The main goal for fantasy criticism is to reveal fantasies that most believe are real. Meaning, that it is to sort out what is the true nature of reality. These "fantasies" are not merely fictional stories that one thinks of when hearing the term "fantasy." They appear in everything from news events to political speeches, and can be seen in almost every act of rhetoric (Frie 2007). There are two main principles to the fantasy critique, (1) that communication creates reality through the use of general symbols used by everyone, and (2) that people use these symbols together to make truths of what reality really is (Frie 2007). A fantasy is created and sustained through a three step process: (1) it is created and shared among individuals and is seen as truth, (2) it is then shared with newcomers to make this reality grow in stregnth, and thus also the truth grows, making it more true as to how the world really is, and finally (3) it is continued to be reviewed and adjusted to further explain the world we live in, or when the fantasy's truth is questioned or shown to be not real (Frie 2007).
The fantasy analysis also reveals the heroes, villains and supporting cast that are within a fantasy. There are three main standards in fantasy criticism that helps to show a fantasy as a fantasy: (1) the truth standard which is used to reveal the truth of how the world really is, (2) the results standard which is to examine "how" and "why" certain fantasies attract believers and how those believers are kept under the "spell" of the fantasy, and (3) the aesthetic standard which looks at how a fantasy keeps its power and the triggers that help in doing this (Frie 2007).
National Forensic Journal Describing the fantasy theme analysis
Fantasy theme analysis about Wall Street by Mark Peterson
Bormann's Homepage
Journal of Communication, March 2003, concerning Mister Roger's Neighborhood and how the media show it
Fantasy Theme Analysis by Virginia Kidd