Bittercon: It's so Magical to be Homeless! The Romance of Urban Fantasy

[intertext]

This is really a lot of open questions and food for thought than a fully developed thesis. It just struck me, in my - admittedly somewhat limited - experience of urban fantasy, that the "urban" in "urban" seemed to reflect a somewhat limited and romanticized view of the "street."

Just to put my thoughts into a context here, my exposure to urban fantasy rests mostly on Charles De Lint, most of whose works I have read, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly and Neil Gaiman, whose Neverwhere I include in the genre. I would, or could, also include Justine Larbalestier's "Magic" trilogy and there are one or two others that I have forgotten. Amongst Emma Bull's work, I have read and enjoyed both War for the Oaks and her and Will Shetterly's Borderland novels, and my comments and questions here relate to all of those.

Anyway, it seemed that among these works, there is a common sympathy for and interest in the marginal, the scruffy, the downtrodden. Not that this group is in any way undeserving of sympathy or interest, but it struck me that these works definitely downplay the disadvantages of life among the disadvantaged and - yes - romanticize life for the homeless and the income-deprived. What I wonder is, is this some intrinsic part of a greater literary tradition? Are the authors riffing on folk-tales, whose heroes, if not princesses, tend to be clever thieves, disadvantaged or displaced innocents and so on? In some ways, what I'm asking is whether in fact this is the opposite side of the "Fantasy of Manners" coin - Fantasy of Bohemian Manners?

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere is the only somewhat anomalous example - its hero, if I remember, is an average guy who gets lost in a strange alternate or parallel world. And as far as that goes, I guess it's not really "about" magic or fantasy in an every-day urban setting. Does anyone write about magic among the stockbrokers? Or ER, except with magic?

Anyway - that's my pitch. Any thoughts?

Comments

[intertext.livejournal.com]

Well, in the books I'm talking about, often the poor alcoholic street person mumbling to himself is portrayed as being a faery in disguise, or in the state he is because he's been bewitched.

It may be true that some of the traditions of bewitchment come from an attempt to explain mental illness or general inability to cope with "real life" - but these works are being written in today's world, where we know about the "real" explanation for such phenomena. So what's the fascination? And is it a kind of blinkered wish-fulfillment to portray them thus?

[superfoo.livejournal.com]

I'd say that yes, it is a blinkered wish-fulfillment. If the downtrodden are faeries, then we don't REALLY need to feel sympathy.

Then again, there are tales where characters who are kind to a person despite their appearance, are generously rewarded for "seeing past" the outward hobo appearance.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but I've deleted an exchange between an anonymous commenter and superfoo. I am also sorry if anyone was offended by superfoo's original comments, which remain here. They were off-topic, as I think she now realizes, but she's entitled to her opinion. I don't, however, want to allow any further discussion of off-topic issues to proliferate.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

It's not always that simple. In the Borderlands books, for instance, *both* the faery and human characters are mostly young runaways, and both sets are well-rounded enough to deserve the reader' sympathy.

[intertext.livejournal.com]

That's true.

[superfoo.livejournal.com]

Has anyone commenting on this thread read any of the X23 comics from Marvel? There is a large section of the X23 book focussing on a young mutant named Kiden (who goes by Nyx), who becomes a runaway/"street" kid after breaking a bully's arm using her ability to slow time. I think she has another ability in conjunction with this, as well.

The entire X-Men cast is pretty well rounded, and there is extremely grey areas between "good" and "evil" and outcast/accepted.