More thoughts about colonialism, travel writing, and Myst... with PICTURES!!! (sort of)

So, in my earlier post I raised the question of why imperialist and colonialist narratives still thrive so much in fantasy and sci-fi stories, and claimed that I really didn't know why. Well, that was sort of a lie. At least, I have a hypothesis about it: with globalization, there are fewer places in the world that feel like an "Other-world," but the travel writing narrative (in all its various forms) is still an extremely powerful one, so the best way for us to relive the narrative is through fantasy. I was thinking a little on Monday night after class about why it's such a powerful narrative, and I realized that there's an extremely strong correlation between the travel writing narrative and Joseph Campbell's hero's journey. A protagonist, the hero (and who of us doesn't enjoy feeling like the hero?), leaves the realm of the "normal" and travels into the unknown, overcoming obstacles and eventually returning home with a boon for his society - whether the boon is economical or scientific, it's the same idea.

Maybe re-enacting this narrative through fantasy could be viewed as a bad thing: are we merely reinforcing colonialist attitudes? Are these narratives the result of lingering imperialism? Or, in contrast, are these narratives something universal to all human beings? (Joseph Campbell would probably say it's a universal narrative; I tend to think that too, but that's really just because I happen to like that idea, not because I necessarily have a way to back it up). If it is universal, though, then is the narrative itself a bad thing? Or is it only bad when it is acted out in real life, imposed upon other people? And if so, what's the purpose of it in the first place?

Anyway, since I can't think of a good segue, I put together some pictures from Myst with commentary, kind of trying to explore the comparisons between Pratt's concepts of travel writing and transculturation, and the narrative of the Myst games. I know, I'm dorky for doing this, but I love the games and I think the comparisons are really rich and interesting.
Also, for some reason, this blog won't let me upload pictures. So you can see the pictures here, if you want.