S04E06: If you've ever wondered what Avatar: The Last Airbender has in common with Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara... well, you're weird, but you're MY kind of weird. Spoilers: it's not the plot. It's how they raid the global spice rack to create a fantasy we never even knew we wanted.
In this video, I'm spelunking into the art of cultural fusion in storytelling. It wouldn't be fun without a nostalgia hit right to the brainstem, so we'll start with some 80s and 90s classics (looking at you, Thundercats) and see how modern masterpieces carry the torch.
This one's for the creators: the writers, the game masters, the D&D and Pathfinder dungeon delvers. Anyone who wants to build a world that feels truly unique is going to find something useful here. I'm giving you my "Cultural Catalyst Framework," a three-step system I developed to help you remix reality the right way (pro tip: cultural appropriation is the devil's playground).
Because I don't get enough punishment on the Internet, I'm also showing exactly how I used this toolkit in my own urban fantasy series to blend superhero action with werewolves, voudou, and Judaeo-Christian mythology... which is how we get werewolves that know kung fu.
Come geek out with me, find some new inspiration, and learn how to make your own awesome worlds... awesomer? Is that a word?
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