When is Escapism not Escapism?
February 28, 2021 1:39 PM Subscribe
I notice that a lot of the things people seem to be watching on Netflix and Hulu, like Outlander, and The Handmaid's Tale, are about war and political upheaval. I know there is also a lot of binging on funny stuff like Schitts Creek and Jane the Virgin.
But since all someone has to do is turn on the news, why are the dark shows popular? Why are people watching them for escape? I'm asking because it seems these shows make the viewers even more depressed, on top of what is already going on in the world and I don't understand the attraction to them, esp. now. Is there any research somewhere that says the story element is a stronger attraction than, say, a newsy element even if they're both dealing with roughly the same subject?
But since all someone has to do is turn on the news, why are the dark shows popular? Why are people watching them for escape? I'm asking because it seems these shows make the viewers even more depressed, on top of what is already going on in the world and I don't understand the attraction to them, esp. now. Is there any research somewhere that says the story element is a stronger attraction than, say, a newsy element even if they're both dealing with roughly the same subject?
So this article is about a study on non-fiction and women, but I think it applies.
From the article:
Women overwhelmingly chose the true crime books over the books about war or gang violence, even when the main characters of all of the books were female. The men chose the true crime books about half the time when the other book was a true war story and both books had female main characters. The men were somewhat more likely to select the true crime book with female characters over the gang book with female characters, but by a much smaller margin (57 percent) than the women (73 percent).
"Research that has been done in the past about gender and aggression has established pretty clearly that men are more likely to commit violent crimes and they're more likely to be the victims of violent crimes," Fraley said. "So these basic observations are extremely surprising to us. Why are women more drawn to the true crime genre than men are?"
The researchers suspected that women like true crime stories in part because such stories provide information that the readers feel could help them avoid or escape from a potential attacker. Previous studies have shown that women are much more likely than men to fear becoming crime victims, and there may be an evolutionary benefit to learning from others' negative experiences, Fraley said. Perhaps the fear of an attack and the desire to avoid becoming a victim drives many women to read true crime stories, he said.
To get at this question, the researchers conducted three more studies in which the summaries of the books included details that might help explain the choices women made. They found that women were much more likely than men to choose a book if it included a "clever trick" the would-be victim used to escape from an attacker, or a psychological profile of the attacker. And women, but not men, were much more interested in books with female victims.
"The male participants didn't care either way," Vicary said. "They were pretty evenly split, whereas the women wanted to read about the women getting killed."
The findings spur many more questions than they answer, the researchers said.
"Why are women differentially fascinated by understanding true crime?" Fraley said. "This study takes us one step toward trying to understand how the mind works, what it is that people prefer and why."
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 1:59 PM on February 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
From the article:
Women overwhelmingly chose the true crime books over the books about war or gang violence, even when the main characters of all of the books were female. The men chose the true crime books about half the time when the other book was a true war story and both books had female main characters. The men were somewhat more likely to select the true crime book with female characters over the gang book with female characters, but by a much smaller margin (57 percent) than the women (73 percent).
"Research that has been done in the past about gender and aggression has established pretty clearly that men are more likely to commit violent crimes and they're more likely to be the victims of violent crimes," Fraley said. "So these basic observations are extremely surprising to us. Why are women more drawn to the true crime genre than men are?"
The researchers suspected that women like true crime stories in part because such stories provide information that the readers feel could help them avoid or escape from a potential attacker. Previous studies have shown that women are much more likely than men to fear becoming crime victims, and there may be an evolutionary benefit to learning from others' negative experiences, Fraley said. Perhaps the fear of an attack and the desire to avoid becoming a victim drives many women to read true crime stories, he said.
To get at this question, the researchers conducted three more studies in which the summaries of the books included details that might help explain the choices women made. They found that women were much more likely than men to choose a book if it included a "clever trick" the would-be victim used to escape from an attacker, or a psychological profile of the attacker. And women, but not men, were much more interested in books with female victims.
"The male participants didn't care either way," Vicary said. "They were pretty evenly split, whereas the women wanted to read about the women getting killed."
The findings spur many more questions than they answer, the researchers said.
"Why are women differentially fascinated by understanding true crime?" Fraley said. "This study takes us one step toward trying to understand how the mind works, what it is that people prefer and why."
posted by RobinofFrocksley at 1:59 PM on February 28, 2021 [8 favorites]
But since all someone has to do is turn on the news, why are the dark shows popular?
Catharsis
posted by rue72 at 2:00 PM on February 28, 2021 [12 favorites]
Catharsis
posted by rue72 at 2:00 PM on February 28, 2021 [12 favorites]
For me, it has something to do with suspension of disbelief. In 2017, for example, I could not immerse myself in an escapist, feel-good political drama like The West Wing. It was just too jarring. But it was easier than ever to imagine myself into the world of The Handmaid’s Tale.
posted by mbrubeck at 2:41 PM on February 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 2:41 PM on February 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
In 2016 there was a long thread about this sort of thing on AskMe, which I highly recommend:
https://ask.metafilter.com/296707/unhappy-endings-you-actually-value
It was aimed more at unhappy endings, and why people loved the ones they loved, but it came from a more general place: the poster said "I teach the paradox of tragedy (e.g. why do people go to see films/plays they know to be sad if people normally dislike feeling sad?)", which sounds much like your question.
(That also suggests to me that you might find some interesting material if you research the "paradox of tragedy".)
posted by theatro at 2:50 PM on February 28, 2021
https://ask.metafilter.com/296707/unhappy-endings-you-actually-value
It was aimed more at unhappy endings, and why people loved the ones they loved, but it came from a more general place: the poster said "I teach the paradox of tragedy (e.g. why do people go to see films/plays they know to be sad if people normally dislike feeling sad?)", which sounds much like your question.
(That also suggests to me that you might find some interesting material if you research the "paradox of tragedy".)
posted by theatro at 2:50 PM on February 28, 2021
I’m not familiar with Outlander, but Handmaid’s Tale is pretty intellectually stimulating. Ditto for my favorite show, The Wire, and others like that. I’d rather watch something that makes me think, even if it’s hard.
posted by kevinbelt at 3:16 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by kevinbelt at 3:16 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm asking because it seems these shows make the viewers even more depressed, on top of what is already going on in the world and I don't understand the attraction to them
Dark shows may make you more depressed, but they don't do that for everyone.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:22 PM on February 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
Dark shows may make you more depressed, but they don't do that for everyone.
posted by showbiz_liz at 4:22 PM on February 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
News about war and political upheaval is very different from a story set in a time of war or political upheaval. The story will probably include a lot of not-at-all-depressing elements like people making friends, falling in love, comforting each other, saving each other, seducing each other, coming up with clever plans, outwitting or outfighting bad guys, being loyal, being brave, being heroic, fighting for what's right. People like watching all those things and for them to have the proper weight they need to happen in a situation where there's danger and difficulty.
Watching those shows is escapism because you and your friends and family probably don't show the same bravery or integrity or compassion or confidence you see in your favorite TV characters and your own life probably lacks most of the story elements you see on TV. (When was the last time you had to come up with a clever and daring plot to thwart an evil enemy?)
posted by Redstart at 5:07 PM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
Watching those shows is escapism because you and your friends and family probably don't show the same bravery or integrity or compassion or confidence you see in your favorite TV characters and your own life probably lacks most of the story elements you see on TV. (When was the last time you had to come up with a clever and daring plot to thwart an evil enemy?)
posted by Redstart at 5:07 PM on February 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
I want to watch well crafted stories with good writing, narrative motion, characters, acting, editing, etc. Current events news has little to nothing whatsoever to do with any of that, even if superficially it may be "dark" in a vaguely similar way to television shows I like. It's a completely nonsensical comparison to me.
Watching a well crafted story with themes that are interesting to me, which more often happens with more "serious" shows than light ones just because of my personal taste, makes me happy, not depressed. Current events haven't changed that.
posted by Stacey at 5:15 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Watching a well crafted story with themes that are interesting to me, which more often happens with more "serious" shows than light ones just because of my personal taste, makes me happy, not depressed. Current events haven't changed that.
posted by Stacey at 5:15 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I don't get But since all someone has to do is turn on the news, why are the dark shows popular?.
This makes it sound like you think some people have a recommended daily allowance for vicarious suffering, which they can fulfill by either watching real people suffer on the news or fictional people suffering on TV. I don't think it works that way for a lot of people.
I work 40 hours a week at a job where I get no intellectual stimulation at all, and where I am forced to to pretend to be cheerful all the time. When I watch TV, I want well-written, intricately-plotted narratives (like a novel, only in TV form). I absolutely love a well-written scene that is built on years of backstory and character development. Those kinds of stories tend to be serious drama, which right now tends to be dark. Sometimes it's too dark for my personal taste and I nope out, but that also happened before the pandemic.
The only funny and lighter TV show that comes close to that for me is The Good Place, which I liked. I would watch more if that people wanted to make more shows like it. Darkness isn't something I require, but it tends to be part of a package that I enjoy. Lightweight comedy just doesn't scratch that itch, and honestly reminds me of the forced cheer at work, which is the opposite of escapism for me.
posted by creepygirl at 5:34 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
This makes it sound like you think some people have a recommended daily allowance for vicarious suffering, which they can fulfill by either watching real people suffer on the news or fictional people suffering on TV. I don't think it works that way for a lot of people.
I work 40 hours a week at a job where I get no intellectual stimulation at all, and where I am forced to to pretend to be cheerful all the time. When I watch TV, I want well-written, intricately-plotted narratives (like a novel, only in TV form). I absolutely love a well-written scene that is built on years of backstory and character development. Those kinds of stories tend to be serious drama, which right now tends to be dark. Sometimes it's too dark for my personal taste and I nope out, but that also happened before the pandemic.
The only funny and lighter TV show that comes close to that for me is The Good Place, which I liked. I would watch more if that people wanted to make more shows like it. Darkness isn't something I require, but it tends to be part of a package that I enjoy. Lightweight comedy just doesn't scratch that itch, and honestly reminds me of the forced cheer at work, which is the opposite of escapism for me.
posted by creepygirl at 5:34 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games) said a thing that resonated with me and my media preferences a LOT when I first read it:
"Telling a story in a futuristic world gives you this freedom to explore things that bother you in contemporary times."
posted by phunniemee at 5:49 PM on February 28, 2021 [6 favorites]
"Telling a story in a futuristic world gives you this freedom to explore things that bother you in contemporary times."
posted by phunniemee at 5:49 PM on February 28, 2021 [6 favorites]
But since all someone has to do is turn on the news, why are the dark shows popular? Why are people watching them for escape?
They drain me of energy for sure. I mostly can't get into fictional darkness like that unless it's like women's supernatural or witch drama, in which case it's another story. I find those shows very cathartic, perhaps because, as a friend once pointed out, those shows are about the supernatural, women's inner lives, and an ensemble of collaborators, conspirators, and friends, and magic works as a solution in those universes.
The exception to that for me has been Criminal Minds, but man, new episodes of that are finally available on Hulu, and I watched the first few, and I think my tolerance for that much violence and gaslighting is lower after everything I've experienced in the past year. So yeah, still having trouble wanting to watch anything that's too realistic or depressingly dark in that way.
posted by limeonaire at 6:00 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
They drain me of energy for sure. I mostly can't get into fictional darkness like that unless it's like women's supernatural or witch drama, in which case it's another story. I find those shows very cathartic, perhaps because, as a friend once pointed out, those shows are about the supernatural, women's inner lives, and an ensemble of collaborators, conspirators, and friends, and magic works as a solution in those universes.
The exception to that for me has been Criminal Minds, but man, new episodes of that are finally available on Hulu, and I watched the first few, and I think my tolerance for that much violence and gaslighting is lower after everything I've experienced in the past year. So yeah, still having trouble wanting to watch anything that's too realistic or depressingly dark in that way.
posted by limeonaire at 6:00 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
I tried to ask a similar question, but books. I think your question may actually answer my question better than whatever it was I actually asked. Here are the answers I got.
posted by aniola at 7:21 PM on February 28, 2021
posted by aniola at 7:21 PM on February 28, 2021
A good sad, dark, depressing show will make me feel sad, dark, or depressed in a limited way, while also making me feel more empathetic and understanding of other people in similar situations. And crucially, my experience is that the feelings of sadness don’t linger, while the feelings of empathy and understanding do.
Basically, these shows help you feel your feelings, and manage them. For me, this is also why I like a lot of dark and moody music, which weirdly makes me feel good.
posted by skewed at 8:15 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Basically, these shows help you feel your feelings, and manage them. For me, this is also why I like a lot of dark and moody music, which weirdly makes me feel good.
posted by skewed at 8:15 PM on February 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I 100% feel your bafflement, because I am also a person who asks “why would I find this dystopian future hell entertaining, when it is idiomatic of our present hell?” when browsing the trending medias. But then I remember that any number of people I consider smart and fun and intellectually rigorous also love the whole weird enchilada of pro wrestling, which I similarly abhor. People like what they like. All of the foregoing is totally valid, but also you’re not wrong.
posted by mumkin at 9:12 PM on February 28, 2021
posted by mumkin at 9:12 PM on February 28, 2021
Outlander, and The Handmaid's Tale
I think these are really different shows. Outlander is very engaging, in that it has lots of characters and follows them over years (decades, even), and so it has a nice "what happens next?" quality and cliffhangers. But while it might be about upheaval, that upheaval (the 45, later American conflicts) is utterly divorced from our current reality and problems. I would say it isn't a political show, but a family drama against a historical backdrop (and with a fair bit of fish-out-of-water bits) - and more like Game of Thrones than The Wire. It's a fantasy (literally).
I'm less familiar with The Handmaid's Tale tv show, but I've read the book (many times) - and it's both more political and more related to contemporary issues than Outlander.
I don't know if there is much overlap in the watching audience - I've watched Outlander and the other shows I might describe as having a similar "feel" would be things like Carnival Row or Frankenstein Chronicles - all of which are both historical and fantasy - lots of drama and catharsis and utterly unlike anything I actually experience. And among the people I know who have watched/read Outlander, they are more likely to have moved onto Bridgerton (again historical, albeit much lighter in tone).
posted by jb at 9:09 AM on March 1, 2021
I think these are really different shows. Outlander is very engaging, in that it has lots of characters and follows them over years (decades, even), and so it has a nice "what happens next?" quality and cliffhangers. But while it might be about upheaval, that upheaval (the 45, later American conflicts) is utterly divorced from our current reality and problems. I would say it isn't a political show, but a family drama against a historical backdrop (and with a fair bit of fish-out-of-water bits) - and more like Game of Thrones than The Wire. It's a fantasy (literally).
I'm less familiar with The Handmaid's Tale tv show, but I've read the book (many times) - and it's both more political and more related to contemporary issues than Outlander.
I don't know if there is much overlap in the watching audience - I've watched Outlander and the other shows I might describe as having a similar "feel" would be things like Carnival Row or Frankenstein Chronicles - all of which are both historical and fantasy - lots of drama and catharsis and utterly unlike anything I actually experience. And among the people I know who have watched/read Outlander, they are more likely to have moved onto Bridgerton (again historical, albeit much lighter in tone).
posted by jb at 9:09 AM on March 1, 2021
This thread is closed to new comments.
Obviously this is just my opinion, but I've been watching dark international crime series almost non stop this pandemic.
posted by larthegreat at 1:57 PM on February 28, 2021 [2 favorites]