Why does the fantasy genre have such a bad reputation?

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Somehow, I think that is unlikely. He will probably come up with the "It has made-up stuff so it's bullshit argument". Anyway, it might be a while before I speak to him again at length - he happens to live in Romania.

I do think that it's true that the suspension of disbelief can be abused. Bad fantasy does that. One sometimes hears people say "fantasy writers can just make everything up." No. A fantasy writers needs to create a consustent set of rules for his magic - how it works, what it can or can't do - and stick to it. Otherwise, yeah, you might get some deus-ex-machina situations.

It isn't real. If people ever have a real argument for disliking fantasy/sf, that's what they say. But that's only half the truth. Because the author writes about magic and made-up worlds, he has to work hard to make it consistent and believable. Above all, the characters need to feel real - and doesn't about every author write about imaginary people, whether they be dragonslayers, space pirates or some American housewife? (And once again: if people say "I don't like it personally", that's fine. But when they say "It's all trash", that's when I get mad.)