Armitt/Fantasy fiction in my life during 2001-03

While reading Armitt's book about Fantasy fiction, I found myself with a somewhat scattered viewpoint of what fantasy fiction really is. It's not that I particulary didn't care much for the book (it was a somewhat easier read than most would be on the subject), it was the varied definition of what fantasy fiction is supposed to be, according to Armitt. First, I disagreed with Animal Farm and Gulliver's Travels being labeled fantasy fiction. I personally feel that those books are considered to be fictional satires on real life events, the former about communist Russia and the latter about the wars between England and France in the 1700s. Second, I do agree with Armitt on the grounds about Christian allegorical writing about Pilgrim's Progress, but totally disagree with The Lord of the Rings being a Christian allegory. Armitt mentions this in the book, and some 30-odd pages later, says that LOTR is usually mistaken as being a Christian allegory. All in all, Armitt's Fantasy fiction book was an interesting read at times, but at other times, one could get lost with too much information that was in the text. I wished that Armitt could focus a bit on the basics of Fantasy fiction instead of overloading one with too much at one time.

As a footnote, besides going too much in depth on a book review, I thought I'd shift my attention to when I first "discovered" fantasy fiction. It was around the fall of 2001, when the Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings were being showned in theatres. I didn't automatically jump on the bandwagon, but about a month before the new year, I decided to see "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." I then read the book shortly afterwards, and for the next year, found myself caught up in the Harry Potter-mania that was going on at that time. I couldn't wait for the next film, so I read the book and during the fall of 2002, saw the second Harry Potter film. My fascination with fantasy did not last long. I became quite bored along the way with the Harry Potter books and films, and by 2003, was finished with my one and a half year journey into the world of fantasy fiction. I have not gone back into reading or watching fantasy since that time, and do not plan to at anytime. As an interesting sidenote, this is the first time since the 2001-2003 fantasy stage that I have read, watched, or spoke of fantasy. I'd had seen the first two LOTR films during that time period, but grew tired of them, unlike Harry Potter.