(Academia) Any ideas on how to improve on this thesis plan about TDP's morals ?
Hey ! I'm seeking to do something productive with my seven years obsession about this show.
I struggled to come up with a thesis subject that could encapsulate as much as possible to a audience who knows nothing of the show. But here is what I eventually came up with.
This subject and outline has been approved by my teacher. Alas, I'm not quite satisfied with it. In my opinion, it's more a confirmation biais disguised as a thesis (especially in the central hypothesis), it tends to repeat itself, and lacks grounding in real-world philosophy and politics. My homework, though seemingly extensive, seems quite flimsy to me and lacks proper references. If anyone has other references I could take a look at to enrich the thing, I'd be happy to study them. Both about the philosophy and history TDP is addressing; and some fantasy novels that offer a similar representation of dragons and elves than TDP's portrayal of them as guardians of nature.
Please, do tell me if you have any gripes with it, or structural issues that need to be addressed. Especially in Part II.
Thanks for your help !
Here is the Google Docs :
“Ecology, Politics, and Moral Philosophy in The Dragon Prince**: The Legitimacy of Violence Examined in a Contemporary Animated Fantasy for
“Ecology, Politics, and Moral Philosophy in The Dragon Prince**: The Legitimacy of Violence Examined in a Contemporary Animated Fantasy for Young Audiences.”**
This title and outline remain liable to revision during the writing process.
Central hypothesis
The Dragon Prince seeks to combine an ecological fable (dragons and elves as embodiments of a natural order) with a political narrative centred on the expulsion of humans, treating dark magic as a metaphor for exploitation, and most importantly, positioning peace between the two camps as the moral horizon. However, this ambition—shaped by the formal and readability constraints of youth animation and extended through a transmedia apparatus—may be undermined by an asymmetry in moral treatment, the instability of the dilemmas posed, and the reaffirmation of a hierarchical cosmic order.
Research question
How does The Dragon Prince mobilise the codes of ecological fantasy, the tools of visual storytelling, references to other works, and transmedia strategies in an attempt to move beyond simple manicheanism and offer a nuanced reflection on moral, ecological, and political dilemmas?
Detailed outline
Introduction
Presentation of the series The Dragon Prince and its context. The Dragon Prince is an animated series produced and released by Netflix from 2018 to 2025. Its place within medievalist high fantasy is unambiguous, drawing on a clearly legible architext.
The story unfolds in the secondary world of Xadia, structured by an ontological asymmetry. It contains, on the one hand, the Xadians—creatures connected from birth to an elemental or “primal” magic (including elves and dragons)—and, on the other hand, those who are not: ordinary animals and humans. Some humans, structurally disadvantaged in access to basic resources and to magic, develop an alternative: what comes to be called “dark magic”. If they are not born with magic, they will take it from those who are. Concretely, this involves the use of organic matter, ranging from bodily fluids to organs taken from living beings. This opposition places the world under a regime of conflict that is both ecological (resources, extraction, predation) and moral (sacrifice, consent, ends).
The Xadians, unsurprisingly reluctant to be carved up, relocate the human species through an act of ethnic cleansing, precipitating famine; war has raged ever since. At the beginning of the series, the escalation of violence reaches an unprecedented intensity.
The three protagonists are two human princes, Callum and Ezran, and Rayla, an elf initially tasked with assassinating them. The three undertake a desperate quest to end the war between their peoples.
Aside: hierarchy of sources. Adopted hierarchy: (A) the Netflix series = primary canon (B) official narrative transmedia (comics, short stories, novelisations, guides, game) = derivative, subordinate canon; (C) interviews/tweets = paratext, non-probative, though that very non-probative status is itself an object of analysis.
Transmedia material is used to measure the gap between what the series stages and what it delegates or retrofits elsewhere. This dissertation treats the relegation of decisive elements to transmedia (B) or paratext (C) as a problem of narrative responsibility: such displacement alters the moral alignment available to the audience and is therefore central to the series’ message.
Test case (A/B/C hierarchy). Season 7 depicts primal-magic gemstones used by humans as weapons, without the usual markers of dark magic. Yet in an interview, Aaron Ehasz reclassifies this usage as “technically” dark magic—even though elves also make use of it—on the grounds that it “consumes” a rare resource; he frames it as a grey area (“I don’t know”). This paratextual clarification directly shifts the moral boundary between dark and primal magic, and therefore the political reading of the magic system… but only for initiated viewers, since this potential revision introduced by C is never suggested within A.
Part I — Cosmogony and its place within the tradition of ecological fantasy
Chapter 1 — Dragons and elves: figures of natural magic
1.1 — Dragons as guardians of nature 1.1.1 — Dragons in the ecological-fantasy tradition
Exploration of dragons in classical and contemporary fantasy, drawing on Anne Besson’s work and the analyses in the Dictionnaire de la fantasy. Comparison with Tolkien, Game of Thrones, and How to Train Your Dragon.
1.1.2 — Dragons and ecological justice
Analysis of dragons as guardians of nature and of cyclical justice. Sol Regem is studied as a figure of draconic tyranny and arrogance, while Zubeia and Zym embody benevolent, protective aspects.
1.2 — Elves as figures of alterity 1.2.1 — Tolkienian inheritance and the Na’vi
Analysis of elves as heirs to Tolkien’s elves and the Na’vi in Avatar, as aesthetic and moral figures. Also: the Powhatans in Pocahontas (and the dubious “noble savage” topos), and San in Princess Mononoke.
1.2.2 — The elves’ moral contradictions
Study of elven fanaticism and their role in the oppression of humans. Runaan is analysed as a tragic figure whose assassin cult reveals tensions between justice and violence.
Chapter 2 — Humans and sacrificial magic
2.1 — Dark magic as a metaphor for exploitation 2.1.1 — Origins and philosophy of dark magic
Analysis of dark magic as a response to humans’ exclusion from natural magic. Exploration of its origins and its philosophical and moral implications. Comparison with alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist. Use of the trolley problem and variants.
2.1.2 — Dark magic and the symbolism of moral condemnation
Study of parallels drawn between dark magic and issues such as poaching, pollution, capitalism, drugs, or sexual violence, drawing on William Blanc (Winter is Coming: Short History of Politics in Fantasy) and Justine Breton (Un Middle Ages in Chiaroscuro : medievalism in TV shows).
2.2 — Callum and primal magic 2.2.1 — The discovery of primal magic
Analysis of Callum’s new ability to master primal magic, and the implications for the ecological metaphor and for the legitimacy of the cosmogony itself.
2.2.2 — Callum and the moral dilemma of dark magic
Study of the way Callum is morally tormented by his use of dark magic, even when he employs it to kill an antagonist. Comparison with Frodo’s failure in The Lord of the Rings, where Frodo is saved in extremis. Analysis of the series’ deontological implications: dark magic is condemned even where benefits are net-positive, while primal magic is treated as neutral or positive despite problematic features (e.g., torture spells).
Part II — “The Chains of History”: royalty and history in The Dragon Prince
Chapter 3 — Royalty and its moral dilemmas
3.1 — Harrow and Ezran (human kings, father and son): two visions of sovereignty 3.1.1 — Harrow, the suffering king
Analysis of Harrow’s political choices, including recourse to violence to protect his people, and a strict deontology that also costs lives. Study of his moral dilemmas through John Rawls and Philippa Foot. Comparisons with Arthur (Kaamelott) or Viserys Targaryen (House of the Dragon).
3.1.2 — Ezran, the idealistic young king
Exploration of Ezran’s pacifism and the tension between ideals and political realities. Study of his role in legitimising dragon actions. Comparisons with Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones) or Daniel Larcher (A French Village). (NOTE : *A French Village* is a TV series about a fictional French town during the Nazi occupation. Daniel is the pacifist mayor who, in trying to protect his town, tries to compromise so much, he ends up being hated by everyone and by himself the most)
3.2 — Viren: a complex character within a manichean framework 3.2.1 — Viren and the pursuit of power
Analysis of Viren’s motivations as a pragmatic leader who believes himself visionary, alongside the erosion of his empathy, yet also his discrediting through staging, actions, and erratic characterisation. Comparisons with Lady Eboshi (Princess Mononoke), Erwin Smith (Attack on Titan), Lancelot (Kaamelott), Leonide Ducatore (To Win the War), and Jafar (Aladdin), Scar (The Lion King), or Richard III (Richard III), Tywin Lannister (Game of Thrones)
3.2.2 — Viren and dark magic
Study of Viren’s use of dark magic and the immoral implications of his choices within the framework of human survival. Mobilisation of the “Magneto Syndrome” (Benjamin Patineau) as an American popular-culture mechanism: placing political grievances exclusively in the villain’s mouth in order to discredit them under the guise of nuance.
Chapter 4 — “The Chains of History”: duties to future generations
4.1.1 — Refusing a warlike inheritance as a political identity
Examples: Rayla, Janai, Ezran.
4.2.2 — I feel like I should put something here : stuff about Callum VS Viren; as well as about Harrow
Part III — Insidious manicheanism
Chapter 5 — The insidious legitimisation of oppression
5.1 — “Necessary” violence and its contradictions 5.1.1 — The final battle of Season 3
Analysis of the Season 3 finale as an instance of crude manicheanism in which human lives become cannon fodder, undermining the series’ repeatedly stated message about the value of life.
5.1.2 — Human-bashing and moral imbalance
Study of anti-human discourse in the series and its transmedia extensions: racist remarks by elves and dragons, and the way the series excuses or minimises Xadian violence while amplifying human wrongdoing. Historical parallels with colonialism, notably via Benjamin Patineau. In other words, TDP appears not to recognise that it is describing a logic of oppression, and instead forces a balancing of blame.
Comparison in favour of the webtoon Suitor Armor (strictly contemporaneous with TDP): a similar cosmogony opposing fairy folk and humans practising sacrificial magic, but with a clear reading of oppression as such (this time, fair folk oppressed by humans), allowing for greater nuance within a framework that—unlike TDP’s—is firmly established. The webtoon is also aided by its long form and its closed-setting structure.
5.2 — Nuances and limits 5.2.1 — Villains in Xadia
Analysis of the Sunfire elf arc and Karim as an attempt to introduce nuance within Xadia’s representation.
A few other Xadian antagonists appearing in Arc II.
5.2.2 — Diplomacy and reconciliation
Study of Ezran’s diplomatic attempt in Season 4 and the obstacles to genuine reconciliation, including the absence of Xadian accountability and the persistence of an unequal balance of power.
5.3 — Aaravos and the critique of the cosmic order
Analysis of Aaravos as a figure both Luciferian and Promethean. Drawing on Pullman’s trilogy as heir to Milton’s Paradise Lost via His Dark Materials, study of his motivations and his role in challenging structures of power.
Part IV — Constructing a postmodern fantasy
Chapter 6 — The role of transmedia in world-building
6.1 — Short stories, comics, and interviews 6.1.1 — Enriching the world
Analysis of transmedia supports used to deepen The Dragon Prince’s universe, notably through short stories and comics that reveal narrative elements absent from the main series. Comparison with Fire & Blood and Star Wars.
6.1.2 — Fragmentation and narrative limits
Study of the consequences of narrative fragmentation for coherence and reception, drawing on Anne Besson, Matthieu Letourneux, and Henry Jenkins.
Chapter 7 — Explicit references and postmodern storytelling
7.1 — Easter eggs and intertextuality 7.1.1 — References to classic fantasy
Analysis of explicit nods to The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Avatar: The Last Airbender, or Twin Peaks, and their thematic/narrative function.
7.1.2 — Postmodern narration and medievalism
Study of postmodern narrative features in medievalist TV series, drawing on Justine Breton (Un Moyen Âge en clair-obscur), and analysis of how The Dragon Prince mobilises these codes to enrich its world.
Conclusion
Synthesis of the arguments developed.
Reflection on the philosophical, ecological, moral, and political implications of The Dragon Prince.
Bibliography (subject to change)
Primary sources
Primary sources (A)
The Dragon Prince [animated series]. Created by Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond. Netflix / Wonderstorm, 2018–2024. (Netflix)
Primary transmedia sources (B)
WEST, Tracey. The Dragon Prince: Callum’s Spellbook (In-World Character Handbook). New York: Scholastic Inc., 3 March 2020. (Scholastic Canada)
EHASZ, Aaron; EHASZ, Melanie McGanney. Book One: Moon (The Dragon Prince #1). New York: Scholastic Inc., 2 June 2020. (shop.scholastic.com)
EHASZ, Aaron; EHASZ, Melanie McGanney. Book Two: Sky (The Dragon Prince #2). New York: Scholastic Inc., 3 August 2021. (Scholastic Canada)
The Dragon Prince: Reflections [online short-story series]. The Dragon Prince (official website), from 10 Nov. 2022 onwards. (The Dragon Prince)
Paratextual sources (C)
MILLER, W.R. “Interview: Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond on Xadia: The Land of Loose Ends”. Animation Scoop, 25 February 2025. (Animation Scoop)
ROBINSON, Tasha. “The creators of Netflix’s The Dragon Prince talk magic, conflict, and building a fantasy world”. The Verge, 11 March 2019. (The Verge)
“The Dragon Prince Creators Reveal Season 6’s Epic Arc”. CBR, 6 August 2024. (CBR)
URLs
https://animationscoop.com/interview-aaron-ehasz-and-justin-richmond-on-xadia-the-land-of-loose-ends/
https://www.cbr.com/the-dragon-prince-season-6-aaron-ehasz-justin-richmond-interview/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/11/18259977/netflix-the-dragon-prince-creators-interview-aaron-ehasz-justin-richmond-callum-ezran-claudia-viren
https://thedragonprince.com/reflections-short-stories/
https://www.netflix.com/title/80212245
Secondary sources
Comparative corpus Comics / webcomics
Purpah. Suitor Armor [webcomic]. WEBTOON, 2020–. (www.webtoons.com)
Audiovisual works — series
ARAKI, Tetsurō (dir.). Attack on Titan [animated series]. Wit Studio (seasons 1–3) / MAPPA (final season), 2013–2023.
ASTIER, Alexandre; KAPPAUF, Alain; ROBIN, Jean-Yves (creators). Kaamelott [TV series]. M6, 2005–2009.
BENIOFF, David; WEISS, D. B. (creators). Game of Thrones [TV series]. HBO, 2011–2019.
DiMARTINO, Michael Dante; KONIETZKO, Bryan (creators). Avatar: The Last Airbender [animated series]. Nickelodeon, 2005–2008.
IRIE, Yasuhiro (dir.). Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood [animated series]. Bones, 2009–2010.
Audiovisual works — feature films
ALLERS, R., & Minkoff, R. (Directors). (1994). The Lion King [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.
CAMERON, James (dir.). Avatar [film]. 2009.
CAMERON, James (dir.). Avatar : The way of water [film]. 2022.
CAMERON, James (dir.). Avatar : Fire and Ashes [film]. 2025
DeBLOIS, Dean (dir.). How to Train Your Dragon [animated film]. DreamWorks Animation, 2010.
DeBLOIS, Dean (dir.). How to Train Your Dragon 2 [animated film]. DreamWorks Animation, 2014.
DeBLOIS, Dean (dir.). How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World [animated film]. DreamWorks Animation, 2019.
GABRIEL, Mike; GOLDBERG, Eric (dirs.). Pocahontas [animated film]. 1995.
JACKSON, Peter (dir.). The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [film]. 2001.
JACKSON, Peter (dir.). The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [film]. 2002.
JACKSON, Peter (dir.). The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [film]. 2003.
KANG, Maggie; APPELHANS, Chris (dirs.). KPop Demon Hunters [animated film]. Netflix, 2025.
KERSHNER, Irvin (dir.). Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back [film]. 1980.
MIYAZAKI, Hayao (dir.). Princess Mononoke [animated film]. Studio Ghibli, 1997.
CLEMENTS, R., & Musker, J. (Directors). (1992). Aladdin [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.
Novels
TOLKIEN, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings [novel]. 3 vols. Allen & Unwin, 1954–1955.
KUANG, R. F. Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution. Harper Voyager, 2022.
Academic sources Articles
BESSON, Florian. “Arrêtez de m’appeler Sire : Les enjeux du refus du pouvoir dans la fantasy médiévaliste”. L’Atelier du centre de recherches historiques [online], posted 06 March 2018, accessed 09 April 2018. URL: https://journals.openedition.org/acrh/8200
SADRI, Houman. “Original Sin as Salvation: The Apocalyptic Boon in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials”. Article/essay, n.d. (PDF, 25 pp.).
FOOT, Philippa. “The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect”. Oxford Review, no. 5, 1967. Reprinted in Virtues and Vices and Other Essays in Moral Philosophy (1977/2002) (PDF)
Bibliography
ARENDT, Hannah. On Violence. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1970
BESSON, Anne (ed.); BLANC, William; FERRÉ, Vincent (eds.). (2022). Dictionnaire du Moyen Âge imaginaire : le médiévalisme, hier et aujourd’hui. Paris: Vendémiaire.
BESSON, Anne (ed.). (2018). Dictionnaire de la fantasy. Paris: Vendémiaire.
BESSON, Anne (ed.). (2023). Fantasy et Moyen Âge. Chambéry: ActuSF.
BESSON, Florian; BRETON, Justine. (2020). Une histoire de feu et de sang : le Moyen Âge de Game of Thrones. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
BLANC, William. (2019). Winter is coming : une brève histoire politique de la fantasy. Montreuil: Libertalia.
BRETON, Justine. (2023). Un Moyen Âge en clair-obscur : le médiévalisme dans les séries télévisées. Tours cedex: Presses universitaires François-Rabelais.
BRETON, Justine (ed.); BESSON, Florian (ed.). (2018). Kaamelott : un livre d’histoire. Paris: Vendémiaire.
CHAILLAN, Michaël. (2017). Game of Thrones : une métaphysique des meurtres. Saint-Amand-Montrond: Le Passeur.
FERRÉ, Vincent (ed.). (2019). Tolkien : voyage en Terre du Milieu. Gand: Christian Bourgois éditeur.
GIRARD, René. Violence and the Sacred. Translated by Patrick Gregory. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977.
GIRARD, René. The Scapegoat. Translated by Yvonne Freccero. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986.
GONZALES, Marc. (2020). Fullmetal Alchemist : derrière la porte de la Vérité. Toulouse: Third Éditions.
LE RIDIER, J. (2013). Faust : les mystères de la science. Paris: Larousse.
LETOURNEUX, Matthieu. (2018). Fictions à la chaîne : littératures sérielles et cultures médiatiques. Paris: Seuil.
PATINEAU, Benjamin. (2023). Le syndrome Magneto : et si les méchants avaient raison. Au Diable Vauvert (EPUB).
PELISSIER, C. (2021). Explorer Kaamelott : les dessous de la Table ronde. Toulouse: Third Éditions.
SAUVAGE, Célia. (2023). Décoder Disney-Pixar : désenchanter et réenchanter l’imaginaire. Villejuif: Éditions Daronnes.
TRUFFINET, N. (2014). Kaamelott ou la quête du savoir. Paris: Vendémiaire.
maybe too much Kaamelott in this bibliography