escapism

n.
the tendency to escape from daily reality or routine by indulging in daydreaming, fantasy or entertainment.

n.

an inclination to or habit of retreating from unpleasant reality, as through diversion or fantasy.

Caught this very recently with my dear chums... although, the screening time was at an ungodly hour of 2300 (on a weekday, yes, that is considered too much for me..) i'd surprised even my best mates. well, what can i say? the adoration to all things weird and looney by Mr Burton ... and Mr Depp of course...


alas, this was a re-spinning of the tale, with a rather grown-up Alice, facing crossroads at her young life, of the Conventional vs. Bold & Daringness shitz... no prizes for guessing what she chose ultimately,... especially not after what she went through (dream or not) underneath the rabbit hole...

which is exactly that...

i'd just finished reading this fantasy too ... Neverwhere by a Mr Neil Gaiman.

touted as "A Dark Contemporary Alice In Wonderland", true to the core, it is all about escapism. at least, that is how i chose to see it.

somehow or rather, these protagonists come to a crossroad in life, or worse, they come to a standstill in life. rather dull and lifeless, eventless and unexcited... they find themselves encountering these weird and unbelievable situations where they turn into some reluctant heroes. and after all those impossible feats, Voila~! they emerge someone with renewed assurance of themselves.

in reality, as in non-fiction world, these would be sad cases of people gone cuckoo. bonkers. wouldnt it be a tad extreme, for someone to have to go through all these fantasies, in order to convince themselves that the world simply do not wait for them?

well then i guess, these tales, they are but just lighter ways to make people see just that.

hmm, reading too, is a form of escapism i guess. and so are movies, concerts, simply doing something different.. entertaining.

afterall, where do you find so many rabbit holes around anymore?

***

but just a note though, on comparison; Alice walked away from underland, and embarked to cross continents.

Richard Mayhew (of Neverwhere) eventually achieved what he thought he wanted to achieve in London Above, only to find himself so empty and it all so pointless, preferring instead to walk back to the Underside.

"So life isn't exciting?" ... "Great. Give me boredom. At least I know where I'm going to eat and sleep tonight. I'll still have a job on Monday. Yeah?" ...

~pg.366

on the left: Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. think Jungle Book, only in a graveyard, 'stead of a jungle.

another itch scratched...