Fantasy fans aren't who you think they are anymore

• House of the Dragon, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Willo

  w... The fantasy genre dominates the 2022 back-to-school season.

• Formerly confined to a circle of connoisseurs, "fantasy has become widely democratized" with successes such as

  Game of Thrones, Harry Potter

  and the Peter Jackson trilogy.

• Exploration of a growing and changing fan base

Since the triumph of

on the small screen, streaming platforms have been betting on the fantasy genre to win over new subscribers.

Amazon Prime Video launches this Friday

, the most expensive series in history, Disney + the

series , a sequel to the Ron Howard film released in 1988, on November 30, Netflix announced to have bought the adaptation rights to the CS Lewis saga,

.

Fantasy has never been better, judging by the success of

, the prequel to

, which signs the best launch in the history of HBO.

Formerly confined to a circle of connoisseurs, "fantasy has been greatly democratized, especially over the past twenty years", observes Julie Escurignan, teacher-researcher, head of the master's degree in management of cultural and creative industries at EMLV.

Exploration of a growing and changing community of fans. 

A first circle of initiates

The Tolkien fandom was "formed in three stages", according to Vivien Lejeune, author of

(Third Editions, 24.90 euros).

First, the "chosen community" by the British author, made up of relatives, "to whom he had his sketches read, including CS Lewis, the author of Narnia" and his university circle to whom he presented "his legendary ". 

Tolkien's fandom then grew in the 1960s, thanks to a paperback reissue of The

"thanks to the hippie movement", which saw in the novel initially published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955 "a ecological and humanist discourse”, sums up Vivien Lejeune.

A “deplorable cult”, judges Tolkien. 

A significantly expanded community

The community grew even wider when Peter Jackson's film trilogy was released between 2001 and 2003. “These big productions launched a huge wave of fantasy, analyzes Julie Escurignan.

The early 2000s marked a turning point in fantasy which extended to children with Harry Potter and to the general public with Peter Jackson's trilogy.

»

The launch of the

series on HBO in 2011 marks “an expansion again with a more adult audience”.

“George RR Martin was looking to write fantasy for people who don't like fantasy.

The magic elements appear little at the beginning, he focuses on other elements, political ones, in particular”, continues the researcher.

" 

A less stigmatized community

This success changed the way the fantasy genre and its fans are viewed.

"For twenty years, we have moved away from a representation of fantasy as a niche genre, reserved for a few

players - a somewhat stigmatizing image, moreover, because we had fairly negative representations of these communities", rejoices Julie Escurignan. 

“The community is very diverse.

This image of the nerd is changing, if only with shows like

which show people playing

.

It's funny for the people who played there and weren't seen as cool people ”, abounds Justine Breton, lecturer in French literature at INSPE de Troyes (University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne) and co-author with Florian Besson from

(PUF, 19 euros).

“These people who we saw as nerds became parents and transmitted this taste for fantasy to their children”, continues Mestre Thibaut, videographer specialist in the genre.

An open and welcoming community

Contrary to certain received ideas, "there have always been many women among fantasy fans, particularly those of Tolkien", emphasizes Vivien Lejeune.

"In my study of fans of the

we observe a certain equality between men and women, we are more on CSP+, people who are rather educated because it's HBO and we surprisingly find adults of all ages", confirms Justine Breton. 

“This fandom is open and welcoming since fantasy is a very open genre.

It is a transmedia genre, which develops in literature, cinema, music, games, etc.

», Explains Julie Escurignan. 

“Newcomers are welcome, they are well received and are invited to discuss.

There is all the same a form of hierarchy, people in the position of leader, expert or mediator compared to others and it happens that it gets fried a little”, notes Justine Breton. 

The French-speaking community of fans of author George RR Martin

saga , La Garde de Nuit, saw many new members arrive at the time of the

series .

“The newcomers asked a lot of questions, and the community didn't try to send them away, saying 'go see the books', on the contrary, they tried to guide them.

Some newcomers left, others joined the group and became active members,” recalls Julie Escurignan. 

A demanding community 

“With

, the fans of the books were in a position of expertise at the beginning compared to those who discovered the series.

When the series overtook the books, they were all on the same level.

They had a big discussion to find out what the real canon material was, ”recalls the researcher.

A phenomenon that will be repeated with

between fans of books, films, and those who will enter the universe through the series.

“, according to Justine Breton. 

And to explain: “Fans of the books are going to be a little more touchy because they have knowledge of the world, so they already have their own opinion and perspective.

A series is an adaptation, it's a point of view, choices... The oldest fans sometimes have more definite opinions since they have an old attachment to the universe compared to those who discover with fresher eyes and a building emotional attachment.

» 

“They are the guardians of the temple.

I'm part of.

I like it when you respect the original material,” says Vivien Lejeune.

The more inclusive castings of the

and

have already caused a lot of ink to flow.

"When it's well brought in and well included in the universe, it can totally work", considers Thibaut Mestre. 

As dwarves, elves, dragons and other mages invade our screens, one thing is for sure, fantasy fan communities will grow even further. 

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