Experiencing a narrative work by identifying with the protagonist
January 24, 2016 3:34 PM Subscribe
I am casually aware of the idea that some people experience some works of narrative fiction by identifying with the protagonist of the story, and by experiencing the protagonist's story as if it were their own. What is the formal name or definition of this idea, and what are some canonical writings about it?
For the purposes of this AskMefi question I'm mostly just trying to connect with sources about the basic idea, either in lit crit, narratology, or psychology. These aren't my fields of expertise and I'm looking for some background.
For example, I don't know whether this idea is synonymous with or distinct from simply having empathy for a protagonist. I watch an adventure film with a powerful hero and I, personally, feel powerful, and do not merely (or even necessarily) empathize with the powerful character. I imagine this is assisted by recognizing elements of the protagonist in the self (is male/female, has a similar background or life circumstances), but I also imagine it's enough to recognize that a character is the protagonist and self-insertion is just a way to enjoy a story. I'm curious about the commonality of this experience, whether specific moves by the work (or contextual aspects like genre) cue this response or if it's just a common lens we use, whether habitual application of this lens affects the ability to enjoy or understand stories about protagonists unlike ourselves, the implications of this idea and the representation of demographic minorities in fiction, etc. For now, I'm just looking for basic definitions and starting points.
I should clarify that I'm specifically interested in this idea with regards to non-interactive works, especially novels and movies. I'm separately interested in interactive narrative and player-protagonist identification, but that's (probably!) a different can of worms and not the focus of my question.
Thanks!
For the purposes of this AskMefi question I'm mostly just trying to connect with sources about the basic idea, either in lit crit, narratology, or psychology. These aren't my fields of expertise and I'm looking for some background.
For example, I don't know whether this idea is synonymous with or distinct from simply having empathy for a protagonist. I watch an adventure film with a powerful hero and I, personally, feel powerful, and do not merely (or even necessarily) empathize with the powerful character. I imagine this is assisted by recognizing elements of the protagonist in the self (is male/female, has a similar background or life circumstances), but I also imagine it's enough to recognize that a character is the protagonist and self-insertion is just a way to enjoy a story. I'm curious about the commonality of this experience, whether specific moves by the work (or contextual aspects like genre) cue this response or if it's just a common lens we use, whether habitual application of this lens affects the ability to enjoy or understand stories about protagonists unlike ourselves, the implications of this idea and the representation of demographic minorities in fiction, etc. For now, I'm just looking for basic definitions and starting points.
I should clarify that I'm specifically interested in this idea with regards to non-interactive works, especially novels and movies. I'm separately interested in interactive narrative and player-protagonist identification, but that's (probably!) a different can of worms and not the focus of my question.
Thanks!
In The Philosophy of Horror, Noël Carroll has an extended (and not horror-specific) critique of the usefulness of the concept of character identification as an account of audiences' emotional involvement with protagonists. The section begins on p. 88.
Personally I think he's a bit of a hard-ass about it, but it can be seen as laying out the constraints on any successful account.
posted by Beardman at 5:06 PM on January 24, 2016
Personally I think he's a bit of a hard-ass about it, but it can be seen as laying out the constraints on any successful account.
posted by Beardman at 5:06 PM on January 24, 2016
Raymond Mar and Keith Oatley: "The Function of Fiction is the Abstraction and Simulation of Social Experience" [pdf]
Keith Oatley: Such Stuff as Dreams: The Psychology of Fiction
You may also want to search through the collaborative site "On Fiction" (research on the psychology of fiction) and look through the papers in The Mar Lab (York University).
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:42 PM on January 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
Keith Oatley: Such Stuff as Dreams: The Psychology of Fiction
You may also want to search through the collaborative site "On Fiction" (research on the psychology of fiction) and look through the papers in The Mar Lab (York University).
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:42 PM on January 24, 2016 [2 favorites]
And another: Lisa Zunshine: Why We Read Fiction: Theory of Mind and the Novel [pdf]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:53 PM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 5:53 PM on January 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Catharsis is probably not the word you want, but it's closely related.
posted by limeonaire at 7:46 PM on January 24, 2016
posted by limeonaire at 7:46 PM on January 24, 2016
Seconding Raymond Mar and Keith Oatley's work and names as starting points, and Lisa Zunshine as well. Melanie Green (at SUNY-Buffalo) has a longstanding interest in the idea of being transported by narrative (her research is focused on persuasion rather than enjoyment or empathy), which takes as one of its starting points work and thinking by Richard Gerrig (at SUNY-Stony Brook). Gerrig wrote an accessible and interesting book on narrative transportation (Experiencing Narrative Worlds) in the 1990s, one which you may be able to find on the cheap, if you can track down a paperback version. Gerrig also has done a lot of research on what he calls "participatory responses", which are pretty much what they sound like: mental exhortations for the protagonist to achieve her or his goals (or not, as appropriate).
posted by anaphoric at 11:14 AM on January 25, 2016
posted by anaphoric at 11:14 AM on January 25, 2016
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posted by andrewcooke at 3:40 PM on January 24, 2016