Does Realism Belong in Escapism?

I’d presume, that for most of us, MLP is an outlet of escapism. It’s a way to get out of life and take solace in something more colorful, something that appears to have a better condition of life and other various things.

Therefore, FiMFiction can also serve as an outlet for escapism. There’s no shortage of fluff stories on this site, hell, one could argue that clop is also a form of escapism. I know plenty, because I’ve written fluffy nonsense before, stuff like Orion and Zephyrina/Zipp.

Now, there is nothing wrong with fluffy stories.

However, there is also another style of story. Those are the real nitty-gritty stories that hold an uncomfortable amount of realism in them. Things like Diary of a Young Griff which is so dark you can practically hear the Locrian mode as background music.

Now, such an uncomfortable amount of realism might kill the escapism that FiMFiction is supposed to be. What if you want to read about fluffy ponies and instead get a story discussing the stigma around AIDS in the 80’s, or a story that laments and drives the point that slavery still exists and is really bad?

Escapism is supposed to free someone from the problems of the real world, not remind somebody that the real world problems exist, because someone likely knows that these real-world problems exist already.

I can see someone looking at the examples I cited (both real examples, Killing All the Right Ponies and Diary of a Young Griff respectively) and say, “Well, those issues warrant discussion, don’t they? They’re still serious issues.”

They are.

That’s why I want to make an argument for realism in stories.

While yes, people are fully aware these problems exist, and turn to escapism to free themselves, I see fanfiction as more of an art form. As such, I feel like fanfiction can touch on real-world issues. They can create a discussion, a leaping off point. Fanfiction is still literature, and can do the same things literature does.

I think one of the strongest points about fanfiction is its ability to take those issues and apply them to a different locale, with creative ways to explain these problems.

Now of course, you don’t want to read a book and have the book be a 150-page filibuster on racism being bad. However, a book can get that message through in unique ways. Just look at the G5 movie, for instance, a lot of people really liked that one.

This is not to say that all stories should be gritty and realistic. There are genuine times where I just want fluffy stories. However, I do think that realism has its place in escapism sometimes. It can foster a discussion about a story and the real-world problems it’s about, and connect people through those problems.

So while yes, escapism is perfectly reasonable, I feel like realism has its place, too.

And until next time; be awesome!
-Dashie