Why are we so emotionally invested in fictional characters and worlds?
I’m definitely not obsessed with going to Hogwarts, I mean why would I be still waiting for my letter? (Pfft.)
Over time, books have become an extremely key part of my life, in the sense where I’m unable to not read for even a week. While many people say, “Oh that’s good for you, you’re learning new things, I can’t even pick up a book and read for an hour”, well… I read fictional books, excessively. As in, yeah, non-fiction books are really informative but I don’t like non-fiction, no. I read fictional books that eventually have no centre idea around it, not about a “productive lifestyle” or “habits”, but about fantasy worlds and magic and mystery and horror that of course, has their own morals and values, no matter how hidden they may be.
However, after some time, you start to notice that when you read a part of a book or about a particular character or a world, you start to become more interested in it and gradually you start to quote a book or a movie and a key aspect of your life starts to revolve around that fictional character or world. Personally, I found myself scrolling through Instagram, Pinterest or YouTube with content about my book-ish interests filling up my feed. Eventually, you enter a “Fandom” and become obsessed with it, and sometimes find yourself detached from your own reality. Now, this might be a rather extreme case but hear me out, why are we so emotionally invested in such fictional worlds that don’t exist?
Now, fictional characters and worlds are built in a way where they achieve “flawed perfection”. Now, what do I mean by this? Let’s take Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series for example. Hermione is almost the perfect student who embodies how brilliant and quick-witted she saves the main characters from trouble. Contrarily, we’re also seeing how she’s discriminated against and a quick view of her insecurities and struggles too. However, these problems that characters face are the “perfect problems” in a way where they’re being displayed as human and flawed but it's also perfect as they eventually overcome their struggles and learn. As compared to our reality, it’s far from what happens. The struggles that we encounter aren’t perfect in any way and sometimes we grow and embrace them, but in others, we don’t. Therefore, when we observe the imperfectly perfect world that is formed before us, we tend to want an escape to a place where it is oddly similar to ours but in situations where things turn out to be better and ends on a lighter note.
Our attraction to such characters and worlds comes from within because we find comfort in knowing that there is an imperfection in someone we may relate to in books or TV shows, yet things almost work out perfectly for them. The relatability offered with this is an escape from our modern flawed world into another where we are consoled with a sort of fantasy that mimics us.
Personally, the reason that I have an evergrowing attachment to fictional characters is their personalities that somehow resonates soundly in a way where they’re always imperfect but that’s what attracts me to it. We’re trying to unconsciously accept ourselves for being flawed and human by escaping to other worlds. Many psychologists say that reading is a good coping mechanism with mental health issues and I’m not going to argue with that. However, sometimes when an “obsession” is taken too far, it's important to dig deep and figure out why we tend to escape and deflect our harsh reality by becoming emotionally involved. It may be for fun, but sometimes it may also come from a more complex reason too.
