The Reason Why We Seek Escapism
July 29th, 2011 by Michael Kwan
It’s a feeling that is very common among, well, pretty much everyone. We’ve grown so accustomed to our daily routines, going through the same kinds of motions each and every day, and this can make life a tad on the boring side. At the same time, most of us are pretty averse to potentially harmful or fatal situations. It’s also rather challenging to do some of the things that we’d really like to do.
And that, at its crux, is why so many of us seek escapism. There’s nothing wrong with that whatsoever. It doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate the lives that we currently enjoy. It doesn’t mean that we don’t appreciate our steady jobs, the roofs over our heads, and the delicious foods on our tables. It just means that sometimes, we want something different.
Escapism can take on many forms, but they all have the same common element: vicarious experience. Whether you’re watching a movie, reading a book, or playing a video game, you’re living vicariously through the characters. When you watch X-Men, you feel the same struggles as Professor X. When you play Portal 2, you see yourself as Chell.
The key difference is that you are not in any real mortal danger when you are sitting in that movie theatre or when you are slouched back on your beanbag chair in the living room. You get to experience the same thrills and sense of accomplishment without really changing who you really are. If only for a moment, you are a grizzled war hero in the 1940s, a hopeless romantic in Paris, or an intergalactic pilot in search of brave new worlds.
Don’t let the naysayers steer you astray. Escapist fiction (or even escapist non-fiction, for that matter) need not be a mindless diversion for the harsh, mundane, or boring realities of real life. You can engage with escapist fiction the same way you can engage with thoughtful and profound works of fiction. They are not mutually exclusive. Escapist fiction may be catered to the masses, but you can always take it to another level.
One of my favorite examples of this is the X-Men universe. You can’t deny that there are parallels between the persecution of mutants in that fictional world and the persecution of certain groups of people in the real world. You may escape to something that really doesn’t exist, but also recognize that art tends to imitate life.
Tags: escapism, happiness, movies
Filed under Arts and Entertainment.
Nice picture from Portal 2 Michael. I have been playing it at my father in-laws for the past 2 months. It is great to sit there and think, zone out and escape into the world of fantasy. The stress just melts away.
To be honest, I haven’t even played Portal 2 yet! I’ve only played Portal: Still Alive on the PS3, which is a slightly altered version of the original Portal. Great game though.
Portal 2 is pretty good. It gets better as it goes on and Chapter’s 3 & 4 are a bear. I am having a lot of fun playing it, but it’s not the same only playing it once a week for a few hours maybe. I’d love to have it at my place.
Hummm, must ask for xBox for Christmas or birthday.
The Xbox is pretty affordable now, especially if you get the cheaper 4GB model. Still has built-in WiFi and such. Don’t buy a used Xbox though, since it can open up a lot of problematic worms.
Played for 2 hours yesterday. Made it to Chapter 6 “The Fall”. What a way to escape the world and have some great fun.
Yeah you are right Michael.when we watch something like video we involve in that in all possible ways and ,in dream also we see like we are fighting like X-men and saving the victims. The important is we can’t take off ourselves from the reality.
“Escapism is not defined by the behavior itself but the motivation behind it.”
Maddy
I think we all have this feeling from time to time. I am fortunate and unfortunate that I can’t take much of a vacation but I have two long weekends lined up so at least I will get away a bit. Ohh and I love the blanka image at the bottom of the page.
My current cell phone wallpaper.
The photos on the bottom are from my Flickr photostream and get updated automatically with the most recent uploads.