The Pitfalls of Political Fantasy Series

I love political fantasy series, but I think there are some common patterns that lead to conclusions that aren't satisfying. I would love to hear your thoughts on these perceived "traps" that I discuss in this little ramble!
I apologize that there is no video for the "editing me" portions - I did film myself on my phone, but my computer said *no
Two videos explaining power crawl way better than I did:
Avatar: The Last Airbender | Handling Power Crawl - • Avatar: The Last Airbe...
On Writing: Magic Systems and Handling Power Escalation - • On Writing: Magic Syst...
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[@yiannis5972]

If I took a shot every time the phrase baby girl was said I'd need new kidneys

[@notstlouise]

my big problem with the democracy ending is that democracy has changed so much, and the books never show the actual philosophical/sociological debates that would allow even "maybe the people should choose who rules". Who is considered a citizen? Who is allowed to vote? How are the votes counted? Who can be elected?

[@Gayu4567]

YES about the democracy point!!! I find it funny that in a fantasy genre with limitless possibilities, people can only think of 2 forms of governance -monarchy vs democracy. Cmon, use imagination!!! Come up with something exciting and new!!! It doesn't have to be perfect, hell it doesn't even have to be a good form of governance, but it would definitely be interesting to see how it would play out.

[@ct-gv6yl]

Why do I have Legend of Korra flashbacks?

[@nalad9387]

I'm hate reading the newest acotar book and there's hints that an absolute monarchy (I guess they have an oligarchy normally?) is the solution to political infighting...lol. sjm said screw writing political intrique and screw the will of the people, let's make rhys a dictator instead<3

[@crybabymanda]

You’re one of those people I could listen to forever. Both your voice and vocabulary makes it so enjoyable yet informative to listen to your opinions. Especially for someone whose first language is not english. I love that you’re so passionate about the topics you discuss, it makes it so much more fun! Love your videos!

[@elizabethheady8447]

If a main character dies at the end, but their sacrifice contributed to the greater good, I consider that to be a satisfying balance of the happy and sad. I like stories depending on the strength of the emotions. Though I'm also the one who thinks romantic tragedy is more romantic than happy romance. The love is pure but they're being torn apart, whereas a happy romance tends to have crappy people who love because the other person is hot.

[@uncarley]

floored by how beautiful this set up is

[@ryanartward]

In my writing, I like to practice the concept of the "Political Triangle" like a love-tiangle but with governments. It puts the characters in a high stakes game of stone-scroll-daggers, both in the battlefield and in commerce. The best example I can think of is The Expanse series, with their Earth, Mars, Belt factions.

[@samseloo4962]

This is what I love about red rising! The first three books are about dismantling the society and our main characters eventually taking power. But then the next three talk about how the transition to democracy was hard and brutal, and our characters change over time. New characters come up that have been wronged by our main characters and the new democratic system

[@patriciomejia1114]

Jordan: "This video is subjective, but I have evidence to back me up."

[@TheBookLeo]

I'm still amazed at how you can get your points across concisely without a script even despite the cut-ins haha

[@MistbornTaylor]

*Slams down on the table my bachelor’s and soon-to-be master’s degrees in Political Science*

[@ishika5619]

I think the problem is a mix of these medieval setting wanting to abruptly conform to modern ideals without considering the world they've actual set up, and also most conclusions in political fantasy being from the perspective that all change is best done from the "top down". If there was real exploration of how society looked both in

[@CarameltPud]

Your CEO vibe and aesthetics though. Anyways, one of the things about political fantasy is that, I wish they incorporate the magic system into the politics. I mean like, Red Queen tried to do that but kinda failed. For example, if a powerful user from this family marries into another family, it threatens the throne and I want to see not just the reaction of the ruling monarchy but the noble houses below them as well. Like, I think having magic come into the political scene basically would exacerbate things because it has potential for geopolitics too. Take for example a country experiencing drought. A family that has an ability to ease the drought would have a higher political power and can threaten the ruling family. I want to see something like that.

[@maia_gaia]

I feel like you're crossing the wires between the "magic crawl" and the removal of moral ambiguity and how those affect the political machinations aspect. I also feel like those are mostly separate issues. There is something to be said about the quality of writing going down leading to abandoning political machinations (because those are hard to orchestrate) and losing moral ambiguity (because it's much easier to write good vs evil). However, I'm not sure these three issues are necessarily connected. I think you made the best argument for magic crawl and lack of politics being connected, but even then, I think that comes back to writing quality more than anything tbh.

[@corineofroses]

this video made me realize that i have never really thought about how political fantasies kinda stop being political fantasies near the end. i always kind of thought that stories like that were meant to end with a message that was like “all political rivalries & alliances & plots & schemes are minuscule and/or must be put aside for the betterment of humanity in order to face true evils” or something like that. i definitely think magic or power creep can be a problem in stories & it would be cool to see someone just perfect a political fantasy’s ending. maybe one that focuses more on a world rather than specific characters or parties or houses could work? i honestly have no idea! but great video! super thought provoking, which i really appreciate! :)

[@leehunts4327]

I think the magic point is definitely about execution. GRRM doesn't have a Night King in the books, at least not yet, so there is still hope.

[@ninjablack4347]

I have had a falling out with fantasy lately. I do read to see how humans would live and react to magical elements but so many times the fantasy elements hold center stage over the characters. Magic systems with incredibly detailed workings and dense lore on the histories of kingdoms and blah blah blah.

[@LuxuriousBlu]

I missed you doing book analysis!