Why do fantasy novels/movies, etc. that deal with magic, dragons, etc., frequently take place in

[raccoon]

a setting like medieval times?

[Coventina]

1. I couldn't say exactly, but I'm guessing it's a pre-gunpowder thing.

Being able to fire a deadly projectile from such a distance was such a game-changer that it kind of made "magic" irrelevant.

Just my speculation.

[raccoon]

2. I like the way you think! nt

[Coventina]

3. Why, thank you!!!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. The last dragon was killed by some kid with a .50 cal machine gun ...

... true, it hath no poetry in it.

[Xyzse]

4. That's usually western

Go in to Japanese light novels and other things like that, magic is being utilized at a futuristic or modern setting.

My current favorite light novel is:

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

For a while it was the Fate series, from Type-Moon which was originally a visual novel.

Then again, anything by Type Moon is usually pretty good quality.

The one thing I do notice from Eastern fantasies however is that much of it is dependent on Family Lineage.

[Aristus]

5. Piers Anthony's "Incarnations Of Immortality" series takes place in an alternate

universe the technological advancement of which roughly parallels our own modern times. But it includes magic, sorcery and supernatural beings.

I think that the medieval-analogous settings appeal to a lot of people for their pre-industrial settings. And that elements of modern romanticism, i.e. an affinity for nature, close contact with animals, chivalry, candle illumination, etc. are also appealing.

[Orrex]

15. But the down side is that you have to read Piers Anthony.

[Aristus]

18. I agree. I don't think much of him as a writer,

I just read the series because a friends of mine encouraged me to.

[Orrex]

19. That's how everybody gets roped in.

More than anything else, I was amazed at the fact that he could scarcely go three paragraphs without mentioning breasts.

Even as a teenager I found it a bit much!

[dr.strangelove]

6. because there is a market for it!

I mean films, novels, comics ... exist to be sold. The market developed in the 70s with the explosion of dungeons and dragons. Since this genre has always been very successful, why not continue to make money by selling a product to an excited audience.

There are many products using magic in a far more modern setting, but the market is just no where near as hot as the traditional fantasy market. The Harry Dresden series is a best seller with the main character as a wizard for hire in modern day chicago, dealing with the mob, among other modern worldly and fantasy things mixed. Its a great series.

Not to mention the explosion of modern fnatasy that followed Anne Rice, like the Sookie Stackouse novels that is huge on HBO with the True Blood franchise and the glittering vampire books that every teenage girl seems to have read and watched.

But put a bearded half elf, a tough old dwarf and a mage on a screen or in a book, tryign to save the world from evil, and you have got a best seller that someone will option for a film or sci fi series.

If you are asking why the market is so good, its because to many nerds like me, a sword is just as cool as a laser blaster, but I will gladly go see Gandolf or Han Solo any time.

[The Second Stone]

7. It is called "High Fantasy" and it should be contasted with

things like Godzilla or Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[pipi_k]

8. I would say that...

it's because everybody alive in those times is probably mostly dead...or too old to remember...that there weren't actually any dragons and shit back then, and therefore they won't spoil it for everybody else

[bluesbassman]

11. I hate the mostly dead. Bad form to go through their pockets looking for loose change.

[pipi_k]

20. And they're such Drama Queens....

always falling apart over the least little thing!

[Callmecrazy]

9. That's not it...

Everybody knows that dragons went extinct around 1300 A.D.
So it would be silly seeing someone riding a dragon while wearing a cowboy hat.

[trof]

10. That's when dinosaurs went extinct.

Recent excavations in the UK have found dinosaur bones together with human skeletons from medieval eras.

Back then they didn't know what the hell dinosaurs were, so they called them 'dragons'.

[politicat]

12. The academic reason is because Tolkien is the model to which everything either pays homage or

Reacts because LOTR is so completely influential. (That's changing in the past couple decades).

The craft reason is because the non-mechanized warfare allows for a deeper characterization of both tyranny and heroism, the hierarchical structure of a feudalish society provides for more clear representations of inequality and class struggle, and allows for exploration of contemporary issues in a more limited canvas.

The world-building reason is that, while gunpowder is easy to make (though non-obvious) the hardware to use it requires a level of technological sophistication that wasn't entirely possible, and that sophistication was, in reality, more often dedicated to commercial and architectural ventures, and that a magic system would tend to replace some of the technological acumen. Also, without the scientific method, experimentation gets flaky.

The market reason is because it sells.

Try urban fantasy or industrial rev fantasy (see: Naomi Novak and Susannah Clarke and Mary Robinette Kowal and Seanan McGuire and Carrie Vaughn for non-medieval fantasy. )

[T_i_B]

14. There are many chiches with Fantasy....

....my own personal gripe is how many fantasy books are in series or trilogies. What's wrong with just the one book to tell the story?

[malthaussen]

17. Because they have a contract, or want a contract.

It's pretty much as simple as that. And the fantasy series at the root of the modern craft were all multi-volume, so writers follow the model.

-- Mal

[malthaussen]

16. Glen Cook has brought it up to the Renaissance...

... with the Instrumentalities of the Night series. But he doesn't do dragons.

-- Mal