the deep, primordial, geological forces that underlie the world.
- Reject nihilism, embrace humanity: Mecha Fantasy wants nothing to do with the sinister, pseudo-Malthusian, anti-human agenda of "dark fantasy." The pseudo-intellectual nihilism of ASOIAF will be thrown out completely. We embrace the dreams of mankind to improve its lot in life and create a better future. Mecha Fantasy is built around humans, first and foremost. The mecha, after all, is a machine in human form, compounding the power of a human in an intuitive and primordial way.
- Appeal to the visions of past futures: Mecha Fantasy is not merely mundane science fiction with a fantasy backdropping, but is a subgenre rooted in the futures envisioned by past generations. Mecha Fantasy is built on retrofuturism that appeals to the dreams of a bygone era, while using them to reflect the aspirations and anxieties of the present day.
- Question everything: Mecha Fantasy represents the complete destruction of all genre limitations and guidelines in the name of redefining it. We are shattering the matrix that imprisons the fantasy setting and allowing it to develop in an organic manner, informed by the past yet barreling into the future. We will build Rivendell on the Moon and bring the outer planes to Earth.
I've shown you my vision of Mecha Fantasy, and now I have a message to you:
Mecha Fantasy is rising. Not just rising leisurely, but soaring into the stratosphere and leaving every cringe-ass loser behind. We are entering a new era where all that is solid evaporates into air, and you who refuse to adapt will be swept away by the tides of progress. We Mecha Fantasy supporters are not mere enthusiasts, but partisans, and we are suiting up to do battle with all the slimy, worthless genre reactionaries. All you tree-hugging Tolkienistas and midwit, latte-sipping, degenerate ASOAIF "theorists" will be thrown into the dustbin of history.
We have the most powerful vibes known to man. Our aesthetic transcends all genre boundaries, rooted in both humanity's past and future. We will win over the hearts and minds of the public by creating a new reality like none they have ever seen before. The banners of progress will guide the masses towards our vision, and the worth of it will be shown on the television screen, game console, and bookstand.
The battle has only just begun. To my fellow Mecha Fantasy partisans, I wish you good luck in the struggles ahead. To the reactionaries, I wish you nothing but ruin and misery. This is Mecha Commando Gutza, signing off.