I’ve honestly thought about this for some time. Why, we as humans, are so drawn to stories. Whether they be written word, recorded video, or animation, everyone loves a good story. Personally, my favorite are crime shows and anime. I’ve written about why anime was so important to me on my previous blog, but I’ve decided to look at it from a different angle, and a new (not depressed) perspective. Again, why are we so drawn to stories? It doesn’t matter if they are non-fiction, or completely made up, we love to be drawn into a world that isn’t our own. See, that’s the reason I believe we, as a species, are so drawn to stories. It is simply a distraction from what is going on in every day life. For example, my favorite two shows are Psych, about a hyper-observant man who solves police cases by pretending to be psychic, and House, a show about an incredibly gifted doctor who struggles with pain, narcissism, and opioid addiction. The thing about these two shows, are that 9 times out of 10, you already know what’s going to happen in the end. The fake psychic will solve the case, and catch the bad guy. The talented doctor will correctly diagnose the patient when no one else could, and save their life. Of course there are occasional episodes that stray from these endings, just to keep us (the viewers) on our toes, so to speak. However, if you really think about it, these things rarely ever happen in real life, or at least to the same frequency as they do in television. People, well most people, love feel good endings, where the bad guy is caught, or the hero saves the day just in the nick of time.

Why?

It is simply because these sorts of things are so infrequent in our own lives, that we need a small period of time where we can escape to a place that does have a feel good ending. Because, quite honestly, life as a whole is usually pretty awful. And to top it all off, we usually end up dying full of regrets, AND varying by your beliefs we don’t really know what the after-life consists of. I wanted to highlight that part, because sure, you can believe in heaven, or an alternate “ghost” dimension, but the sad truth is, we really DON’T know for sure what there is. So, to avoid thinking about the sorry state of our lives, individually or as a species, we would immerse ourselves in an alternate reality of our own design. Now, I am in no way saying that books, television or movies are bad, because I don’t think I would survive without them. I am saying, that we need to look at them for what they truly are, an escape. For some, it is an escape from a mundane life for more of a constant action sort of feel. For others, it is to try and believe in true love again, after their heart was broken. That’s one of the greatest things about stories, is that everyone will have a different reaction to the same one. Some people even have different reactions the more they hear the same story. However, what we cannot deny, is that stories, books, television shows, movies, are all designed to make us forget our worries for a while. It is also rather spectacular the things that the human mind can imagine. For example, look at Game of Thrones, by George RR Martin. He designed an entire alternate world for his stories to take place. Then precisely wove such elaborate characters, and plots for these characters to develop through. Or even J.K Rowling, she uncovered a “hidden” side to the real world and wrote an incredibly beloved story. There truly is no end to the creativeness of the imagination. Yet, even these stories, that the whole world adores, are simply escapes from our everyday lives.

It is such an interesting concept to me, that someone can simply (even though it’s very difficult) fabricate an entire world of people and things and then paint such an illustrious tale, all from their own mind. Granted, I’ll admit, I am not really a book person. I really only ever enjoyed Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games. Though, my mother basically lives half of her life between two pages. I understand why, but at the same time I can’t comprehend it. Though, I suppose the same can be said about myself and anime (Japanese Animation). I have developed such a torrid love affair with many stories, animation styles, incredible symphonies, all created from someone’s mind. It then goes from the author’s mind, to the studios that develop and animate said story, truly bringing it to life like nothing else. I have found myself getting so immersed in these stories, soundtracks and animations, that I almost forget to breath. It is like nothing else in my life, and brings me such joy. I imagine that this is the same for those who love books, the theater, television, or movies. My good friend absolutely loves both the Star Wars universe, as well as the Marvel (movies) universe. And honestly, I can’t blame him. He collects so many different trinkets and items that further immerses himself in these universes, and to most he would seem maybe somewhat weird. Although to me, I understand it completely. There was a portion of my life that I wanted to die, simply to be reborn in an anime’s world, Of course, this period of my life was a rather low point for me, not because of my infatuation with Sword Art Online, but because instead of helping me “ignore” my depression, it was exacerbating it. I let one of my only sources of joy in life sour, and begin adding to the weight on my shoulders.

If you’ve read this far, I see that you are rather interested in story-telling yourself. I don’t like to compliment myself, but I have been told that I am a rather good writer. While I don’t believe it, i desperately hope that it’s true. While I do write primarily to help myself, I am quite overjoyed when someone comments that I’ve helped them one way or another. I may or may not even be considering a book in the “near” future. I think I still have a rather long journey ahead of me, until I feel comfortable enough to write a novel. Though, you never know…life is constantly changing and I am just as constantly adapting…so I won’t completely nix it. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to read my rather rant-like discussion about stories, and why humans are infatuated with them. Let me know if there are any particular topics that you would like me to cover, as I will give it a shot if I can. From my mind to yours, Alan Wolfgang, signing off.