Enough has been said about the difference between a stereotype and an archetype that there wouldn't be anything more for me to add on that subject, however, the distaste for something simply because it is familiar has barely been touched.
Liriodendron said:
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I sometimes feel that too much emphasis is placed on "being different" nowadays. As if this somehow means you are above the rest because you are different.
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Absolutely! It is my feeling that if being different were (for a story) the key to being worthy of reading, then fewer of us would be around here wishing there was more fantasy/mythology on the scale of Tolkien's. Or perhaps it's just an indicator of our childish and unsophisticated taste. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
Rather, I think that this excuse for not taking Tolkien seriously stems from some kind of snobbery. As though reading something so appealing to the masses would corrupt the mind. It's my opinion that the "stereotypical" complaint is just another of this variety. This has been discussed to pieces on other threads, so I'll leave it there.
Sophia