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more about #gerardjones bubbagrump: Thom Disch was a God. more » jfpierce: I know this has been touched on by other commenters, but going by LeGuin's definition, Brazil is about as far from escapism as is possible, and is pra... more » Ricky Cruz: Wow. Been entertained reading the entire discussion and eventhough I disagree with some of the posters, the level of civil discourse on this thread... more » Peppermint_m: Art is anything that takes your mind and lets it soar. Escapism is letting reality go hang and enjoying yourself for a while.I see art in cloud forms ... more » Pinkhamster: The notion that escapism has to defend itself against elitist academic snobs is seriously out of date. We live in a world where my college did a year... more » Pinkhamster: Camus wrote in "Myth of Sisyphus:" "One always finds one's burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises ro... more » Pinkhamster: Escapism is not the highest art. You're fairly certain of getting a wildly positive response to such a thesis by posting it on a pop culture blog tha... more » Briareosdx: Interesting article. It seems to me that the crux of the matter is one of changing the meaning of the term "escapist" from a pejorative used to dism... more » gods-n-clods: Brilliant article. It makes me consider the appeal of escapism contrasted to the theory that the right brain (unconscious) cannot tell the difference ... more » Jeremy Tapsell: I like the article, and it is these kind of dialogues that keep me coming back to io9, so bravo CJ. I would argue that Escapism itself is in fact In... more » ArthurByronCover: Could just be me, but I think there are a lot of false dilemmas in this discussion (though truth to tell, I've wrestled with the same question forever... more » braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.: Oh, wait. I see what you did here. You just redefined "escapist" to mean "about escaping." (or, possibly "imaginative") Which, you know, fine, I g... more » Seviche: I never try to define why I like what I like. Nor do I try to define why others like what they like. It takes all the fun out and also makes you look ... more » nicolaz: To paraphrase Tolkien: those most likely to be upset by the notion of escape are the jailers. What are the gatekeepers afraid of? Nicola Griffith more » Mortimer Gray: "...we live in a world that's changing so quickly, that any attempt at pure realism will become historicism instead." Okay, so you're kinda paraphras... more » vanderworld: Look down on escapism? Hardly. We worship it today--it's what allows most North Americans to get through the week. The problem isn't that we look down... more » Pope John Peeps II: Think about that old literary standby, the "coming of age" narrative — it is the most pure escapist story you can have, even if it doesn't always ha... more » iskar: Tolkien's (in)famous article, "On Faerie Stories," is really the definitive dissertation on so-called escapist literature and its human value (not to ... more » Ricky Cruz: Awesome. What a way to start off the week! Definitely would have my vote for the 'must read' article on i09 so far. more » OW-Holmes:Bringer of Fear: So this means y'all wont make fun of me when I talk about how great the Twilight books are? Right? more » -
#rant
Escapism Is The Highest Form Of Art
Is escapism the enemy of smart science fiction? Are stories that let us escape reality always inconsequential fluff? That's what people argue — but the reverse is true. Escapism is a literary impulse, and escapist art is the highest art.
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