The Power of Escapism: Understanding the Allure of Fantasy

I go back to fantasy books every time. I give other genres a try in between, of course, but after I finish those, I always go back to the imaginary, often hostile and magical worlds I like to dive into and escape from the modern days.

But why is fantasy so fascinating to some of us? What drives us to read about totally strange creatures, unknown worlds and often illogical events and occasions?

Isn’t it amazing that we humans, creatures that live, breathe and exist on one planet, in one world, have the possibility to create totally different worlds in our minds? Or that we can visit someone else’s imaginary world by just picking a book, watching a movie, or playing a video game? I’ve been fascinated with that fact for a long time, so I decided to deep dive into it. And my findings were very interesting.

The famous reason - escapism

First and foremost, before any research, I, of course, had my thoughts on the theme. For me, reading, especially fantasy, is a form of escapism. Escaping my everyday (often boring) life to go meet terrible creatures from the security of my bed and blanket? My favourite form of entertainment. Also, what fascinates me is the ability of our brain to imagine and see the exciting world someone else crafted. And the fact that every person will see it differently? That form of art has a special place in my heart.

Until recently, I thought the situation was pretty much the same for everyone else. But then I delved into the deepness of internet (well, mostly Reddit). The results didn’t disappoint. My personal opinion was just a drop in the pond of various reasons people pick up fantasy over other genres.

One of the more interesting ones is the escape to a more natural setting - from concrete cities of today’s life to green fields, castles, untouched nature. Other people just want to experience something wild and unlikely, something different that they would never experience in real life. Some people want to deal with their problems and feel understood through the eyes of an imaginary hero. Other people just want a wild adventure far away from their problems. So basically, it is escapism, the famous reason, but it has many different forms.

Masking the real as a fantasy

The (hidden) magic of fantasy is that, while everything is happening in another world with magical beings, the situations, the characters and the struggles are mostly the same as ours. On a psychological level, all of us can relate to those kinds of characters. Some of us read only for that reason. Because at the end of the day, for a lot of fantasy novels, the actual drive of the story lays in relationships, characters and character growth.

So when you feel a strong connection with a magical character living in a magical world, it’s probably because this character is going through the same internal struggles, problems and events in life, same as you! That is often the whole point, so don’t get scared. Because sometimes, it’s easier to face the real problem through the eyes of a fairy, an assassin, a pirate or a princess.

Everything is possible (well, not really)

The interesting concept is certainly the fact that in fantasy, everything goes. Meaning that you can test out and play with all the scenarios that come to mind. Want to read about political situation so different from the one you know? Want to see what the world would look like without the capitalism? Want to go back to feudalism of medieval times? In fantasy, you can easily find all of it and more.

When something is perceived to be so far from reality as fantasy stories usually are, the possibilities are endless. Why? Probably because of social norms that mark things as weird, dangerous or silly. Want to explore outside those norms? Go read some fantasy.

Creating new worlds

When you delve into the new fantasy world, what do you find there? The whole new system, politics, races, nations, bodies of water, continents, mountains… Everything. And isn’t that beautiful? The possibilities are endless.

Well, not really. We humans are creatures with the most advanced brains on this planet, but we still have some limitations. If someone is to break all the rules and conventions known to humans just to write a fantasy story, that story will probably never hit the shelves. Because humans work with a certain set of rules and conventions, and those rules are often universally accepted in all famous fantasy worlds.

Fantasy is fantasy because some of the general rules of life are twisted, changed or abandoned with the help of magic. But still, other rules preside. The most important thing for our brain to follow and believe those rules is consistency. Because not following the set rules in a fantasy world brings confusion and makes the world unbelievable or to hard to understand.

So when you immerse yourself into the new fantasy world next time, try to find those rules that are broken with the help of magic, but try to find the ones that are consistent. The ones that give our brain the vague sense of familiarity. More often than not, those are some basic things such as how long the days are, the sun and moon, the green grass, the general directions… Those story parameters make you comfortable enough so that you can get familiar with the rules that are broken.

Conclusion

No matter the reason you read fantasy, we have the luck of living in a time where you can find anything your heart desires. So find your reason, enjoy the books that fulfill your needs and wants and good luck with your fantastic journeys!