Down the rabbit hole essay

Down the rabbit hole: An examination of Escapism

“Escape” The very essence of this word creates an air of pity and resentment even from the start. To escape is to deny a challenge, to leave a dangerous situation in fact to escape is to remove yourself for the presence of a problem of problems and place yourself in a safe environment. It is from this term that escapism originates as a form of mental reclusiveness, the person in question most often perceived in the mind as a weak and cowardly individual, goes to excessive lengths to remove themselves from a perceived reality and to place themselves into another perceived reality which is observed by others as a radical shift in behaviour. The most common use of this can be seen in Alcoholics, Video game addicts and those who daydream consistently. The escapist will do everything in their power to shift reality if only for a moment to remove their current self and replace it with another self. One who is not wrapped up in the tedium of everyday life or perhaps the monotony of typical social reactions. As a society this is definitely a trend that has overtook the youths of this generation. Everywhere you go you can see mobile phones allowing teens to partake in their schoolyard social aspects and to gain what some would call validation on a constant basis. I however believe it is a method of solidifying herd mentality. Those within the herd find comfort in constant understanding of the validity and behaviour of their comrades. Their continued consistency provides comfort allowing the social networking side of life to enable their very real social life. This is not what I would regard as escapism. Any social experience with consequences and a tangible relationship with cause and effect cannot be considered a viable form of escapism. Simply looking into a screen does not mean you are an escapist. Neither does losing yourself in an event such as the Royal wedding again, embedded in reality. No, I think to partake in escapism you need to meet a certain criteria:

Firstly: As a person the individual must surrender their ability to be identified allowing for them to disregard their ties to cause and effect. This can take the form of simply drinking alone at a bar or conversing with others as a stranger. Being alone appears to be the biggest part of this however escapism as a group is possible.

Second: Cause and effect of reality must be minimised. Physical images of people and real personalities must be removed from the equation. Any form of interest in an actual person is not escapism but idolisation. However, should a person play a character and then be observed this will allow the viewer to be an escapist.

Thirdly: A strong focus must be displayed towards a setting or feeling that removes the typical lines of cause and effect. Immersion in any activity will disregard realistic cause and effect entirely. Mannerisms and reactions will change, Basic adherence to surroundings will be sacrificed and importance of basic human needs will be minimised. Emotional needs may be a huge factor into achieving this.
However, this does not adequately explain the reasons behind escapism and from the knowledge I’ve gained from years of addiction to various forms of escapism I realise that every form has its own emotional drive.
For example, grief is the primary advocate of Alcoholism however other factors have emerged. Pressure to be accepted, Pressure to be fun, Unrealistic expectations of a sober self. All of which force a person to escape to a version of themselves they see as socially superior when inebriated. The biggest factor here is that this is an attempt to kickstart emotional growth. They see themselves as drunk as a better version of themselves and lack the motivation to reach that growth thanks to grief being present in their lives. Sadly however due to grief being a constant without facing it head on this sort of escapism largely goes unchecked without some form of reality changing event to counterbalance the perceived reality.

Next, i'm examining fantasy worlds such as role playing or fantasy worlds brimming with lore that they need to know every single detail. This sort of escapism has a simple root. The need to obtain knowledge. We live in a world where there are no new places to find. No paradise out there to claim. We can see the world for what it is at any time and sadly the reality is that only humans are sentient and the scope of human behaviour is understood by the age of 14. It is also possible that human behaviour is found repellent in some youths at which point they yearn for another social strata which makes more sense or provides a more complicated setup they can indulge in. Hence fantasy roleplay is the pursuit of knowledge of new plains of existence. Only In worlds brimming with lore can new ideas about the world be gleamed and this thirst for knowledge and kinship with imagination be quenched in a world where the reality is very linear to those who wish not necessarily for a better world but a different one.

However, acquiring knowledge is not the same as acquiring wisdom. Which leads me to my final form of escapism: Escaping into story. Stories are vital to life. They give us experience of other people within a few seconds, we can learn how to act, learn what is good or bad, even learn a piece of information that will stick in our brains until we die. However, what is to be gained from a story with no foundation in reality? The escapist found that out long ago. And that is wisdom.

Stories provide us with growth for our personalities. Whatever the characters do or say we can see it as a simulation for events. If a story is unconvincing we judge it as “Bad” or “boring” because it becomes clear that there is no wisdom to be gained. The value in a story is in what you take away from it. Catharsis in itself is the form of turning another’s experience into wisdom of feelings. You understand how you would react to a situation you will never have the chance to undertake. And that becomes very real experience. As a human can see the truth in even a fake experience of life. To get caught up in a story or even to obsess over it is knowing there is something within that you haven’t gotten yet. Because in tandem with a story a human being can gain years of wisdom and understanding both about themselves and others that they would never get working a 9 to 5 job. Escapism becomes a tool with which to find the very best nuggets of wisdom and take them for yourself even incorporating them into your character in an effort to find your ideal self. Nobody can ever imagine truly what their ideal self is only a vague shadow if the person they should be.

So, to conclude we can see Escapism is many things: A way not to deal with grief, an opportunity to explore and obtain knowledge and a way to understand every facet of humanity is a society that routinely domesticates its own citizens. Escapism should not be seen as weak or fruitless. It’s the only way to be the best you can be in a watered-down reality.





By Ben Hazell