Fantasy vs. Reality in Superman and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

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Reality and Fantasy are often thought as two worlds which when collided create incredible stories of wonder and mystery. Why no other genre of literature is more popular than that of fantasy right now. Seventeen of the top twenty highest grossing movies in the Unites States and Canada last year were fantasies and of those the top six were based on books or comics (MPAA, 21). Fantasy allows for the unexplained to occur and creates a world separate to that of reality. As such fantasy stories often allow the audience to escape from reality and travel to places where their problems do not matter. Fantasy is used in children’s stories as it allows the author to both avoid the mundane and drab world and deal with complicated issues under a veil which children will understand. This essay will look at the both the realms fantasy and reality in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, as well as the first thirteen issues of Superman. The struggles that the protagonists must face and how the separation from reality allows for children to absorb the complex moralities of right and wrong; the message of basic human virtues.

Fantasy allows the reader to “consider and speculate out central and sometimes painfully realistic themes a way that is more palatable than in realistic fiction or fact” (Kurkjian et al. 492). The creation of character and setting in a fantastical realm provides the audience with an emotional distance that gives them room to objectively reflect on sensitive and important ideas more than in other genres. However there is an irony about fantasy that “despite the fanciful characters, strange imaginary worlds, and bizarre situations encountered, encountered, it has the power to help us better understand reality” (49...

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...e can make himself special. Superman is not about an invincible man who can jump building or run faster than trains, he teaches that the power of good virtues: truth and justice will always stand strong in the face of evil and rise to defeat it. Fantasy allows for the reader to deal with issues such as world fame, child abuse, persecution, betrayal, war, death and resurrection without explicitly having to deal with those issues. Superman fighting Lex Luthor teaches that greed is wrong, without having to teach children about capitalism. Likewise Harry Potter’s struggle against Voldemort allows children to see that there are evil people who only want to hurt them without having to introduce Adolf Hitler. It is because of these implications that adults too appreciate the story, these sentiments are reflected in engaging scenarios without bringing in world politics.

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