On the Appeal of Fiction

[Hooded Pitohui]

Presumably, if you're on this website, you have some level of investment in fiction, in its characters, worlds, and stories. I should doubt you arrived here without some interest in Super Mario, though I wouldn't so confidently say folks here always stay fans of the plumber and his series.

This, however, is not a universal experience. There are folks out there who would dismiss fiction and art, in all of its forms, as nothing more than mere fantasy that one ought not to trifle with. There are folks out there who dismiss fiction out of hand, as something that's not worth thought or investment of time and energy. Oftentimes, you'll hear arguments that try to paint fiction and everything tied up with out as unproductive distractions, work and investment that produces nothing of value and only gets in the way of one's personal ambitions. Songs, videogames, stageplays, films, shows, books, roleplays, anything of this sort is dismissed as undeserving of any significant amounts of attention.

I, ah, vehemently disagree with such an assessment. To me, the appeal of fiction is its role as a mirror. Fiction reflects the human condition, and by investing ourselves in its characters, worlds, and stories, we better understand ourselves, the others we share our time living with, and the world around us. You can take a character and break down their struggles, their flaws, their histories and how it has shaped their personalities and habits, and, through that process, make discoveries about your own flaws and virtues, your own fears and aspirations. Likewise, stories can be... for lack of a better phrase, empathy tools. Understanding these fictional worlds and situations provides the insights you need to step into someone else's shoes and see from their perspective, understand anxieties and dreams you would never encounter and would struggle to comprehend in a multi-dimensional way otherwise.

Mostly, I'm rambling in a general sense now, though I could provide any number of specific examples. The point I mean to make is that the appeal of fiction, to me, is the role it serves as a mirror. To get invested in fiction, in art, in everything wrapped up in those, is to actively work at better understanding the world and your own place in it, and fiction itself provides the different perspectives, multiple angles, and variables one needs to really do that.

But, if I wanted to talk about this non-stop, I'd write a blog. I want to ask, to the Boards in general:

What is the appeal of fiction to you? What is its value? Why do you choose to invest your time, energy, and emotion into it? How do you engage with fiction and art, and why is it important to you?

 

[zel]

oh yeah! i feel you can learn a lot and change yourself through it
to me it also applies as like. a bit of an escape from the stresses of the real world. something comforting to go to. ok so basically some people (me) think a lot about fictional characters?? to cope?? yeah i have comfort characters for a reason

 

[Waluigi Time]

Thankfully I've never met anyone who dismisses all fiction as a waste of time because they're snobs and I don't like them. Anyone who thinks fiction is a waste of time is not only advocating for a much more dull and utilitarian existence but also dismissing creativity and imagination, which I believe to be part of human nature, as worthless. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the desire to create something and then to share it with others. And what if your personal ambition that fiction is supposedly getting in the way of in the first place is to create fiction? "Oops, sorry, your amibition is a waste of time because I said so. Pick a new one."

I know this wasn't exactly what the thread is about, so apologies for the tangent. I just feel strongly about this. I'll probably come back and answer the question proper once I've had more time to think about it.

 

[Ray Trace]

Assisting in the creation of fiction of whatever property is a viable and lucrative career path for anyone, so those people who dismiss it as mere fantasy that gets in the way of ambitions are simply wrong, first and foremost; there's no simpler way to put it. Fiction is part of human culture and will always be; one of the earliest surviving records of human inhabitance was cave paintings ~20,000 years ago, which was certainly had human creativity and imagination thrown in there. A lot of very early accounts such as the myriad of flood stories are based off real life events, and stories were one of the best ways to pass down knowledge and lore of the world they live in, as well as giving historians a cultural perspective (though not accurate) of how the world may have been possibly like back then. Not to mention, stories like the Epic of Gilgamesh or the Book of the Dead have survived far longer than capitalism has, and will continue to survive long after capitalism's death. And if whoever made that assessment is not a fan of any works of fiction whatsoever, then frankly they are not an interesting person to be with, if they have no special interests or hobbies whatsoever and that they tied their entire life to reality, and I pity them.

Learning how to draw additionally changes the way you view the world, similar to how learning another language exposes you to another culture. You develop a skill that allows you to become more observant of your environment. You get to learn to draw what you see, not what you think, you see forms and basic structures in an object and exposure to color theory lets you see color in a different way.

There's also music too, something I'm not well-versed in, but I'd imagine it'd take on a form that's similar to learning how to draw, where you learn to observe the sound in the world around you. In fact, people who are proficient in song-writing tend to hear musical notes when people are merely talking, and that's something I find interesting.

Hell, dreaming is a real venue that exposes us to fiction on a near-daily basis and is a method of our bodies to rebuild and sort through memories. Dreaming is an actual form of healing that every single one of us goes through! And dreams can serve as inspiration for fiction too!

 

[Super Mario Bros.]

In addition to the great points made earlier in this thread, fiction often serves as a vehicle to deal with nonfictional concepts. The allegorical nature of many works of fiction and art allows for people to succinctly convey ideas in ways that appeal to the senses and emotions. Fiction and art also serve as essential disciplines from an educational perspective. Although these mediums warrant study on their own merits, it cannot be ignored that they promote interdisciplinary learning and higher-order thinking, especially when broader connections are made between subjects.

I would say that all of the points made in this thread also apply to video games (as Pitohui mentioned in the original post)! I used to argue with friends in grade school about the value of gaming; of course, I argued in favor of video games. They often fell for the same tired arguments about how video games are "unproductive" or even "negative," but my own personal experiences and interactions with the folks here have led me to believe otherwise.

 

[Doomhiker]

I think what makes fiction so great his how it can reflect real-life culture. For example, the old Tom and Jerry cartoon sometimes have a disclaimer due to its dated prejudices. That fact that there is a disclaimer there is a good thing: it shows how culture and media has changed since the work was originally made. In fact, this is why I'm not opposed to having stuff like Song of the South be rereleased (with appropriate disclaimers, of course). Pieces of media, good or bad, timeless or dated, sensitive or bigoted, can tangibly show what culture was and how it changed.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

To be fair, I'm not sure if I really enjoy fiction past an age group. A lot of fiction geared toward more adult readers just don't catch me compared to nonfiction material, and I still find myself browsing fiction books intended for a younger audience (YA books). It's a guilty pleasure of mine, not sure if it's echoed around here. That being said, I probably haven't tried enough of fiction in that age range but there's always that appeal the young adult fiction has that isn't quite there/

 

[Teedgee]

one big reason im interested in fiction more than real life is because it makes me feel more comfortable, especially in this day and age. its mostly a way for me to forget about all the bad stuff that happens in real life. movies and video games helped me tremendously in 2020, they made me feel much better after stuff that would make a grown man like me cry.

thats just one reason tho. the other one, which doesnt have anything to do with real life, is because you have endless possibilities, if you're thinking of something stupid and crazy like i dunno, evil cardboard boxes, it can be brought to life with fiction. no matter how crazy or convoluted something sounds, fiction makes it kinda possible. so if you created an oc (definitely one more creative than mine lol) thats their time to shine.

finally, fiction is a good way to transfer a message. like, disney does that by disguising their educational videos as movies, and it works. it's not just to teach a lesson to kids though, it's a good way to express yourself, whether it's your opinion you have on something or basically showing your personality. the entire story could symbolize something the author is trying to convey.

 

[Vivian]

Not to mention fiction, especially of the sci-fi variety, inspires real life inventions.
Video calls? Touch screens? These can be seen in classic sci-fi films far before they truly existed.

 

[Alex95]

Fiction has essentially become a new reality. Not a replacement reality, but one that we have full control over and can share with others. It allows us to share ideas and creations that are not possible in real life, or at least not yet, and gives people new adventures and fun to explore during times when life just gets you down or if you have some time to kill. And it's inspiring, even; while you may not be able to fight dragons in real life, a story about space exploration or archeology can inspire people to pursue those paths. It's a reality where the only limit is your own imagination.

 

[Hooded Pitohui]

To be fair, I'm not sure if I really enjoy fiction past an age group. A lot of fiction geared toward more adult readers just don't catch me compared to nonfiction material, and I still find myself browsing fiction books intended for a younger audience (YA books). It's a guilty pleasure of mine, not sure if it's echoed around here.

I understand where you're coming from, actually. I'm not one to articulate it well, but there are times I've felt that works marketed to young adults or even children are more interesting than "adult" fiction. I don't really think it should be a guilty pleasure, though I understand why it is. It's unfortunately awkward to bring up, in casual conversation, works targeted towards a younger audience. I've been there before.

Really, though, I think it's a little silly to have an "age-restricted" mentality in general. Don't get me wrong, there's an undeniable difference in the style you'll, say, write with if you're authoring a book for young children versus teens, versus general audiences vs adults. If you're an adult reading something written for a teen, it's simply the case you shouldn't be expecting a challenging read or outstanding prose by your standards. Likewise, it's understandable if there are certain themes or concepts a work for young children won't tackle - they genuinely may lack the life experiences to understand them. I also realize that there's certain economic considerations. For better or worse, people produce content that sells, and to do that effectively, they tailor their stories to certain demographics.

I can get all that, agree with some of it, even. There's just no reason to pigeonhole certain stories themselves - the narrative, the content, separated from the style and deliver - as exclusively for certain age groups. We'd be better off dropping that idea entirely. Sometimes you want whimsy and fantasy and sometimes you want hard, gritty realism. Sometimes you want an artistic masterpiece and other times you want "fast food media" that isn't good in artistic terms but is enjoyable to you. All of it's equally valid and ought to be equally accessible to anyone without the stigma of the periphery demographic.

 

[Vivian]

I can easily relate to the YA>Adult works, with TV and Videogames. Too many Shows and Games for adults rely too heavily on shock value, whereas "YA" often has to put more effort into the plot, character development, relatability, and moral.

 

[Koopa con Carne]

Fiction reflects the human condition, and by investing ourselves in its characters, worlds, and stories, we better understand ourselves, the others we share our time living with, and the world around us. You can take a character and break down their struggles, their flaws, their histories and how it has shaped their personalities and habits, and, through that process, make discoveries about your own flaws and virtues, your own fears and aspirations.

That's a valid assessment, but there's also the dangerous pitfall of getting so absorbed in a fictional universe that you start framing the real world in its tropes. No matter how masterfully a work of fiction is realised, one should not lose sight of the fact that it's just that: a work of fiction. Taking the right lessons out of said work of fiction and further examining and researching on its philosophies while treating the rest of it as pure entertainment is what I believe to be the healthiest and thoroughest way to consume it.