Obviously, I’m a big fan of reality and reason or I wouldn’t opine so much about them. No matter how committed I am, though, there are times when I suspend both. You likely do to. That’s alright for both of us.
In his book On Writing, author Stephen King explained that whenever a reader picks up written material he or she enters into an unconscious transaction: he or she will read the writer’s words and, within their mind, imagine or picture what the writer describes. Absent a vastly detailed description of a person, for example, each individual reader will picture a person differently than other readers do. We don’t think about any of that consciously, it just happens. Other such unconscious processes happen within most of us too.
When we read or watch a fictional story, as long as the story makes some sense and is portrayed credibly (in the case of a movie or television show), we suspend our disbelief. To a degree, we put aside our obvious realization that the characters we read about do not exist, or the characters we watch are portrayed by actors. When we see something happen on screen, we somewhat believe it is happening even though we know on another level that it is not happening. When we see someone killed in a movie, we know that a combination of special effects and acting portray something that isn’t actually happening. We want something like a killing to appear real but need to know that the killing is not real otherwise most people would be horrified.
On a less ominous note, Thorton Wilder’s play Our Town is often staged with an almost empty set where two A-frame ladders stand in for neighbouring houses. The actors emulate being in upstairs bedrooms by sitting atop the ladders, their dialogue approximating that which would go between bedroom windows or downstairs to other actors on stage level. Despite the lack of a realistic set, and provided the acting is done well, the story is compelling and very human. For over a century, audiences have enjoyed this minimalist approach, maybe because they appreciate how much is achieved by so little. Arguably, it would be difficult for the audience to enjoy the dialogue if a more cumbersome set was used.
Suspending disbelief is usually a healthy, normal, subconscious process most people do. It allows us to enjoy all manner of entertainment even while keeping a grasp on reality. One need not lose all reality even while they suspend some of it. You needn’t take my word for any of this. Your own experiences are proof enough. There is another unconscious process that some of us undertake, certainly me.
I wrote in a previous post, on bias, about my support for Netherlands football (soccer) since I was a child. Similarly and to various extents, I watch and cheer for the Toronto Blue Jays, Vancouver Canucks, and Seattle Seahawks, all owing to where I live or where I grew up. When I watch these teams I feel for them, I feel better when they win, I sometimes get tense when things don’t go well for them, and I buy into the unscripted drama that are most sports at any level. But why? Why does it matter?
Looking at this reasonably with a firm grip on reality, it doesn’t matter. Sure, a playoff run has some short term economic benefits for a relatively small group of people but I’m not thinking dollars and cents when I buy into sports dramas, and usually without any alcohol whatsoever. I do this because I suspend some degree of reason, as if the commitment athletes make to their own success matters in my life. It doesn’t. Provided I don’t go on a rampage afterwards, like thousands of drunken idiots did in my former hometown when the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup in 2011, there is no harm and no foul.
I suspect that far fewer people suspend reason than suspend disbelief, yet the unconscious processes involved in each may be similar, similarly healthy, what makes us more human and probably a lot more fun. In The Full Scoop on BS and a previous post on this blog, I cautioned against buying into absolutes. Consistent with that caution, even absolute believability and absolute reason are a detriment. There are times to put either or both in a box. We simply need to make sure not to lock that box.