Ursula K. Le Guin on fantasy assumptions

I think that Ursula Le Guin is one of the finest fantasy writers there is; partly because she's actually pretty progressive in her writing and her characters really are characters and not just plot-ciphers. Anyway, courtesy of Greenflame, I came across this speech of hers about the assumptions readers/ retailers often make about the fantasy genre interms of it being populated by white, tales of the middle ages [or equivalent] and what she calls the Battle Between Good and Evil but seems to be a variety of the myth of redemptive violence. Good stuff to get you thinking.

BTW, if you're not into fantasy but fancy giving it a go, you could do worse than start with Ms Le Guin; the Earthsea Triology is a must.