[ SECRET POST #3231 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3231 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 045 secrets from Secret Submission Post #462.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I would say that it's profoundly and consciously escapist - that's part of the basic DNA of the series.

But again there's no particular reason one ought to like that conceptually.

[dreemyweird]

Yeah, escapism in general tends to upset me a lot. It's my personal issue.

[(Anonymous)]

So do you just...not do fiction at all?

Genuine question. Most fiction has a kernel of escapism, after all.

[dreemyweird]

Well, having hopes and being able to ignore/not dwell upon some particularly depressing stuff is, to an extent, completely normal IRL. I wouldn't call that escapism. And there are plenty of works of fiction that don't go beyond that; or, if they do, they do so gently instead of taking a wild plunge off the denial cliff.

I just become upset when I see works whose whole essence is "I find this reality too bleak/too painful to put up with, so I'll go and make a completely different fictional world". Especially if they appear to be completely textually unaware of what's going on.

[(Anonymous)]

Especially if they appear to be completely textually unaware of what's going on.

That's certainly not the case with Doctor Who.

Arguably, making sure that Doctor Who is textually aware - even painfully so - of exactly that could be described as Steven Moffat's entire reason for being alive on this planet.

[dreemyweird]

It's not like he ever resolves this issue, though? I mean, it CAN'T be resolved precisely because the whole series is built on escapism. So it'll forever hang in this sort of depressing escapist limbo - until the Doctor dies for good, I guess.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, yeah, I agree that it's unresolvable, because again it's part of the basic structural DNA of the franchise. But it's also extremely aware of that and does a lot of stuff with it.

I'm not trying to convince you to watch the show or anything, just saying.

[dreemyweird]

No, that's fair, and you're right. Unresolved escapist self-awareness just isn't my cup of tea.

(I am a casual viewer of this series as it is, btw. I just don't think about it too hard and don't get into it beyond going "awww" at the friendshippy moments between Clara and the Doctor).

[(Anonymous)]

That honestly sounds more like something you're bringing to the text than something that's necessarily genuinely there. Disliking fantastical works is definitely your prerogative, but assuming they come from an inability to deal with the real world is a pretty bad faith and reductionist reading.

[dreemyweird]

I... don't dislike fantastical works at all? I love fantasy. I only dislike those whose premise is that something super magical happens to a regular person and thus makes their life interesting and full of adventure. I don't think it's a logical leap to assume that these plots are inherently escapist.

[(Anonymous)]

It kind of is. They can be escapist, definitely. But it's also a valid starting point for a story following the Hero's Journey, which isn't necessarily escapist at all, or a useful lens through which to show an alien world, or be wholly subverted when the hero realizes that they prefer an ordinary life where things don't want to torture and kill them.

It's an incredibly broad basic premise that can be executed in a lot of different ways, and dismissing them all as escapist twaddle is, again, pretty reductionist.

[dreemyweird]

Nope, I agree with this. I actually thought about wording my previous comment more clearly, but failed to do so. I have nothing against things like The Never-Ending Story, where the something magical that happens is only there because it aids the hero's self-exploration. Or, hell, against classics like A Trip to the Moon! I'm specifically wary of the stuff that introduces a spectacular magical event for no reason other than to make the hero's life -more interesting- or even plain better (the latter is not the case with DW, but I've definitely seen media like this).