My thoughts on Grimdark

 I LOVE Fantasy, and in fact grew up with it. The Hobbit, Flight of Dragons, Peter Pan; just a few of the works I grew up with. You'd think that, when Game of Thrones was popular, I'd be all about it, right? Wrong. Truth is, even while the show was running, even while it was the talk of the town, I loathed it with an indescribable passion. Why? Because the show was grimdark, and I HATE that subgenre.

For the lucky few not in the know, grimdark is a subgenre of fantasy and science fiction that is characterized by its frank depiction of brutality, its dystopian atmosphere, and the amorality of its characters.  To put it succinctly, grimdark is a type of fantasy where the 'hero' (for lack of a better term) will kill a kitten, and the audience is expected NOT to see him as a monster.

The appeal of grimdark is that it seems more true to what we dub "human nature." Basically, there are many who believe that the most unrealistic parts of classic Fantasy aren't the dragons or the wizards, but the moral heroes who do the right thing for its own sake. These people believe that 'heroes' who rape women, brutally maim children, and murder innocents are more worthy of, if not admiration, then celebration. 

We live in tough times, there's no question about that. There's a war going on in Ukraine, food shortages are starting, climate change is out of control, and the US government cares more about banning abortion than helping the poor. It's EASY to be cynical these days. It's EASY to be bitter, angry, hopeless.

And I've been there. I've felt those feelings before, thousands of times. I've felt the despair that comes from confronting the reality of one's own powerlessness. I understand why grimdark is popular.

But I reject it. Why? Because grimdark, to me, is a surrender to the darkness of our times. It's basically admitting that people CAN'T be better, that we're at our core selfish, brutish, overly violent, and morally bankrupt. That we may as well go around raping and killing, because that's what we're meant to do.

I strongly prefer works that challenge me, that dare me to try and be better. I want heroes who strive to do what's right, even if it hurts them. I want space captains to stand up for a transgender girl's right to live in her own body and risk their careers doing so. I want simple country folk trekking across the countryside, confronting the vilest creatures, just to help rid the world of the Dark Lord. I want knights who are strong enough to say "no" to a woman's come-ons, even risking death by execution, just for the sake of staying loyal to the women they love. 

THOSE are the stories that stand up and challenge the zeitgeist, and THAT is what makes them relevant! Stories that dare us to be better, that subtly shame us for not being the best we can be, for not even STRIVING to be better! Because how dare you have all that potential for goodness and let it squander away, just because others are morally lacking!

Anyway, that's why I hate grimdark.