I stumbled upon this video, and I highly recommend giving it a watch.
For those who can't be bothered, or are too mad to even click the link, here's the long and short of its thesis:
The video argues that modern fantasy often feels weightless because, too often, it strips out believable racism, prejudice, and social tension, which older fantasy used to make its worlds feel real and emotionally heavy.
In other words:
Fantasy worlds need ugly human behaviour to feel lived‑in and believable.
Unfortunately, many authors shy away from this out of fear of backlash or getting cancelled.
So while their worlds might "look" great on the surface, they also lack that immersive undercurrent that classic fantasy excels at.
The video lays out the following few examples:
In The Witcher, Geralt is treated as a monster and "other." This bigotry toward mutants and non‑humans creates empathy and moral complexity; often, the real villain is human cruelty, not the literal monster.
In Lord of the Rings, there are long‑standing grudges between elves, dwarves, and men which — news flash — are a form of racism, albeit of the fantasy kind. But this wasn't woven into the story for the shizz and giggles. No, it came from history, borders, and cultures, thus making Middle-earth believable. It also gives weight to alliances and friendships like Legolas and Gimli.
Then there's Game of Thrones. Characters like Tyrion (as a dwarf) and Jon (as a bastard) are despised for being different. The video explains that it's this raw, class‑based and ethnic hatred that makes Westeros feel socially uneven and real.
Now, am I or the author of the video suggesting that racism is a wonderful thing?
I'm not even going to dignify that question with an answer.
If you're blessed with even half a brain cell and a shred of critical thinking, you'll know my response to that.
But what carefully selected fantasy racism does offer is one of the strongest tools for worldbuilding to not only give stories weight, but also an opportunity to condemn prejudice and, dare I say, overturn it.
(Like Legolas and Gimli did by becoming good friends, or Darius' alliance with Jangar and Alere in my series, The Divided Region.)
A fantasy world that pretends humans aren't human — that erases these ugly dynamics — feels fake and disingenuous.
And when the world feels like plastic, the audience stops caring.
DJJW
P.S. If you're a grown-up who understands nuance and craves a fantasy world that doesn't shy away from mankind's flaws (as noxious as they may be), you might just enjoy this series: