WORLDWIDE FANTASY MONTH #7: Yeelen, by Souleymane Cissé (1987)
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Yeelen creates an epic fantasy story with dazzling scenery from West African legends and folk tales.
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Most fantasy worlds are mind-numbingly similar. Knights, wizards, trolls, unicorns, yada yada yada, blah blah blah. It all draws from the same melange of European folklore, to the point that certain well-trodden elements of the fantastic have become predictable. If you want to escape familiarity, you have to branch out with your inspiration and look at other cultures for new ideas. The following recommendations look at fantasy that comes from non-European roots.