History of English Literature: From 1900 to 2000 Modern Age Fantasy and Religion in 20th Century Literature

1. Batch 2021 – 2023 Sem 2
Presentation Season 2
Code -22403 Paper 110: History of
English Literature 1900 to 2000
Department of English MK,
Bhavnagar University
Vachchhalata Joshi
Vachchhalatajoshi.14@gmail.com
Roll no: 20
Topic : Fantasy and Religion in 20th Century

2. Fantasy in Literature
Elements of the supernatural and the fantastic were an element of
literature from its beginning, though the idea of a distinct genre, in
the modern sense, is less than two centuries old.
Historically, most works of fantasy were written, however, since the
1960s, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form
of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music
and art.
Stories involving magic and terrible monsters have existed in spoken
forms before the advent of printed literature. Classical mythology is
replete with fantastical stories and characters, the best known and
perhaps the most relevant to modern fantasy being the works
of Homer and Virgil .

3. Indian Fantasy Stories
India has a long tradition of fantastical stories and characters, dating
back to Vedic mythology. The Panchatantra which some scholars
believe was composed around the 3rd century BC. It is based on
older oral traditions, including "animal fables that are as old as we
are able to imagine".
Fantasy Tales
1) Panchtantra
2) Bikram Betal
3) Vedas Written by Ved Vyas

4. Fantasy in 20th century
An important factor in the development of the fantasy genre was the
arrival of magazines devoted to fantasy fiction.
The first such publication was the German magazine Der
Orchideengarten which ran from 1919 to 1921. In 1923, the first
English-language fantasy fiction magazine, Weird Tales, was
created. Many other similar magazines eventually followed. and The
Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction The pulp magazine format
was at the height of its popularity at this time and was instrumental
in bringing fantasy fiction to a wide audience in both the U.S. and
Britain. Such magazines also played a large role in the rise
of science fiction and it was at this time the two genres began to be
associated with each other.

5. Best Contribution towards Fantasy is..
The first major contribution to the genre after World War II was Mervyn
Peake's Titus Groan , the book that launched the Gormenghast series. J. R. R.
Tolkien played a large role in the popularization and accessibility of the fantasy
genre with his highly successful publications The Hobbit and The Lord of the
Rings .Tolkien was largely influenced by an ancient body of Anglo-Saxon myths,
particularly Beowulf, as well as William Morris's romances and E. R. Eddison's
1922 novel, The Worm Ouroboros. Tolkien's close friend C. S. Lewis, author
of The Chronicles of Narnia and a fellow English professor with a similar array
of interests, also helped to publicize the fantasy genre. Tove Jansson, author of The
Moomins, was also a strong contributor to the popularity of fantasy literature in
the field of children and adults.
At the turn of the millennium, The Harry Potter novels of J. K. Rowling, which
chronicle the life of a young wizard, achieved widespread popularity.

6. Stan lee as comic Writer
Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He
rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which
would later become Marvel Comics. He was the primary creative leader for two
decades, leading its expansion from a small division of a publishing house to
a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.
In collaboration with others at Marvel—particularly co-writers/artists Jack
Kirby and Steve Ditko—he co-created iconic characters,
including superheroes Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, Ant-
Man, the Wasp, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor
Strange, Scarlet Witch, and Black Widow. These and other characters'
introductions in the 1960s pioneered a more naturalistic approach in superhero
comics, and in the 1970s Lee challenged the restrictions of the Comics Code
Authority, indirectly leading to changes in its policies. In the 1980s he pursued the
development of Marvel properties in other media, with mixed results.

7. Marvel stories
Marvel was started in 1939
by Martin Goodman as Timely
Comics, and by 1951 had generally
become known as Atlas Comics.
The Marvel era began in 1961, the
year that the company
launched The Fantastic Four and
other superhero titles created
by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve
Ditko and many others. The Marvel
brand, which had been used over
the years, was solidified as the
company's primary brand.

8. X- Men Apocalypse and Background
In the Marvel Universe, mutants are humans who are born with a genetic trait
called the X-gene which grants them natural superhuman abilities. Due to their
differences from the majority of humanity, mutants are subject to prejudice and
discrimination and many X-Men stories feature social commentary on bigotry and
justice. The X-Men have fought against a variety of enemies, including villainous
mutants, human bigots, mystical threats, extraterrestrials, and malevolent artificial
intelligences. In most iterations of the team, they are led by their founder Charles
"Professor X" Xavier, a powerful telepath who runs a school for mutant children
out of his mansion in Westchester, New York, which secretly is also the
headquarters of the X-Men. Their stories have frequently involved Magneto, a
powerful mutant with control over magnetic fields, who is depicted as an old
friend of and foil to Xavier, variously acting as an adversary or as an ally.
As it goes about setting current an Egypt d future X-Men up for battle
against Apocalypse who has risen from 4th-Century into 1983.

9. X – Men and Religion

10. We can say that a perfect combination of Action Sci –fi and Fantasy in the very opening scene
So this is one of Marvel movie which is based on fantasy superheroes and Immortal power.
We find The Egyptian Group creating a Apocalypse to destroy the current world and create his own
World to reign over but however the master of Mutant school professor Charles and his team protects the
World. Movie has a few funny characters like Kurtz and Scott whereas Jean is the one who Can see the
Which helps to fight with her brain and saves Professor Charles and gives positive energy to the world.

11. Comparison of Movie Genre
In India In United States

12. Citations
 Todorov, Tzvetan, and T
͡ Svetan Todorov. The fantastic: A structural approach
to a literary genre. Cornell University Press, 1975.
 Thapar, Romila. A history of India. Penguin UK, 1990.
 Milner, Andrew. Locating science fiction. Vol. 44. Liverpool University Press,
2012.
 Gurevitch, Danielle. "Fantastic Literature at the Beginning on of the Third
Millennium: Terror, Religion, and the Hogwarts Syndrome." The Looking
Glass: New Perspectives Children's Literature 17.1 (2013).
 Batchelor, Bob. Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel. Rowman & Littlefield,
2017.
 Hagan, Justice. "X-Men: Apocalypse (Bryan Singer US 2016)." Science
Fiction Film and Television 13.2 (2020): 311-313.