I found an article about escapist fiction by Sana Hussain called 'Literary or Not – The Reality of Escapist Fiction'. Sana Hussain is the feature editor for 'The Missing Slate' magazine and describes herself as "a shy introvert who is apprehensive about everything new and unfamiliar". I mention that because I think it may be a trait that is common among people that most enjoy escapist fiction and possibly gain the most from it. She talks about escapist fiction being viewed negatively and by highbrow readers and critics, as if its is somehow unworthy to inhabit the same world as literary fiction. Sana makes some interesting points in this article attempting to explain the misconceptions surrounding escapist fiction and the literary trends that determine the value of a genre. She argues that some older texts that are viewed as some of the greatest literary works of all time could be labelled as escapist fiction if were written today, but they would never be described as sub-literary.
"Seen within a historical context, this bias towards escapist fiction seems even more erroneous; some of the writings that are now hailed as literary classics were the escapist writings of another century. ‘Beowulf’ and ‘The Odyssey’, considered to be among the greatest works of literature ever produced, have provided inspiration for later works of fantasy. But despite the fact that they are inspired by these classics and contain the same stock characters, adventures across oceans and the archetypal fight between good and evil, these later works are classified negatively as escapist fiction and not literature. George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘1984’ and Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ could be classified as escapist fiction by current standards, but cannot be called sub-literary in any way. Jane Austen’s novels have all the prerequisites of escapist fiction; yet today, the works modeled after hers are dismissed as intellectual drivel."
Talking about the possible benefits of escapist fiction Sana explores the idea that escapist fiction causes us to become immersed in the character of someone else and helps us to develop compassion and empathy. Sana quotes a Norwegian psychologist called Frode Stenseng who says "the direct immersion in another person’s mind and body – that stimulates our empathic muscles”. I am going to research him to try and gain more of an insight into the psychology of escapism.
A huge problem with the arrogance of certain highbrow readers and critics in relation to genre is that it removes the possibility of fairly judging a piece of fiction on its own merits, the text has already been tarnished by its genre and will, by some, never been seen as equal with literary texts in there opinion. Sana addresses this saying:
"The distinction needs to be made on good and bad writing, not on the assumption that certain genre fiction is worthless because it provides an escape to the readers; an escape that may in many cases liberates the reader and reintroduces him/her to a different reality."
Is it only escapist fiction that provides an escape? it could be argued that all types of fiction are an escape from the world we inhabit.
"if you ask me, escapism and realism are not mutually exclusive; based on the premise that all reading is eventually escapist, realist writing can contain the potential to provide escape. Likewise, escapist writing can confront the readers with the grave realities of life. Fairytales perhaps explain this dichotomy best; despite being the quintessential form of escapist writing, they are layered with universal and timeless life lessons."
"Seen within a historical context, this bias towards escapist fiction seems even more erroneous; some of the writings that are now hailed as literary classics were the escapist writings of another century. ‘Beowulf’ and ‘The Odyssey’, considered to be among the greatest works of literature ever produced, have provided inspiration for later works of fantasy. But despite the fact that they are inspired by these classics and contain the same stock characters, adventures across oceans and the archetypal fight between good and evil, these later works are classified negatively as escapist fiction and not literature. George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘1984’ and Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ could be classified as escapist fiction by current standards, but cannot be called sub-literary in any way. Jane Austen’s novels have all the prerequisites of escapist fiction; yet today, the works modeled after hers are dismissed as intellectual drivel."
Talking about the possible benefits of escapist fiction Sana explores the idea that escapist fiction causes us to become immersed in the character of someone else and helps us to develop compassion and empathy. Sana quotes a Norwegian psychologist called Frode Stenseng who says "the direct immersion in another person’s mind and body – that stimulates our empathic muscles”. I am going to research him to try and gain more of an insight into the psychology of escapism.
A huge problem with the arrogance of certain highbrow readers and critics in relation to genre is that it removes the possibility of fairly judging a piece of fiction on its own merits, the text has already been tarnished by its genre and will, by some, never been seen as equal with literary texts in there opinion. Sana addresses this saying:
"The distinction needs to be made on good and bad writing, not on the assumption that certain genre fiction is worthless because it provides an escape to the readers; an escape that may in many cases liberates the reader and reintroduces him/her to a different reality."
Is it only escapist fiction that provides an escape? it could be argued that all types of fiction are an escape from the world we inhabit.
"if you ask me, escapism and realism are not mutually exclusive; based on the premise that all reading is eventually escapist, realist writing can contain the potential to provide escape. Likewise, escapist writing can confront the readers with the grave realities of life. Fairytales perhaps explain this dichotomy best; despite being the quintessential form of escapist writing, they are layered with universal and timeless life lessons."
No comments:
Post a Comment