Media in a fantasy

[Armored99]

What media do you think is appropriate in fantasy?

In a recent chapter of my work there's a newspaper. Which does seem a little too modern, but newspapers have been around since at least the 1600's. More pressing is if it's appropriate to the setting? It's also not very magical, but if it was wouldn't better forms of mass media appear? Like if two characters can magically communicate over a hundred miles, it wouldn't make sense to wait for news about events happening in the capital via. the paper.

How do you logical close the gap between magic and how people would likely receive information due to its existence? From what i've seen other authors do is they try to make long-distance communication possible, but costly/rare. But they also ignore the existence of entrepreneurs who would make their lives work to increase the people they could reach and market this magic technology to.

just looking for more perspectives on this.

 

[Biggest-Kusa-Out-There]

It would depend on the level of magic, naturally. Technology would go that way, replacing electricity and complex things with enchantments and the like. You may even have a magic telegram for communicating through long distances. The usage of birds to deliver letters, but these special birds teleports around instead of flying like a regular bird. Maybe the bird flies incredibly fast, like mach2 or something. There are a lot of ways to deliver information, and they can become interesting when including magic.

So, media. Newspapers are not that 'advanced' since its a form of written media... something that has existed for thousands of years. The thing here is mass production. You can have magic copying machines, a skill, or an enchanted table that does it. You can have message boards where information is posted.

However, all this is also dependant on the level of cultural advancement, especially the literacy rate. If only few people know how to read, then there's no reason to mass produce newspapers. If everyone knows how to read, then newspapers would be the go-to solution to spread information. We did it so late on earth due to precisely that, literacy rates.

Romans had message boards where they posted stuff, and even had walls for shitposting as we see in Pompei, lol.

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

It all depends on what type of fantasy you want to do.

Will it be modern, futuristic, or historic?

I don't know what people think when they see Fantasy, but it does not mean any advancements.

If it is historic, as in the past. Then find ways that people used to deliver news around. It used to be with voice rather than a paper.

And even then, a piece of paper is fine. You are writing fiction, thus nothing of it is real. The world can be anything you want it to be.

Now if time isn't an issue and you want to involve magic into the mix as a way for people to get their news well, maybe a stone that they get every morning? Idk. That can be anything. Even a piece of paper can be magical. It can even be a thought someone sends.

 

[Nahrenne]

What media do you think is appropriate in fantasy?

In a recent chapter of my work there's a newspaper. Which does seem a little too modern, but newspapers have been around since at least the 1600's. More pressing is if it's appropriate to the setting? It's also not very magical, but if it was wouldn't better forms of mass media appear? Like if two characters can magically communicate over a hundred miles, it wouldn't make sense to wait for news about events happening in the capital via. the paper.

How do you logical close the gap between magic and how people would likely receive information due to its existence? From what i've seen other authors do is they try to make long-distance communication possible, but costly/rare. But they also ignore the existence of entrepreneurs who would make their lives work to increase the people they could reach and market this magic technology to.

just looking for more perspectives on this.

If you're going for medieval fantasy, then there were town criers who spread the latest news.
'-'

X

 

[longer]

It's a very minor example, but graffiti has existed for a very long time. There's a runic inscription on the Hagia Sophia by a Varangian Guardsmen which roughly translates to "Halfdan was here."

Perhaps you can implement it to convey popular sentiments of the populace, such as writing insults on government buildings or other such institutions if standard of living has decreased significantly in a short time.

 

[RedHunter2296]

I think it depends on the setting that your story has. If it is a village lost in the Middle Ages, the truth is that there would be no news at all outside the town, maybe when something serious happens the church will ring the bells to gather people to give a speech.

If they use magic stones or something like that to create tools like a fire gem to make a stove, why not make a device that works like a telegraph? in this way you could use how this device was used in real life to send or receive information.

If it is something like in the era of the french revolution (the truth is that I do not know what it is called this time) then if there were newspapers, but they would not have the news of the day, but of the month, because it would be very expensive to have news and print new newspapers in short times.

Also, the troubadours were known as the reporters in the past. They listen to stories, then they composed a song with that and then they sang it in another town, who met to hear the new news.

 

[Armored99]

Romans had message boards where they posted stuff, and even had walls for shitposting as we see in Pompei, lol.

Also, the troubadours were known as the reporters in the past. They listen to stories, then they composed a song with that and then they sang it in another town, who met to hear the new news.

If you're going for medieval fantasy, then there were town criers who spread the latest news.

Perhaps you can implement it to convey popular sentiments of the populace, such as writing insults on government buildings or other such institutions if standard of living has decreased significantly in a short time.

From the posts so far, I'm mainly getting the sentiment for word-of-mouth and poster boards. Very stereotypical things to find in fantasy. The graffiti aspect of it is unique. but I doubt people got actual news from it and not just town gossip.

As for the person who mentioned literacy I think it's likely that the newspaper actually increased literacy rates instead being something that needed higher literacy. The mass of people couldn't really become literate if there wasn't some easily attained media that allowed them the opportunity to read and make use of the skill.

 

[K5Rakitan]

I like scrolls made from animal skins. If you use unicorn hide for a scroll, that could be very magical!

 

[Armored99]

I like scrolls made from animal skins. If you use unicorn hide for a scroll, that could be very magical!

Not quite what i was meaning. It doesn't take magic to make a printing press, was the idea I was trying to convey.

 

[Jemini]

If you're going for medieval fantasy, then there were town criers who spread the latest news.
'-'

X

Yes, this.

Although, really, this largely depends on the education level of your world. The reason for the town criers was that literacy back in those days was rather low. So, they needed a crier to be the person shouting out the news to everyone. When newspapers were first introduced, they had the criers sell the newspapers as "extras" to their service that would give extra more in-depth details.

If you've ever watched 90s cartoons, you might be familiar with the kid shouting "extra, extra, extra, read all about it!" After which he would begin reciting a part of the news. That would be a representation of these post-newspaper age town criers from the period after literacy started to raise to a point that newspapers were a more legitimate business model. They figured having the crier sell them like this was one of the better ways to sell them.

 

[Armored99]

Although, really, this largely depends on the education level of your world. The reason for the town criers was that literacy back in those days was rather low. So, they needed a crier to be the person shouting out the news to everyone. When newspapers were first introduced, they had the criers sell the newspapers as "extras" to their service that would give extra more in-depth details.

Now this is helpful information.

 

[JayDirex]

Just send a Raven. It's like email in a fantasy novel.

 

[Echimera]

Newspapers became widespread because it became easy and comparatively cheap to create hundreds, if not thousands of copies in a short timeframe. Before that, everything had to be written by hand.
Even without a printing press, if your setting has some magic skills or items (self-writing quills) that can produce the required numbers of copies cheaply, you can easily have something newspaper-like in your setting.
Inversely, a setting like that might either never invent the printing press at all or it might not be popular because the existing solution might be better than (early) printing presses.

 

[SylasWrites]

I think it really depends on the "tech level" in general. Yes, magic is a part of tech level. Is it medieval fantasy? Modern? Victorian-ish? Once you know your rough tech level/time period, you can go from there.

And, if you so choose, deliberately ignore conventional practices in regards to that. Perhaps magic has made long range communication possible but it's rare/expensive, and maybe it tends to be primarily used by the government and people with enough money. Maybe education levels are higher or lower than our own timeline so that newspaper and or other print media are more or less widespread. And don't be afraid to get inventive, like using illusion magic to create highly advanced plays.

It all starts with the tech level though. Start with what's possible and expand from there.

 

[Armored99]

Just send a Raven. It's like email in a fantasy novel.

they used pigeons

 

[Jemini]

Now this is helpful information.

Alright. One more detail then. More guess-work on my part than historic accuracy, but quite likely close enough that it would be clear and convincing to most readers. If you are going with a town crier in the age of newspapers, the shout that the crier gives to attract everyone's attention before they start speaking the news would be "extra." However, they say something different if you are going before newspapers become a thing. Another common phrase you hear is "hear-ye, hear-ye, hear-ye." That would likely be the criers cry to get people's attention before newspapers become a thing.

 

[Mysticant]

Hmm, it really depends on how your world works I guess. If magic is scarce then maybe only advanced forms of networking communication for the upper class who have strong magic. Otherwise, it would be normal bards, travelling merchants, newspapers, townscrier etc. Homing pigeons are also a thing I guess. I kind of liked the national broadcast system using magic in that recent anime.

 

[Armored99]

recent anime.

 

[longer]

I believe literacy rates were considered horrifyingly low because medieval European literacy was literacy in Latin, since the bible was almost only available in Latin, translations being discouraged or possibly considered heretical. Whether peasants could read the local language or not is a different story.

Here's a video discussing literacy rates, though I can't say if it's 100% accurate as this is outside my area of expertise.

However, archeological evidence from the Viking age does indicate a fairly high runic literacy rate in Scandinavia if I remember correctly.

 

[BenJepheneT]

History of erotic depictions - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

hentai precedes for much longer than we all know