Editorial: “Myth, Fantasy and Magic”

Abstract

The relationship between myth and fantasy is a complex one. Contemporary criticism tends to be quite vague when establishing the boundaries that separate both concepts. This conceptual indeterminacy often comes from a terminological indeterminacy and from the rare confrontation of texts. A correct terminological approach and focus on the fundamental texts is crucial for myth-criticism. This academic problem is nowadays aggravated by contemporary trends in storytelling. In films such as Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (Tim Johnson & Patrick Gilmore, 2003) or Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Rob Marshall, 2011), there are many mythological characters: Proteus, Eris, mermaids, Tartarus... There are also fantasy motifs, such as the implausible jump of the ship or the plasticity of the mermaids. Myth and fantasy are not opposed concepts, but they are diverse. It falls on the hands of the researcher to distinguish between the varied forms of transcendence (sacred or cosmic in myth, plastic or natural in fantasy) and between the different kinds of timeframe (absolute in myth, relative in fantasy).