The previous blog on "suspension of reality" got me thinking about Tania's take on Aristotle's theory discussing the potential effects of exposure to virtual traumatic fiction. As adults we engage in mental games, often through participation in the arts, to cope with the reality of understanding the actual world which is arguably not established during early childhood. Aristotle claims that contemplation of these fictional situations can be healthy in the way that it helps prepare or "cleanse" us for future situations in the real world. My question is about what happens when people start engaging in these fictional situations to the point that we begin seeing life as an imitation of art rather than art as an imitation of life? Turn the TV to any "reality television" show and you will see anything but. What you will see is people then imitating and getting ideas from these shows and using them in actual life which can be harmful. It is important to note that beneficial lessons can also be taken from the arts, but I must highlight that I am speaking to the quantity in which we absorb fictional material not to the material itself. I feel that by consuming large amounts of fiction in the way that (for example) American culture does, we go into a sort of overload where we become neurotic in preparing ourselves for obscure situations to the point where we are forgetting to live in the present. Going back to a blog I posted on Alan Watts, author of The Wisdom of Insecurity he equates this theory to trying to think about reading this sentence as you concentrate on reading it. You will find that you cannot do both at once, if we engage in these metal games to the point that we lose complete awareness of what real life is, it could have negative effects.

What is your take on this?