Great Expectations

My friend Eric has found himself in the middle of a cultural debate after writing a review of an anthology of “Irish” fantasy in which people jumped all over him for his expectations of what “Irish” fantasy. No leprechauns and wood elves, he said. Others replied, but that’s not what “Irish” fantasy is! You’re being racist!

Poor Eric is not racist by any means but I think his critics have some valid points. I think he’s a victim of how the demands of the mass market subversively shapes our how we view the world (such as the way that teenage girls think they must all have bodies like Playboy bunnies). In this case, it shapes how we view “other” cultures. Read my comment, posted to his blog, (it's the third comment down) here.