I actually can’t stand this sentiment.
For me, one of the main positive effects of fiction is the discussion that it provokes, both in fan communities and in the general population.
Now, obviously when these discussions devolve into screaming matches about ships or the general quality of a show, they’re no longer useful at all. But I find that I’m always prompting people to explain what they liked about a piece of fiction, why it was important to them, why it made them feel things and what those feelings were. In casual conversation, I do it because I want to get to know them better and understand what sorts of things are important to them. In fan communities, I do it because I want to more fully appreciate the work through the perspectives of other people.
That’s kinda the reason why my sentiment exists.
Believe it or not, but I used to think the same way. I’ve always thought that the best kind of fiction is the whole ‘thought-provoking, gets you talking about religion/philosophy’ brand. It’s just that, one day, it kinda hit me: “Doesn’t real life do that much already?”
Color me disillusioned but fiction never seems to amount to anything beyond either a reflection or an anti-thesis to people’s personal realities. Either way, reality itself is the source, not the other way around (which is why I’ve lost respect for all the people on these boards who decry fiction as somehow an ‘instrument of evil’ and not really just a symptom of something else). For example, the prevalence of negative stereotypes around religion. Is it really the fault of the stereotype, the people who perpetuate it, or the people who actually embody it?
Take the last one out and it’s hard to imagine the other two having anything to derive.
Secondly, it’s about your analysis of fiction as somehow being indicative of one’s psyche. That’s actually part of my point. Does fiction really shape that or is it because real life experience prompts us towards these particular stories?
I couldn’t stand mass character deaths ever since I watched
Now and Then, Here and There. Why? Because in real life, my childhood was depressing enough
without the trauma of being a kid soldier. I mean, do I have to have actually live through the ordeal of seeing my family killed, killing somebody, or witness rape just to experience depression? Alternatively, is a person only free for bullying and mockery just because they haven’t been emotionally scarred in a warzone? Really? That makes sense!?
For that same reason, I tend to avoid like-minded works such as
Grave of the Fireflies and
Madoka.
Going for what many decry as ‘the plebian mainstream’ full of hot-headed idealists, unrealistic relationships with women, and all other ‘delusions of youth’ could give you a lot about me but let me just save you the trouble.
It’s all an escape. Everything you see me dig is really my desire to change my current life. Granted, a lot of it is already starting to take shape but that’s got nothing to do with fiction. Rather fiction’s the icing and cherry of it all. I gravitate towards these things because it’s really what I want out of life. I was not kidding when I said the anime/manga version of a sophisticated ‘thug life’ is my picture of heaven.
I dream of a life where my day job has me getting much without so much effort (as opposed to forcibly working my passion to the bone). And at night, I grab my girl and rule my share of the streets. My higher-ups calling me to take care of business that involves freezing, frying, flooding, or fragging whatever bunch of fools that try to take that away.
Cuz really, what I got right now still needs a lot of work towards that (absence of magical powers not withstanding
). I try to be content but the fact is, my choice of fiction reflects what I really want out of life. I tried forcing myself to go for ‘something bigger’ but really, all I got from that was bigger disappointment. Got a lot less of that when I made the ‘egotistical’ decision to make myself the center of my life.
So to sum it up, fiction doesn’t so much provokes but only reveals what’s already there. Provoking often strikes me as an action that’s meant to cultivate existence from non-existence. It’s true that stories reflect but they don’t create the object of the reflection.
People like what they like but it’s not
because of what they like. If someone’s trying to change someone’s taste, you’re going to have to be more than just someone who likes a particular brand of fiction.
Sword Art Online II - I’ve only watched halfway was surprisingly good. Kirito is lamentable but the new female lead seems to have a good backstory.
Sinon is quite possibly the only girl character I have related to in ways that was previously exclusive to male characters. It’s not so much about gender but rather I’ve never encountered a girl character who tries to compensate and cope the way she does. It’s like finding a girl version of me!
Sure, I’ve never shot anybody but the idea of trying to fix yourself through an alternate reality or taking some form of superiority aren’t alien to me. In fact, it really brings the hypocrites out of the wood work. These people are trying to help themselves but get a lot of people who still say, “You should take more control of your life, not some game!” or “Get real! You shouldn’t be so dependent!”
Thank God Kirito has more sense than many real-life fakers I’ve met.
P.S.
Of course, Sinon’s pretty hawt too.
