Fantasy As Escapism: Avoiding Boredom or Uncertainty?

In my last Fantasy-Faction article, I quoted a recent article in The New Yorker by Arthur Krystal in which he denigrated genre fiction, suggesting that readers rely on it as a form of escapism to avoid their otherwise “humdrum” lives. Apparently, Mr. Krystal believes that fans need tales of wizards and elves to spice up our otherwise boring cubicle-bound lives.

I agree with Mr. Krystal, but I think he is right for the wrong reasons. I think genre fiction, and fantasy in particular, can be a useful form of escapism. But I think it is not as a response to a boring life, but to a chaotic one.

Beach Reads or Something Better?

Book Knees by mosdurfThe type of escapism Mr. Krystal references brings to mind images of beach reads: mindless fluff that flits in and out of our minds, leaving hardly any trace. And while it is possible for fantasy to take on some aspects of fluff, I would argue that the best fantasy novels do not. I would even go so far as to say that many works of fantasy require a level of reading and concentration that goes far beyond the level required to read fluff.

After all, many airport bookstore bestselling series allow readers to start reading at any point, but many fantasy series require us to have read all of the previous volumes. Fans of fantasy read series that are three, five, seven, or even fourteen books long. Some fantasy fans re-read every book in a series when a new volume comes out. We pour over detailed maps, histories, glossaries, and appendices. And we post in forums like this one, discussing and dissecting minute details.

This is not the behavior of someone looking for fluff. So why do we do it? I do not think fantasy readers simply accept these things as a by-product of plot-heavy stories. And I do not think these things are the “cost” of being a fantasy fan. Instead, I think, perhaps subconsciously, fantasy fans put forth this extra effort for other reasons.

A Shared Sense of Control Among Fans

My theory is that this behavior is about control, not avoidance. With only a small investment of time and money, an eager reader can become an expert in that fictional world, because for any given fantasy series, there is only a finite amount of information for a reader to take in. By mastering the details of those fictional worlds, fans can experience a sense of certainty, comfort, confidence, and power that is often absent to some degree in our daily lives.

Reading by Anastasia GorbunovFor most of us, expertise is difficult and expensive to obtain. Moreover, even if you reach expert status, the real world is still full of accidents and chance. This combination can create a sense of uncertainty and powerlessness. Therefore, it can be pleasant to instead have some degree of certainty and power, even if it is only over a fictional world.

Of course, that is not to say that a reader will not be surprised by fantasy novels (I am sure fans of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga are nodding) or that finite information cannot be used to spawn seemingly infinite theories (again, just look at the posts by ASOIAF fans on Westeros.org or on the Fantasy-Faction Forum).

But this theorizing and online communication offers another form of comfort and power: a shared, communal experience and a chance to demonstrate expertise. Many of us are isolated in the modern world. Communicating with others who have also read the same books creates a bonding experience that helps to alleviate the stresses of an otherwise cold and fickle world.

Lastly, I do not think it is a coincidence that many fantasy protagonists have special abilities, be they physical, magical, or otherwise. These skills give the characters power over their world—a power readers do not have, but one that they can empathize with. Therefore, readers can find a sense of control not only in the story itself, but also a sense of control over the details of the story as a whole.

The Escape from Apartment 1A by robotniccI should be clear that I did not invent this theory entirely on my own. I first came across a more generalized version of it in podcaster/TV host/comedian Chris Hardwick’s book The Nerdist Way. Hardwick writes that nerds tend to “[hone] in on a topic to an almost quantum detail,” because it can create “a tremendous and fulfilling sense of control.” Hardwick writes that the more chaos and uncertainty a nerd faces in his or her daily life, the more he or she will retreat into these areas of expertise.

First, I am not calling you a nerd just because you like fantasy. I am a nerd, and I like fantasy, but it is correlation, not causation. Second, I am not implying that you can’t handle the pressures of the real world, so you retreat into fantasy. I am just trying to examine why we get pleasure from obsessing over fantasy series.

With all that said, I would hope critics like Mr. Krystal reconsider their opinions about genre fiction, and fantasy in particular. Yes, fantasy can help readers escape their daily lives. But many of us are not trying to spice up our otherwise vanilla lives. Fantasy is not always well suited for readers looking for light, fluffy entertainment that they can skim and quickly forget. Instead, it is best suited for readers who derive pleasure from plunging deeply into the material, learning it, interpreting it, and mastering it. It’s hard work, but it is also a pleasure that keeps us coming back for more.

Title image by robotnicc.

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By Eric Christensen

Like many lawyers, Eric Christensen no longer practices. Instead, he works as a writer and editor. Hooked on speculative fiction from an early age thanks to nerdy parents, he writes for fun when not writing for clients. Otherwise, he’s reading, running, or watching movies in Washington, DC, where he lives with his wife, Laura, and his dog, Blue. You can find him on twitter at @erchristensen or online at eric-christensen.com

7 thoughts on “Fantasy As Escapism: Avoiding Boredom or Uncertainty?”
  1. Just thinking about the last two weeks, those friends I know were reading had definitely picked up books more frequently to avoid something chaotic or painful in their lives they couldn’t yet affect, rather than out of boredom. I don’t see anything wrong with that, and I agree with you that a little wish fulfillment wasn’t wrong. To begrudge someone a half hour’s escapism in the hospital waiting room is cruel.

  2. This is really interesting. I certainly agree that it is comforting to know a lot about a fantasy series, but at the same time the Internet has made it so that authors can post even more info around the web, making it a bit more of a task for me to find out everything to know about a favorite series.

    I think I read fantasy both for the imagination exercise and to get out of my own head/life. The characters adventures are stories I can read without needing to make decisions (something I have to do a lot in my life) and it’s nice to rest certain parts of my brain while letting underused parts fly free.

    Thanks for the post!
    Anya

  3. You make a lot of good points. I’d add that often that feeling of control is paired with a constellation of other traits – a tendency to live in ones own head, high creativity, and enjoying the thrill of making mental leaps. A lot of the people who read fantasy and science fiction start at an early age, and some of the reasons they started reading may not be the same reasons that they still read, years later (i.e. if Bill Gates reads sci-fi, it’s probably not because he doesn’t get a sense of matery from his life).

    One of the reasons I love fantasy and science fiction is because (IMHO) it’s a way to have my cake and eat it, too: I can read a crime novel, or a political thriller or a thoughtful, character driven literary work, and at the same time have the enjoyment of being transported to another world.

  4. Hasn’t there always been the need though for the cognoscenti to tell us (and by us I mean readers and authors who enjoy the genre) that we really should be reading something more worthy and difficult?
    Why?
    It’s because of the guilt in guilty pleasure. Why not just put on a hair shirt every morning instead? All art is divided (by the snobs, anyway) into high and low culture. But we all know that at least some low culture fights gravity to drift towards the surface if given enough time. What makes it ‘good’ is another cauldron of eels altogether.
    Shakespeare, Dickens, HG Wells; get up and take a bow.

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