KPCC AirTalk: “Acknowledging, Assessing And Addressing Racism Within The Fantasy Genre”

The fantasy role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons has editions that date back to the 1970s. While the game is made up of mythical characters and spells that can be cast, its depiction of race and gender are anything but a fantasy.

The Dungeon Master uses the rule book to narrate the story that allows players to decide the actions of their characters. According to a recent piece in WIRED, “genetic determinism is a fantasy tradition.” Game makers are starting to grapple with the deeply ingrained stereotyping that exists. But experts recognize that changing a few rules here and there only goes so far. So where does the fantasy genre of gaming go from here and how can it increase representation?

Listen to AirTalk on the KPCC website.