My column at AMCtv.com is up and this week I’m asking the question, “Why do fantasy films always kill the parents?”
If you’re like most Americans, you spent yesterday saturated in turkey and surrounded by family. This is the season for family, and as much as we might love our families, there are will be times over the next month when we’ll think that life would be so much easier if we didn’t have to deal with them. But think about what would happen if they actually weren’t around. There’s a curious tendency for heroes in fantasy movies to be orphaned, or at least separated from their parents by some great calamity. Why is it so hard for fantasy heroes to hold onto their parents? Well, there are actually several different benefits to orphaning the young lad or lady. Today we’ll take a look at what happens in fantasy when you take the parents out of the picture.
Swing by and add your take on the tragic role of parents in fantasy films.
