Are we escapists?

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

Ok so all points considered...
I see the joy that reading showers the reader with, and the art form, and the significance to one's intelligence, and the plethora of other forms of escapism.

But I still can't shake off this feeling that I can't handle life. That I'm too weak so I need to escape... maybe it's true. And so what! I think I'd rather escape in the tale of a brave 6 y.o. than drugs or the search for Paris' new BFF, both of which will eventually damage my capacity to absorb said tale. So one thing is for sure, if i plunged into drugs/Paris's enthralling life the same way i plunge into books I would certainly not be talking to you guys right now. ( Sorry I am thinking in typing form, and I may have answered my own question, but I'd still like to know what you guys think!)

Then I start thinking of the ancient Greeks and what would be their form of escapism, and I think that was how philosophy and mathematics came about. People trying to find something to do other than thinking about the mundane and boring.

Thoughts?

Escaping from reality is an integral part of what makes us human. There is a need for us to step outside the reality which limits us. In some cases, that escape can come from invention... but for most of us, it will come through distraction... distraction found in reading, watching TV, listening to music (or playing it), dancing, etc. All of them are activities that take us away from the central day to day struggle to get by. The escape can energize us and renew us so that when we return to reality, we are more ready to face it.

As for the Greeks, and other early civilizations and even amongst precivilized (using this strictly to mean people who have never developed permanent settlements, i.e. cities) peoples, storytelling is an important aspect of their culture. It allows them to escape the reality of their day to day to lives.

Another thought I just had is this; the stories we read in books, see in movies and in Television often play a huge role in who we are. You can be quite sure that what you read, particularly when you are young, helps make you who you are. The ancient people understood this very well. Its why often their masterpieces were epics... If you want your son to be a hero, tell him stories of Achillies, Odyesseus and Aneas...

--
Bill

[pshrynk]

Any activity done in extreme can be harmful to the psyche. My brother was so involved in Boy Scouts with his kids that I was beginning to consider him a nut job. He is less so, now, but there was a time...

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

He stated how he never really could understand how people read so much and he could never do it unless it was DIY books. He ended the convo by saying that he felt that people who had their noses so much in other worlds and lives were just trying to escape from their own realities.

Sounds like a guy who should read Myers' Silverlock.*

*If you haven't read it, it's about a nonreader shipwrecked on the shores of the Commonwealth of Letters, who thereafter wanders in and out of many of the great works of English literature. He starts with the escapist stuff (Robin Hood etc.) and ends up wrestling with the knottier questions in life, finally discovering that his adventures have equipped him with a "portable scale of values".

[Witchbaby]

Along with reading being a healthy form of escapism, it also enriches our lives. Reading gives us a view on worlds other than the one that surrounds us and can allow us to place ourselves in shoes very different from our own.

What bugs the heck out of me, is when non-readers don't *get* it. I understand that some people like to tinker with cars, some are adrenaline freaks and others spend lots of money on clothes - and that these things give them joy. What is it about reading (to non-readers) that is so foreign?

And another question that bothers me is, "Why do you read a book more than once? You know how it ends, right?"

Of course I *know* how it ends! Do you watch a movie more than once? Same thing, right?

Yikes, one last thing and I'll wrap this up.

Reading isn't necessarily a solo sport. If I come across a phrase or clever wordplay, I'll read it aloud to my bf.

Or, for example, we were watching "Para Agua con Chocolate in my Spanish class, and that happens to be based on a book that I love. So I was telling the class about the book, and how each of the meals in the movie, had a recipe in the book. My teacher hadn't read it, but then we started talking about "Chocolat" and magical realism.

[Penforhire]

I'll come back to this from another angle. There is more to reading than a weak reader or non-reader could imagine. I see a parallel to viewing art. These are mediums that have the possibility of enhancing our lives, refining our own views, and exercising our intelligence. But there is a theshold of learning and experience to pass before they can be understood and enjoyed for more than their surface meaning.

It is not desirable, to me, to live in a society that only values farming, hunting, breeding, or war. Aren't those the anti-escape activities that someone really means when they refer to reading as escapist? All of my close friends are readers. Few of them are bookish. They are almost all people who go into the world and do great things.

[Moejoe]

I'll invoke the Ray Bradbury quote, if I may, and I think this applies equally to writers as it does to readers:

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

[JSWolf]

"Time Enough at Last" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone. It was adapted from a short story by Lyn Venable, which had been published in the January 1953 edition of the science fiction magazine If: Worlds of Science Fiction. "Time Enough at Last" became one of the most famous episodes of the original Twilight Zone, and has been frequently parodied since. It is "the story of a man who seeks salvation in the rubble of a ruined world"[1] and tells of Henry Bemis, played by Burgess Meredith, who loves books, yet is surrounded by those who would prevent him from reading them. The episode follows Bemis through the end of the world, touching on such social issues as anti-intellectualism, the dangers of reliance upon technology, and the difference between aloneness (solitude) and loneliness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_at_Last

[doreenjoy]

One of my insufferable siblings made a similar comment to me last year, right before she launched into a detailed and energetic description of the television I was missing out on by always having my nose in a book.

I didn't bother saying anything in response. Irony is lost on her.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

Ok so all points considered...
I see the joy that reading showers the reader with, and the art form, and the significance to one's intelligence, and the plethora of other forms of escapism.

But I still can't shake off this feeling that I can't handle life. That I'm too weak so I need to escape... maybe it's true. And so what! I think I'd rather escape in the tale of a brave 6 y.o. than drugs or the search for Paris' new BFF, both of which will eventually damage my capacity to absorb said tale. So one thing is for sure, if i plunged into drugs/Paris's enthralling life the same way i plunge into books I would certainly not be talking to you guys right now. ( Sorry I am thinking in typing form, and I may have answered my own question, but I'd still like to know what you guys think!)

Then I start thinking of the ancient Greeks and what would be their form of escapism, and I think that was how philosophy and mathematics came about. People trying to find something to do other than thinking about the mundane and boring.

Thoughts?

So, you can't escape the feeling that you are a human being?? What makes you think anybody is handling life?? The last person I thought had a pretty good handle on life bumped her head in a minor skiing accident not that long ago and died at 45. Nobody handles life. Life handles you, and then ultimately it kills you. That's life. That's reality .... no one gets out alive. Of COURSE we need to escape from that from time to time. The only question is whether your particular form of escape controls and destroys you, or you use it to make more of your life.

I saw a great piece on Chuck Jones tonight. He's one of my personal heroes and I miss the fact that life took him in its tracks. However, one of his important points was noting how much reading (especially Mark Twain) had affected the eventual creation of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. And then, I started thinking about how Bugs and Daffy (and my hero, Chuck) had introduced me to classical music ... oooo .... yet another form of escape, good music. Listening to the classics always takes me away from my problems ... and what the hell is wrong with that??

So, you don't have a handle on life. Join the crowd. Neither did Van Gogh, Mozart, Galileo, and a few zillion other incredibly gifted people I can name. I personally gave up worrying about that a loooooooong time ago. It's not worth it for you to get caught up in that heap of dung just because your friend said something borderline stupid.

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

But I still can't shake off this feeling that I can't handle life. That I'm too weak so I need to escape... maybe it's true.

I think you do yourself a disservice by thinking and saying this. Does reading fiction make you shirk your life's responsibilities?

Knowing what I know now, I would feel very sorry for myself if I did not read fiction. Because I now know what I'd be missing out on---the lives, the stories, laughter, tears, profound insight, adventures, other ways of living, the beautiful prose and poetry.

And, yes, one reason I read is because some writers have the gift for writing beautiful and profound sentences---that those sentences and their meaning go straight to my heart and circumvent my mind, perhaps much like a striking painting or photograph would.

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

As for the Greeks, and other early civilizations and even amongst precivilized (using this strictly to mean people who have never developed permanent settlements, i.e. cities) peoples, storytelling is an important aspect of their culture. It allows them to escape the reality of their day to day to lives.

Of course! Awesome insight! So then thinking about it, wouldn't that mean that escapisim is associated with the evolution of the higher consiouness, highly tied in with the evolution of man. Early religion a form of this? Makes sense, especially if early story telling was about sun worship or tales on the moon. Oh boy! I had no idea where my question would lead!

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Another thought I just had is this; the stories we read in books, see in movies and in Television often play a huge role in who we are. You can be quite sure that what you read, particularly when you are young, helps make you who you are. The ancient people understood this very well. Its why often their masterpieces were epics... If you want your son to be a hero, tell him stories of Achillies, Odyesseus and Aneas....

But isn't that somewhat the other way around, we as individuals define what form of entertainment we choose. As kids we try everything in order to find out what we like and dislike.
For example; I love anything scifi and hate any thing "Nora Roberts" like. But even though my environment was very pro "Roberts", I was reading mysteries and scifi. I defined my hobbies according to me.
It's a mesh of both views. But that's how it seems to be in this thread. Everyone is absolutely right! I love it!

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by wayrad

Sounds like a guy who should read Myers' Silverlock.*

*If you haven't read it, it's about a nonreader shipwrecked on the shores of the Commonwealth of Letters, who thereafter wanders in and out of many of the great works of English literature. He starts with the escapist stuff (Robin Hood etc.) and ends up wrestling with the knottier questions in life, finally discovering that his adventures have equipped him with a "portable scale of values".

Hmm... I think I will reccomend but Highly doubt he would take up the offer seriously... But I sure will! Sounds like a really interesting read!

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by Witchbaby

What bugs the heck out of me, is when non-readers don't *get* it. I understand that some people like to tinker with cars, some are adrenaline freaks and others spend lots of money on clothes - and that these things give them joy. What is it about reading (to non-readers) that is so foreign?

And another question that bothers me is, "Why do you read a book more than once? You know how it ends, right?"

Of course I *know* how it ends! Do you watch a movie more than once? Same thing, right?

Amen! You know what I think it is the fact that the act of reading (expct in libraries/schools when the children are read to) is essentially a individual experience. You can gather later and discuss the book. But the act of it is solitary so the other individual is not included; where as a movie can be a shared experience, and if the other hasn't picked up a book and enjoyed it, he/she will definetly not "get it."

[dadioflex]

Edit.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

Of course! Awesome insight! So then thinking about it, wouldn't that mean that escapisim is associated with the evolution of the higher consiouness, highly tied in with the evolution of man. Early religion a form of this? Makes sense, especially if early story telling was about sun worship or tales on the moon. Oh boy! I had no idea where my question would lead!

Well, if we start speculating on the origins or religion, this thread is going to get very, very off track... not to mention, discussions like that can have a habit of getting ugly.

But isn't that somewhat the other way around, we as individuals define what form of entertainment we choose. As kids we try everything in order to find out what we like and dislike.
For example; I love anything scifi and hate any thing "Nora Roberts" like. But even though my environment was very pro "Roberts", I was reading mysteries and scifi. I defined my hobbies according to me.
It's a mesh of both views. But that's how it seems to be in this thread. Everyone is absolutely right! I love it!

I think it is a little more complicated than that... yes we choose both our methods of entertainment and, if fiction is involved, its genre. But at the same time, we tend to only choose from what is offered to us. Like you, I read tons of Science Fiction.. and I don't come from a background that would make that choice very likely... but I did watch Star Trek, Star Wars and the original Battlestar Galactica when I was young... those made a huge impact on me. I wasn't much of a reader then, but when I was 13 and had to do weekly book reports, I went the library and found Asimov's Foundation Trilogy.. and after reading about a grand but declining empire.. and the rise of a new civilization I was hooked. If I had never seen Star Wars or Star Trek, who knows.

--
Bill