Why do we feel emotional attachments to fictional characters?

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I personally think it's something to do with that argument that everyone longs to be something other than themselves - bigger than themselves.

Why do we invest so much of ourselves emotionally into characters in literature, why do we 'root' for the good guy?

Are we reflecting our wants for a successful life onto those fictional characters, hoping that they succeed because you can empathize with them?

Or is it just a form of escapism? People don't want to deal with the harsh boring reality they are in and just indulge in another.

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@Olejniker,

Olejniker;72084 wrote:

I personally think it's something to do with that argument that everyone longs to be something other than themselves - bigger than themselves.

Why do we invest so much of ourselves emotionally into characters in literature, why do we 'root' for the good guy?

Are we reflecting our wants for a successful life onto those fictional characters, hoping that they succeed because you can empathize with them?

Or is it just a form of escapism? People don't want to deal with the harsh boring reality they are in and just indulge in another.

Hi,

I think there is something very subtle occurring as one connects and feels the character. Maybe it is within oneself? Maybe it is with the author? Maybe it is with the actor (if it is a play)? Emotions are not something that can be explained in any normal manner. They are there. But what are they?

Rich

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@Olejniker,

It's the empathic phenomenon. We can place ourselves vicariously in others, we can see ourselves in their shoes. In fact I've heard that acting teachers say that empathy is the most important quality for an actor to have, because they need to feel their character. A well-portrayed, realistically presented character will elicit the same responses we would have as with a real person in the same scenario.

That's one of the catharses of fiction. That you can rise and fall on the tides of fear, joy, love, revenge, anguish, but without your life being any worse for the experience.

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@Olejniker,

In a book for an example, we get to now the characters very well, so it's not so funny that we cry or feel sad when that person dies (I sometimes cries, hehe:shifty:). But since it's only fiction, and we don't get to know the same way we know "real" people, we don't get upset for long. And humans can feel empathy, so we can, gosh I don't know how to say this in english, live the part? Well, you get what I'm saying...

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@Aedes,

Aedes;72112 wrote:

It's the empathic phenomenon. We can place ourselves vicariously in others, we can see ourselves in their shoes. In fact I've heard that acting teachers say that empathy is the most important quality for an actor to have, because they need to feel their character. A well-portrayed, realistically presented character will elicit the same responses we would have as with a real person in the same scenario.

That's one of the catharses of fiction. That you can rise and fall on the tides of fear, joy, love, revenge, anguish, but without your life being any worse for the experience.

Do you ever get creeped out when you ar going along empathizing with a character and the s/he does something henous, but you have invested so much in them that you still pull for them?

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@Olejniker,

maybe its escaping from reliaty ,,,its also to express what we feel inside ,,what we wish to be but were are not able to do ,,maybe feeling that you want to meet this person with speaciall chractrsitc but you cannot find him in the real
for example : i wish to have friend who i can feel he/she will stand with me black and white days,,friend who i can trust ,,so i imagin inside my self that i have this person infron of me and i talk to him but he is of course fictional
as you said its reflect our want and mybe our needs

peace and blessing

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@Olejniker,

Empathy and identifying with a character in a story/film/art or any other event for that matter is nothing new. Identification via partial empathy is how norms are formed and identity shaped.

Before you ask about the phenomenon of identifying with the story's hero, ask about which character you identify with to begin with, and whether the story in itself, to begin with, is at all even palatable. Surely you can look into the nuances of the character you identify with only after this self-identification happens.

In many stories different people will often identify with different characters.. sometimes the anti-hero, and sometimes the invisible character, who for the reader, is the hero; this happens quite often when the viewer is against the themes and conclusions of the original author/producer.

In other words, we only root for the "good guy" because the hero itself is a reflection of us and our values, and we want our values to prevail. Even if the hero will commit heinous acts, we still either defend our hero against what we see as the immense evils of the adversary or we turn against the hero, or we forumlate a more 'moderate' form of the hero. It is not for no reason that movies and literature shape culture in very great ways.

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@Olejniker,

Olejniker;72084 wrote:

I personally think it's something to do with that argument that everyone longs to be something other than themselves - bigger than themselves.

Why do we invest so much of ourselves emotionally into characters in literature, why do we 'root' for the good guy?

Are we reflecting our wants for a successful life onto those fictional characters, hoping that they succeed because you can empathize with them?

Or is it just a form of escapism? People don't want to deal with the harsh boring reality they are in and just indulge in another.

Different people might have different reasons to feel emotional about fictional characters. From identification to catharsis and from cultural perspectives there is a whole range of interpreting fictional character emotionally. But there is always the "personal element" involved and this personal element also makes the character open to multiple interpretations. Normally there are some already defined conventions of good and bad or specific subject the writer or artists want the audience to feel empathy for. It depends upon the artistic touch which makes the character open to broader interpretations.

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@Arif phil,

AS for me, when I read about fictional charactors and feel emotional attachment, it's usually when for some reason I feel like I can identify with them.

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@Olejniker,

I think we feel attachment to characters mainly cause they have qualities that we possess or qualities that we respect, so we grow an emotional attachment to them and desire that they gain success.

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@GoshisDead,

GoshisDead;72259 wrote:

Do you ever get creeped out when you ar going along empathizing with a character and the s/he does something henous, but you have invested so much in them that you still pull for them?

yes, a lot of times. its sort of like if you have a really good friend and you love them alot. Even if they commit a murder, and you know its wrong, you will still do anything in your power to help them get out of it.

very scary how our minds work, eh

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Why do we feel emotional attachments to fictional characters?

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