Some things have changed since Dr. Karen E. Dill-Shackleford published her first edition of “How Fantasy Becomes Reality” in 2009 — but not too many. Superhero movies still dominate the box office, internet fans may have gotten a bit more belligerent — threatening film critics who would dare give their beloved franchise a bad review — and reality show stars are still recognizable celebrities (some are even setting their sights further than success on the small screen).
Perhaps one of the more unsettling events to happen since Dill-Shackleford revised her book — based on her Psychology Today column of the same name — was the 2012 Aurora shooting, sparking a debate on gun violence as well as the nature of violence depicted in movies and on TV. There are extremes on both sides of the debate — some arguing that shows corrupting our youth should be outright banned, and others protesting that their favorite shows have no effect on them. Neither side is right, as Dill-Shackleford’s book goes on to explain.
As a social psychologist and self-confessed pop culture fan, Dill-Shackleford has dedicated her life’s work to the impact media has had on humanity, for better or worse — a relationship that has been there since the beginning of time, or at least from the moment people figured out how to paint on the walls of caves.
In ancient Greece, tragedies were performed on stages, and were meant to arouse fear and pity from the spectators witnessing the suffering of fallen heroes. Philosophers like Aristotle thought that these performances could help society purge itself of pity and fear — that audiences would somehow not take the same course of action as those doomed protagonists they watched onstage did.
Now, it may be argued that our high-definition TVs have taken the role of the amphitheater, gathering us around after a long day at work to watch HBO’s latest drama. Things are a bit more complicated. Regardless whether we watch TV, we’re still inevitably exposed to modern media in some way or other: apps, internet discussion boards, even talk during breaks at work — all these various outlets do impact us, whether we like it or not or know it or not — something that began well before our current golden age of video streaming.
Dill-Shackleford references “Star Trek” and the progressive values that it promoted, which gradually made their way into modern society; she also mentions the regular controversy that breaks out nearly every time a movie or book explores characters of different ethnicities or genders.
Collectively, while we may never acknowledge it, the stories told in the media impact our lives. If this weren’t the case, it wouldn’t bother us so much when they get things wrong, or when they don’t promote the right things. The media seems less a barrage, or noise, and more a portal into the collective unconscious, projecting the motifs that move and inspire us all.
This article was first published in Brain World Magazine’s Summer 2016 issue.
Related Articles
- Brain World Bits: Where and How Often Do Americans Get Their News?
- Fooling Houdini: Magicians, Mentalists, Math Geeks, and the Hidden Powers of the Mind
- Google Wants to Know Your Brain (and Not Just Your Searches)
- Paradise Now! Humanity’s Quest for Utopia
- People Love Reality TV: Does It Affect How We Treat Each Other?
- Rewire Your Life: Looking Closely At Your Media Use
- Understanding Belief: Delving Into the Big Questions Behind “Big Gods”
