Humans do this quirky thing when faced with a story. They willfully suspend their disbelief. I'm exceptionally good at it, and it makes me wonder if it's a trait of writers.
It's pretty important to fiction writers. And critical to readers if they're going to be entertained. So... what is "suspension of disbelief"?
I like this definition, written by Dr. Wheeler of Carson-Newman University:
" Temporarily
and willingly setting aside our beliefs about reality in order
to enjoy the make-believe of a play, a poem, film, or a story.
Perfectly intelligent readers can enjoy tall-tales about Pecos
Bill roping a whirlwind, or vampires invading a small town in
Maine, or frightening alternative histories in which Hitler
wins World War II, without being "gullible" or "childish."
To do so, however, the audience members must set aside their
sense of "what's real" for the duration of the play,
or the movie, or the book."
And on this page, Dictionary.com , it's defined: "a willingness to suspend one's critical faculties and believe the unbelievable; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment"
It takes this to enjoy a series like "Twilight" even while knowing that sparkly vampires aren't real. And in the Wizard of Oz, we know that the flying monkeys aren't real, but they've been terrifying viewers for decades.
It allows the reader/listener/viewer to step away from reality, and "play along" with the proffered fiction.
What makes it work? I'll give you my guess, based on being a reader, and a viewer. I have to relate to the characters. Even if they're aliens, there has to be some characterization that is a hopelessly human. For a book or a movie, if I'm not emotionally invested, it doesn't matter how fantastic the world-building is. It doesn't matter how wild the plot is. I need to feel the story through the emotions of the characters.
One last note. I'm the audience the studios look for. I get so deep in suspension that when the movie's over, I feel disoriented. I'll step outside and be shocked that it's still daylight--that it must be later because I was in the movie's fictional world for so long. I won't know which way to turn for the exit--I've lost track of which side of the cinema I'm in.
Please tell me that someone else does that too... :-)
No worries - I do that, too! :) Fantastic post. My stories are such a part of me, sometimes it really is hard to remember that the characters don't live and breathe - but they do in my heart. And if they come alive in other hearts, that's enough. :) Love it.
ReplyDeleteWhere Legends Begin
Thanks, Bonnie! I'm glad you experience your stories on such a deep level! :-)
DeleteYeah I do that too - more so with books
ReplyDeleteMy fav thing is in a story when the characters don’t suspend belief and think that this world they’re involved in can’t possibly be real. I yell at them - don’t you read any paranormal or fantasy books??!! yes the characters have to be real. In screen writing it’s called authenticity. To make something believable within the confines of the world
Yep. And I'm a fan of stories where characters must grasp they are part of a fictional world. A turnabout. :-) Thanks for visiting, Susan. :-)
DeleteYes me too. but it can be problem when watching thrillers … I can't pull out of the story and it stays with me in my dreams … But there's nothing to beat a good, well told story, whether on film or on paper, where the characters become like your best friends and you don't want to say goodbye to them. I end up reading the last pages more slowly to savour the last minutes with them :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
Fil
Oh no! Thrillers would be a problem, for sure, Fil. I read the ends of books more slowly, too. :-) Thanks for visiting.
DeleteYup, I love getting lost in a movie or a book...I can easily suspend my disbelief...I think it's harder for me to believe magic doesn't really exist!
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yes, Millie. I think it exists, types of it exist for sure. :-) Thanks for visiting.:-)
DeleteI'm the same way too. Going to movies during the day can be so absolutely disorienting! But I do the same thing with books too. I've lost entire nights in the pages of a good book.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
David
http://towerofthearchmage.blogspot.com/
Yep, the daytime movies get me pretty often. lol. Thanks for helping me realize I'm not a complete goof. :-)
DeleteTo suspend disbelief in a historical, the situation or event has to be within the realm of plausibility, and the writer must provide a believable explanation for why this happened. Say, a woman in 1810 getting a higher education, a 12-year-old surviving a death camp, an entire family of slaves successfully escaping and making it to the North. Even if something rarely happened, at least give us a reason to believe it could've happened in that particular instance, with conditions coming together in just the right way.
ReplyDeleteYep, completely agree, Carrie-Anne. It's strange but true, I think, that an audience will more readily accept the impossible than accept the implausible. :-) Thanks for visiting.
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