Reposted from a secondary blog I had for a while. Minor typos addressed. ‘Madman in a box’ is from the TV show. At the time, it was all men. Also, the Internet tells me the quote is correctly “I am definitely a mad man with a box.” Tardis DataCore: The Eleventh Hour. Original post [Off Topic: Escapism]
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Science fiction and fantasy get it in the neck for being shallow. Critics have it the wrong way round. The lack of depth is not a bug, it’s a feature. What is the point of escaping to somewhere if it looks just like the place you left?
In SF/F-land, the teams are obvious. The guy in the black armor who sounds like an asthmatic vacuum? He’s bad news. Avoid him. You are completely justified in taking him down. You are morally obliged to interfere with his plans as much as possible. Oh, sure he gets Redeemed, but he does so by turning his hat from black to white. The Dark Side doesn’t suddenly become sympathetic.
In the real world, your team depends on where you are standing. Fighting the government is illegal. Unless you win and establish your own country. They you are called a Patriot and have a day named after you.
In SF/F-land, choices are clear. Not necessarily fun. Not necessarily easy. But clear. There is a nod toward providing texture. Elves are self-involved. Hobbits are excessively bucolic. They may ignore the politics of the world at large to focus on the latest gossip from the Green Dragon. Frodo feels he is not strong enough to carry the One Ring. But Sauron is always evil. No one wants to go marching into Mordor. But everyone knows which way Mordor lies.
In the real world, choices are complicated. Skating quickly past the philosophically dense subject of good versus evil, we don’t even know the import of a choice. Your college major or who you marry might not matter in five years. Choosing to turn down one street versus the other might rearrange your universe. I once ended up as a working student at a horse farm after a chance encounter on an airplane.
In SF/F-land, archetypes are dependable. A literary friend of mine doesn’t like Doctor Who. She finds the show unsympathetic because the main character has no chance for growth. That’s the point. The Doctor remains constant. Companions change. Decades change. Even faces change. Yet, when you hear that whooshy sound, you know you will be getting the mad man in a box.
In the real world, archetypes don’t exist. People are not characters created for our entertainment. Even one’s nearest and dearest callously insist on having interests and areas of their lives that have nothing to do with one. No matter how hard I try to be perceptive, people are not equivalent to the image of them I carry in my head. When I am close, harmony ensues. When I am not, the world gets weird.
This is why we introduce the SF/F world into our real world. For a few minutes, we allow our minds to rest in a place where we can be sure of the rules. If I want moral ambiguity and gray areas, I’ll watch the news.
Onwards!
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
This is not limited to SciFi. I read a lot., mostly fiction, although not SciFi. I probably read “too much” if that’s possible.
True, I learn things. This makes Jeopardy more fun. I enhance my self-esteem every time I get it right.
True, knowing more about people, places and things helps to ground me in the real world, makes me more comfortable, knowing about it.
True, it enhances friendships to share thoughts about a book or characters.
But. The deeper reasons are boredom and/or escape. I no longer drink or drug. I no longer work outside the home. My child is grown, married and far away. The rest of my family is neither large nor close. In winter, the weather keeps me indoors. I dearly love my spouse but 24/7 is lot to ask of a relationship.
So I read a lot.
Thank you for helping me understand why I read.
This is important. We need to escape sometimes, because the world we live in is getting ever more complicated.
I’ve never drunk anything alcoholic, nor done drugs. My family wasn’t close when they were alive. There are books I read and reread, my form of comfort food. There’s a universe I can deal with. Even non-fiction can take me to another world. These are the stitches on a chart, these are the colors.
As a Whovian, I think if you watch carefully, there is growth in the Doctor. Much of which is lost with each regeneration. They have to start over. The reason the TARDIS is the same, is it is the constant. This was actually a decision made in the early days of the show. Even the Doctor changes, the TARDIS is the constant.
I have a bumper sticker that says “madwoman with a box”.
Asthmatic vacuum cleaner. What a wonderful phrase!
Lucky you! My chance encounters on airplanes have yet to yield anything worthwhile, and I’m a Delta Million Miler! I get chatter from someone who thinks I’m their new BFF just because I’m there, or I’m ignored. Lucky you. However, I just don’t read sci fi, and if I start to watch a sci fi movie, I tend to fall asleep. Stay warm – it’s still winter.
Comfort reading. So much comfort reading lately.