How do I break out of those weird tropes but still write something with gnomes and shit? What does it look like when wizards control the means of production?
How do I break out of those weird tropes but still write something with gnomes and shit? What does it look like when wizards control the means of production?
Reactionaries who'd read your book would sympathize with the empire no matter what. Our pop culture is full of fan favorites who are clearly characters you shouldn't sympathize with, from Eric Cartman to Zac Snyder's interpretation of Rorschach. If you'd like to have plausible villains with complex motivations, villains who are horrible human beings instead of one-dimensional monsters, i don't think you should ditch that just because it could be misunderstood. Somebody will always misunderstand your work, it's unavoidable.
Also, i think the best critique of a fascist empire is not to show it as a monstrous, superhuman threat (that's exactly how fascists want to be seen, they want people to be scared of them), but to expose how pompous, laughable and cringe nazis actually can be when they're not appearing in Star Wars or Indiana Jones.
Agreed, I tend to over react to weird things that I cling onto. I'm a pretty emotional writer so when the thought ran through my head, it stuck with me lol.
That's a really good point about critique of fascism. It's tough balancing an antagonistic entity like an empire and its people. Need to give them consequential weight in the story while showcasing just how pathetic their politics and violence truly occurs. I've been working on it. Your point definitely gave me more to think about.