A Quick Fix versus Deep Addiction: An Exploration of EscapismJan 16 '04 Write an essay on this topic.
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------------------------------------------------- Welcome to this, my first writing on Epinions. Here is a side note, unrelated though it may be to my main topic; feel free to skip it if you would like. I did not join Epinions to make money, or to spend a great deal of time on the site. I understand that forums of expression such as Epinions can often sweep an individual up into a community of people that they are then conscientiously obliged to maintain relationships with (even if only online) via swapping reads and dropping comments on said writings. Do not mistake my intention for saying this; I am not trying to trash Epinions, not in the slightest. If I were, I would not have joined the site. I am merely stating my position up-front: I will not be creating a Web of Trust, and I hope nobody takes it personally. This is due simply to the fact that I find myself lacking the disposable time to sustain a set of relationships, as discussed above. If I come across a particular writer on this site with whom I find myself having a decently-sized set of shared ideas and / or interests, I may make note of their name somewhere at home, and read their works now and then. At the same time, if an individual were to read a piece or two of mine, and choose to add me to their WOT, I would be flattered; however, I would not agree to faithfully read their own writings, nor to comment on any that I did happen to read, again solely because I would not wish to be obligated, even if only by my own mind, to spending any amount of time on the site. Unless my logic is flawed, even a WOT of only 10 individuals, who each wrote only once a month, would mean an average commitment of one review or non-review (such as the following piece) every 3 days, plus comments, plus responding to any comments left by said individuals on one own’s writings. It is not something I am willing to engage in. However, I will be reading all comments left on anything I post here. Some may think poorly of me due to the previous paragraph, but that’s okay. I am not here to make friends or seek approval, nor am I here to be a self-righteous prick. I merely endeavor to share my ideas with any that decide to listen, and I hope that I can help even one person to sort through the chaos of life. I would desire to spark thoughts in their minds that would help them lead themselves to finding out what truth is for them, even if that only occurs in a small way. With all that said, I give you my first composition on Epinions. I hope I can inspire you to thoughts that will lead to your own truth. ------------------------------------------------- Before I delve into the subject of escapism, I must express my initial confusion at having to choose between ‘Fiction’ and ‘Non-Fiction’ for the category of Philosophy. I understand now that it is really only fair to have it in both places (and it seemingly does not fit into ‘Poetry’ or ‘Song Lyrics’, at least not in a general sense), since philosophy is mostly non-fictional for the author, yet potentially fictional for the reader, depending on their own views. What eventually decided me on ‘Fiction’ was the truth that I am writing this mostly for the readers, not for myself. As such, my own logic can only allow me to write in ‘Fiction’ for my philosophies. Nothing against any who have, are, or will post in ‘Non-Fiction’ for Philosophy. Ahh, escapism… the word itself summons many emotions simultaneously within me, though the most prominent are joy and shame. Those who have spent any amount of time thinking on escapism in the past may have just received great insight into a part of my personality, but that is beside the point. Before I can continue, I must clarify exactly what I mean by ‘escapism.’ To me, escapism is anything that takes our minds from reality (according to our unique perspectives of reality), generally offering a parting from pain or responsibility, but a parting that is only temporary. Any reading this who are still unsure as to what I mean by ‘escapism’ should have a good idea by the time they finish, should they decide to pursue this in its entirety. To me, potential forms of escapism are movies, television, video games, books, drugs, and sex, among dozens or hundreds of others. Some of these forms will be discussed, some won’t be. After a few particulars, though, I hope that I will have shared with the reader the fundamentals, as I see them, of the types of escapism, such that specific dissection of any remaining forms will not be necessary. My main purpose for writing this is to explore why we, as humans, employ escapism, and how it can be good or bad, at least as I see it. This may not be the last time I post on Epinions about escapism, though I do hope to cover much in this article. However, I will apologize in advance if this does not always read smoothly. Any philosophy can be subject to thought riddled with tangent, and any accompanying writing may potentially reflect such chaotic mind exercises. I hope you find this provocative enough to warrant such things, should they occur. I suppose the logical order would be to discuss briefly why I feel we escape, then to look at different forms of escapism, and finally to investigate the ‘why’ a little deeper. I cannot speak for all humans, yet as I am one myself, I feel that my own reasons for escaping my reality can be generalized, and I hope that in doing so, any reader is still able to identify with my underlying principles of escapism, even should the life-wrought specifics differ in a monumental way. For me, the need to escape comes from two places. The first is from recent, current, or upcoming events in my life that have, do, or will cause me anxiety, fear, and / or sadness. The second is from incidents from far back in my life, those that have transcended my conscious reality, and now affect me on a subconscious level: things such as childhood fears, or traumatic experiences that cannot be recalled by my conscious self. Any person reading this can no doubt recognize items in their own lives that fit these or similar categories, so I will not tell my own story, not in a specific way. That brings me to the various types of escapism. The first I thought of was movies. As with ‘escapism’, I must react the same way: ahh, movies. I bet many of you reading this feel the same way. There is truth in the sayings concerning “movie magic,” for movies can be just that. I believe that this sense of ‘magic’ comes from several things: encapsulation, compression, glimpsing, cinematography, and, sometimes, lack of realism. By encapsulation, I mean that a movie has a set period of time to it. We can enter another person (or persons) life, enjoy it, and then withdraw. An entire situation or set of situations arise, and become resolved (in most cases), and we have no part of that character’s life again (exempting sequels). Compression refers to how I feel a character’s existence and / or development can be sped up. For example, the recently defeated main character who must undergo extensive training to prepare for trying again; such a thing might take half a year or more in real life, but we can experience those results for the character in the movie in 5 or 10 minutes. ‘Glimpsing’ goes hand-in-hand with compression, and constitutes the movie phenomenon of seeing quick flashes of a character’s life, such as a few tidbits of a morning routine, once in a film, instead of 15 to 90 minutes for every day that the character lives in the movie; or the work commute that lasts 20 seconds instead of 30 minutes. Cinematography coincides with the actual movie term for camera work: panning, tilting, zooming, dollying, et cetera. The camera offers a unique vantage to the viewer: a completely uninvolved observer, who can go anywhere, at any time, in any fashion. Lack of realism, I feel, needs little explanation. Although, as I have alluded to, I deem that everyone has a different reality, there are certain things (such as Matrix-style action) that defy the physics of the ‘normal’ world; this also refers to unrealistic (or at least improbable) dialogue or character interactions, or unrealistic / improbable circumstances and / or coincidences, among others. Now I will move on to television. If you are concerned that I didn’t really go much into movies as escapism, understand that I am simply trying to define different types of potential forms of escapism; that is, why they could be considered escapism, and not necessarily why we would use them as escapism. At any rate, TV is similar to a movie in some ways, and far different in others (excluding movies being played on TV). TV shows offer the same compression, but much stronger (I know of few shows that last more than an hour, and many last a half-hour); problems are established and resolved in a fraction of the time, at least in non-soap-opera and non-mini-series type shows. However, most of the same concepts that apply to movies apply to TV shows in my mind, including encapsulation, glimpsing, and lack of realism (cinematography is not included, as most TV shows utilize static camerawork). Unlike movies, TV shows allow us to become a part of a life or a set of lives time and time again, in different situations (again, exempting sequels). The next form I would like to look at is video games. Some video games today are much like movies, in that they have an involved storyline, and often impressive cinematography, yet you take an active role in determining the fate of the character(s), and, unlike movies, sometimes there are multiple outcomes. Other video games are less focused on storyline, such as sports games, puzzle games, and action games. These serve more toward hand-eye coordination, and social video game playing. Another form is books, specifically story-based books, as I believe they lean more toward escapism uses than do reference or educational material (history books being excluded, as they are most often presented as stories). Books are much like movies, yet replace cinematography with the limitless creative ability of the human mind, that is, the creative ability of the reader. The other four characteristics - encapsulation, compression, glimpsing, and lack of realism - are most often there, especially the first three of those four. Books, like movies, and unlike some video games, have a set story that cannot be changed by the reader (except for the choose-your-own-adventure variety). Jumping to a somewhat different realm of escapism, I come to drugs (and alcohol). Drugs alter reality for a set period of time (unless something goes wrong), and can bring euphoria unlike any other form of escapism (including sex, except perhaps sex on drugs), yet can also bring terrifying experiences that would liken the scariest of movies to the laughter of an infant. And while the other forms of escapism mentioned thus far do possess qualities that could lead to addiction, those are all psychological, and do not have the daunting characteristic of potential chemical addiction (as is the case with most drugs). Yet another type of escapism is sex. That’s right, sex sex sexity sex-sex-sex. Though it’s fair to estimate that better than 99% of those who have had sex will testify that it’s not anywhere close to what they thought it would be based on the media depiction of it (thought that is another Epinion altogether), some do turn to sex as a form of escapism. Since this is still the definition part of exploring different forms of escapism, and not the why, I will leave sex at that. Any who need a brush-up on the definition of sex can consult their local dictionary, sex-ed class, or parental unit. However, that does bring me to the deeper ‘why.’ Now that some different forms of escapism have been investigated, it’s only natural to wonder exactly what it is that causes humans to seek escape from their lives. As I stated earlier, I believe that part of it is the need to flee from pain or responsibility, even if only temporarily. A failed relationship, a loved one that is now deceased, an intimidating task that looms on the horizon; these, and thousands of other items that life can throw our way, can understandably lead a person experiencing them to seek aversion. This is a basic part of life, and we all realize it, consciously or subconsciously. Why, then, am I writing about it? Escapism is, for me, something I have struggled with utilizing excessively, since an early age. As I said, I will not go into specifics of my own life, but there are definite reasons I escape, many that cling with me even though they occurred in my childhood, and I bet the same is true for many reading this. The struggle comes not in knowing that I escape, for that is something I realize and accept; the struggle comes instead when I feel the urge to indulge in escapism for an excessive period of time, the danger being that I may become swept up in the alternate life or lives I experience while escaping. I feel that escapism can be healthy, in certain amounts. For example, it can help us forget about something traumatic for a time, so that our subconscious has a chance to work things out. However, if escapism is overused, I believe the danger of developing a desire to remain in the escape mode is quite real. This is dangerous because it is possible for a person to become so attached to their form(s) of escapism that they wind up addicted to it. At such a point, the specific escapism, having become the desired reality, may in fact become reality, and the old reality of the person may become the hindering, unwanted, yet unavoidable ‘escape’ from the new reality, if you follow me. So what I believe it boils down to is the extent of use of escapism that a person is involved in. Certainly escapism has its merits, yet also its potential pitfalls, some of which are very deep. Using escapism for temporary healing versus permanent altering of reality in an unhealthy manor (as the majority of such cases would most likely be - unhealthy) is the main point of this writing. What is it, then, that makes the difference? That can only be examined on a case-by-case basis, and only truly by the individual. If that is true, then how can a person safeguard against the “deep end?” I believe the answer lies in strength; and strength, I have heard, comes from encountering things we do not wish to do, that we do anyway. I do not feel that a person, under normal circumstances, can go from despairingly weak to unshakably strong overnight; I know I haven’t experienced that for myself, and may never arrive at “unshakably strong,” yet I know this: failing to constantly strive toward greater strength is sure to result in sliding closer to being weak. It seems that strength is something humans are not meant to achieve on a permanent, work-free basis, whether that be mental strength or physical. I find that when I am not constantly watching for ways to become stronger, I slowly head back toward weaker. So the answer to controlling the temptation of escapism becoming addiction, at least in my own reality, seems to be in strength. And the answer to being strong seems to be in doing those things that I do not wish to do, whether small or large. I cannot assume that all of you who have taken the time to read this (and quite a bit of time it must have taken, I do realize; thank you) can take anything from it that will benefit your life; but I do hope that at least one person who chose to read, and made it this far, will have been inspired to thoughts that will lead them to their own truth. Even one person who is so affected will have made this worth writing. Thank you. Xavier Knight NOTE: I realize after writing this that I did not really go into the ‘why’ of specific forms of escapism, but I do not feel it is necessary, given that the main idea ended up being about strength as it relates to escapism. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the tangents. :-)  |
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