Escaping Reality... Burn the Witches!

With Halloween almost upon us, i thought I'd write a little bit about a virtual witch-hunt that has been going on for generations, with each new generation identifying the next witch to tie to the stake.

I have heard many people talk down to others for a perceived notion that they are "escaping reality". The judgement would seem to be that the escapist is engaging in something that is harmful or unnatural. Such a judgement also carries with it the implied belief that the judge is free of such behavior. It would seem, however, that what is termed escapism by one person, is relaxation and stress compensation for another. In deed, some of the largest escapist-witch-hunters I have had the displeasure to meet, have been some of the most tightly wound individuals one would ever hope to meet, and/or self-deceived hypocrites.

I do not mean to imply that anyone should avoid responsibility, or refuse to be held accountable by their community. The virtues of personal accountability cannot be stressed enough in this time of bail-outs, bankruptcies, and foreclosures. So, when I speak of "escaping reality", I do not mean avoiding responsibility. While the avoidance of responsibility must be shed as we transform from child to adult, the ability to escape reality would seem to be an essential part of a happy life.

I wonder why it is that we all seek to escape reality from time to time. I know there are those among you who just read that last sentence and said, "Speak for yourself. I don't escape reality." I hope we can first all agree that we have at some point in our lives sought solace in constructs of the mind. I will argue that we all, you included, escape reality on a daily basis; and, that it is not only a good thing, but necessary for our happiness. For those of you who are stubbornly thinking that you are not a part of this reality escaping demographic, lets look at some examples.

Lets start with perhaps one of the most basic of all human experiences: Day Dreaming. We have all had day dreams, just as we have all dreamed in our sleep. Both would seem to be hard-wired into the consciousness of our being. Anyone who has seen a cat or dog twitching in their sleep might also be able to confirm that it would seem to be present in those creatures as well. I'm starting with this example, because I want to show that the escape of reality, or the experience of alternate realities is natural.

For those of you who think that you do not dream, that simply isn't the case. The reality is that you may not recall your dreams upon waking, but rest assured, you did dream last night. If you didn't, there is actually a serious problem. For example, alcoholics who perpetually drink themselves to sleep every night never enter the dream state. When such a person tries to stop drinking the dreams return with a vengeance, often causing them to go back to the bottle. There is a gap between the conscious mind and what has been called the sub-concious mind. I personally think the term "sub-concious" is a misnomer that would be better termed "super-concious"; but, I'll continue to use the standard terms for sake of clarity.

In the morning, when we recall our dreams, information is crossing the gap between the conscious mind and sub-concious. The more we cross that bridge, the stronger it becomes. The stronger a person's bridge between their conscious and sub-concious mind, the greater their imagination would seem to be.

Some people have a more exercised imagination than others. It would stand to argue that such people's dreams and day-dreams might be more elaborate than those of another who for one reason or another shut down the bridge between the conscious and sub-conscious mind. Yet, we are all still craving the escape. If this were not so, most of the entertainment industry simply would not exist.

Before we dive head on into blessing "escapism", let me throw out the standard disclaimer. Anything in excess has the capacity to destroy us. Taken to an extreme, we have seen that even water consumption can cause death. If even too much water can kill us - I think it is worth taking a look at the notion of moderation. While we are at it, we should also have the capacity to see how insane it would be to outlaw or regulate how much water a person could purchase on the open market. Yet, if there were a rash of water-overdose deaths, would we scream for regulation? Why is the idea of regulating water consumption so ridiculous? I would argue the notion is silly only because everyone also needs water to survive. Because we are united in the reality that it is a vital part of life. But is escaping that reality any less a real need?

So, what's your poison? Have you ever read a novel or short story? Isn't that escaping from reality for the time you spend in the author's imagination? That author's ability to imagine is no doubt greater than yours - or you would put the book down and go back to day-dreaming.

What about movies? There is a huge industry in America that owes its existence to the imaginations of the many people who come together to bring us a two-hour escape from reality. In fact, we have seen that during the last few recessions that we have had, that the movie industry has not suffered as other industries have. If this isn't proof of the need to escape, I don't know what is.

What about television? From the daytime soap opera to the evening situational comedy, the television is packed full of escapes of all sizes shapes and colors. When we tune into our favorite show, we leave behind the bills, and the unpleasantness of a long commute or the pressures of business. In short, we escape.

Now we come to the digital experience. For many who haven't embraced the technologies responsible for video games, this sort of "escapism" might seem silly, or extreme, or a waste of time. However, it is no different from any of the above escapes, in that it provides a momentary cease fire between the conscious mind and the real world. Where it does differ is in its ability to truly engage the "escapist".

In my youth, I recall reading a few 'create your own adventure' books. In these books the reader would be given a choice. For example, "If you choose to fight the dragon, turn to page 72. If you choose to run away, turn to page 90." I could be wrong, but I don't think they ever really caught on. Allowing the participant to determine the plot of a story they would help unfold became the purview of the video game. Video games have mastered the art of bringing the participant into the imaginary world they create, and this has pushed the envelope.

If video games pushed the envelope, online video games tore it wide open. A community experience has always been a part of our more successful escape strategies. For example, watching a movie in a theatre full of people provides a very different experience than watching the same movie on a DVD at home. I would argue that this is not only because of the size of the viewing screen and sound system. The fact that others are there with you helps to reinforce the experience. In a similar fashion, reading a novel which is on the best sellers list provides a quasi-communal experience. While the act of reading is solitary, the knowledge that you are one of a million other people who has read this particular book invites you into a sort of virtual community.

Enter the online virtual community. On MySpace, or Facebook you can actually sign up to be a member of a group that has read the same book as you, or enjoyed the same movie or artist. In the online world, you can surround yourself with people who like the things you like, and believe the things you believe. You can banish those who are too different. So, it would seem that even the act of participating in an online community, as such, would in a way be an escape.

Of course the actual depth of the online escape goes far beyond that. What the video game did for the short story or novel in terms of enabling the participant to interact with the imaginary world, services like orkut, myspace, facebook, and others have done in terms of interacting with others who want to enjoy the same escape.

I recently joined facebook. I added a few friends and thought, "this is OK - nothing special really". I had a hard time understanding why the same people I had been trying to get to email me for years were suddenly easily accessible via their virtual wall (for the uninitiated, the facebook 'wall' is basically a virtual bulletin board). Then I decided to use facebook as a way to help build an online community. To this end, I started inviting many people that I didn't know to become friends with me on facebook. Suddenly, the game, this new online escape, changed. I was flooded with micro-posts about requests to help in various games, virtual gifts and gift requests, and more invitations to grow my "friend" list even further. All of the facebook games promote this sort of interactivity - it is almost unavoidable. As it turns out, with a large group of virtual facebook friends, the experience is transformed into one of hyper-interaction. There is always someone on doing something in some game. It is as steady as the rotation of our planet.

In the end, who doesn't want to feel successful, fearless, powerful, and loved? While these online games don't provide a physical reality of any of this (except for the people making money from them) - they do provide a very real escape. And since all of these notions about our well being are our own mental constructs, who's to say that these forms of escape aren't more real than virtual? Now, if you will excuse me, I need to go drain someone's blood in Vampire Wars. ;)