Escapist fiction is fiction that provides escapism by immersing readers in a "new world" created by the author.[1] This "new world" aims to compensate for the arbitrariness and the unpredictability of the real one.[1] Typically, an author of escapist fiction offers structure, rationality and resolution to real world problems throughout their medium.[1] The genre facilitates mentalisation; that is, escapist fiction encourages psychological engagement from the reader.[1] Escapist fiction is often contrasted with realism, which confronts the reader with the harsh reality of war, disease, family dysfunction, crime, foreclosure, death, etc.[2] It encompasses a number of different genres within it; any fiction that immerses the reader into a world different from their own is fundamentally escapist fiction.[3] Escapist literature aims to give readers imaginative entertainment rather than to address contemporary issues and provoke serious and critical thoughts.[4]
Historically, the arts, and literature in particular, have been acknowledged for its ability to distract readers from the hardships of reality. During the Great Depression, readers turned to escapist fiction as it provided them a mental escape from the bleakness of the economy during that period of time.[5] Fiction books and novels were an affordable and easy means for readers to escape into another world, so people used escapist fiction to provide them with a temporary psychological escape from the realities of their world.[5]
Labelling a work "escapist fiction" can be to minimise it. Those who defend works described as escapist either assert that they are not escapist—for example, that a science fiction novel's satiric aspects address real life—or defend the notion of "escape" as such, not "escapism"—as J. R. R. Tolkien does in his "On Fairy-Stories" and C. S. Lewis's quotation, in his "On Science Fiction" of Tolkien's question of who would be most hostile to the idea of escape, and his answer: jailers.
Genres that can include elements of escapist fiction include:
Bodice rippers/Romance novels
Detective novels
Fantasy fiction
Horror fiction
Pulp fiction
Science fiction
Spy novels
Thrillers
Action/Adventure fiction
^ abcdGalgut, E. (2019). Literary Form and Mentalization. In The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Psychoanalysis (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198789703.013.30
^Crossen, C. (2012). Escapist Fiction. The Wall Street Journal. Eastern Edition.
^MasterClass. (2021). What is Speculative Fiction? Defining and Understanding the Different Genres of Speculative Fiction.
^Hasa. (2016). What Is Escapist Literature. Pediaa.com.
^ abCappello, M. (2017). How We Escape It: An Essay. JSTOR Daily.
Escapistfiction is fiction that provides escapism by immersing readers in a "new world" created by the author. This "new world" aims to compensate for...
Escapist may refer to: Escapist, a person engaged in the act of escapism Escapistfiction The Escapists, novel by Alexander Fullerton 1972 The Escapist...
Peter Pan syndrome Quixotism Self-deception Utopianism Wanderlust Escapistfiction Workman, Leslie J. (1994). Medievalism in Europe. Boydell & Brewer...
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to SF or sci-fi) is a genre of speculative fiction, which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts...
Escapist Dream is a science fiction novel written by Louis Bulaong and published on July 26, 2020. The novel is set in a near future where virtual reality...
of a work of fiction List of genres With reference to literature Escapistfiction – Genre of fiction Fantasy – Genre of speculative fiction Isekai – Speculative...
Bulaong (born 1996) is a Filipino writer best known for his science fiction novels Escapist Dream and Otaku Girl. Born in Tacloban City, Philippines, Bulaong...
The uncertainty resulted in the widespread popularity of fantastical escapistfiction. Swashbuckling adventures and the safe scares of the Universal Classic...
historical or futuristic settings, and many fans consider the genre to be escapistfiction. Homophobia, when it is presented as an issue at all, is used as a...
2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015. Yanofsky, Joel (December 9, 2000). "Escapistfiction: Old-fashioned storytelling with a Houdini-like hero". Montreal Gazette...
Greatest Hits Collection | Reviews | The Escapist". Escapistmagazine.com. The Greenwood encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy : themes, works, and wonders...
and Their Plausibility". The Escapist. 2014-06-18. Retrieved 2021-09-03. "Media : Lost in Space : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". www.sf-encyclopedia...
genre. Wuxia fiction, another popular genre of Chinese escapistfiction Link, Perry (1981). Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies: Popular Fiction in Early Twentieth...
Virtual reality in fiction describes fictional representations of the technological concept of virtual reality. Many science fiction books and films have...
2015. "Cosplaying With A Disability Is Awesome | Cosplay Dossier | The Escapist". Escapistmagazine.com. 29 September 2015. Archived from the original on...
its initial year, the ghetto library lent 100,000 books, mostly of escapistfiction to relieve the suffering of the ghetto residents. The Vilnius ghetto...
the different areas of the Escapist Dream, such as Stan City, the place inspired by American comic book and superhero fiction; Otaku Academy, a place inspired...
Science-fiction and fantasy magazines began to be published in the United States in the 1920s. Stories with science-fiction themes had been appearing...
examples of climate change fiction as The Swarm and The Day After Tomorrow—also noting that "Ecofiction rarely fares well in escapist Hollywood." [Ibid. p. 92...
Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, is software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence...
Pop culture fiction is a genre of fiction where stories are written intentionally to be filled with references from other works and media. Stories in...
November 2016. Mary Stewart Novels blogspot "Why shouldn't one write "escapist" fiction? by Mary Stewart". The Australian Author. 9 (1 - January 1977). About...
the educational possibilities of science fiction than Sloane had been. He wanted the magazine to provide escapist entertainment, and had no interest in scientific...
a badly dressed guy and girl locked in an embrace". As a form of "escapistfiction" (escapism) and "commercial literature", Tagalog romance novels generally...
Global Information
Literature portal