Down with the Fantistical

We just watched Nikita, a show about super spies. Other shows involve fairy tales, vampires, superheroes and a huge array of magical characters and settings. I can’t help but think that there are now more magical shows than ever before. It is as though, in this time of recession, unemployment, and general economic hopelessness the populace is delighted to fantasize about magical powers coming to their rescue. Augmenting the trend are electronic video games which allow a player to have magical powers, fight enemies and, using a combination of real military weapons and magical fantasy weapons to mow down armies of robotic zombies. Some TV shows start out built on plausible premises with engaging characters who win the audience with their human charms and faults. But most of those shows become more and more extreme in their externals—that is their outrageous plot lines and fantastical electronic tools. Their plots depend on events which, even when they could happen, are statistically improbable to the point of the absurd. In order to keep high ratings from initial success they drift away from their characters into amazing events which create momentary excitement but long term incredulity. There is even a term for taking the “fantastic” too far. It is called “jumping the shark” from a show where the hero avoided the jaws of a giant man-eating shark by jumping on its back and on to safety. It went beyond the incredible to the ridiculous. Why is all of this happening? It will be interesting to see if it calms down as the recession fades and the next economic boom takes hold. Escapism will be less of a temptation. But a second factor may be the ever increasing complexity or our world and our technology. As it becomes less and less possible for one person to master all aspects of a home computer it is tempting to throw up ones hands and think of technology as magic. And since progress in technology is not a trend likely to fade away, magical thinking may not disappear anytime soon either.