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Re: JIN-ROH and LoTR

me:
<<  If I may interject one thing here. I would say the idea that naming 
 >anything
 >that takes you outside yourself as *escapist*  is a misnomer.
 
matt:
 >Okay, but why?  I mean, I agree if we are talking about the astral plane or 
 out of body experiences, but we are not.  ;-)  So, please elaborate.

I see  we're defining escapism differently.
I think escapism means not only doing something to take you out of yourself 
or forget life for a while (if that was all it meant then as I said, all art, 
and religion too for that matter, would have to be seen as escapist) but it 
means, more specifically, doing something to avoid the responsibilities and 
the pains of the real world.  
    Movies and other art forms are created in order for people to *get 
something out of*, to make life richer, to enter in and celebrate life more, 
just the opposite of escapism.  I would apply escapism more to a person than 
to any piece of art I guess...  Sure, you may have some people who use art in 
that matter but that's not what it's meant for.

Me:
 Isn't that
 >pretty much the object of all art?  To carry you outside of yourself into
 >something *other* for a while.  Is all art escapist?
Matt:
 While I see your point, I tend to believe it is to a degree.  More or less.  
 I think we create or partake of art to "escpae" the pain of everyday 
 existence in a constructive or intellectual manner. 

 I see art as taking a more active role in our lives.  It's the colors we 
paint by so to speak.  We communicate our thoughts and emotions with it, we 
praise man and God with it.  It accompanies us while we work and play, rock 
our babies and teach our children.  It's an integral part of reality and 
can't be separated from it.  It's part of what defines life.  Far from being 
a way from escaping the world, it's the way we interact with the world. 


 <Major clipping to get to Matt's major point>

>>Matt
 Really, Kev (may I call you that?), I find escaping from reality very easy.  
 Perhaps I'm just simple-minded?  I could look at those swinging ball things 
 on a desktop and get lost in the perpetual motion.  I'm like a cat in that 
 regard.
 
Sure you can Matt.  I understand where you're coming from and looking at it 
from your POV I'm in the same boat you are. I can zombie out on a movie very 
easily, I'm not saying I can't - I can get downright lethargic sometimes, but 
that's a *part of life*, we're not on top of our game all the time,  but the 
only time I would call watching a movie, from cartoons to classics, escapism 
is if I'm in a particular frame of mind where I'm actually running away from 
some responsibility or pain and don't want to think about it.  Anything can 
be used that way but that's not what art is, that's an abuse of it.
 
kevin
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