Identifying the Real Fantasy World.

Whenever I finish watching a James Bond film (tonight it was Quantum of Solace) I always feel a bit silly. That’s because I wonder how I mostly managed to be taken in by it when I’m usually taken in by very little. And the realisation gradually returns to me that the business of the world turns largely on the little lives of mostly ordinary people, and not on the frantic posturing of power-obsessed villains, murderous henchmen, and emotionally fractured anti-heroes, all of whom can disappear into the maelstrom of a plot hole and emerge unscathed while we pretend that we haven’t noticed.

It’s just harmless escapism, you might argue. I know, but doesn’t this illustrate a broader principle – the question of what life is increasingly about in the modern developed world, where the system feeds us fantasy after fantasy on various levels instead of concentrating on deeper values with a view to progressing as a species? You only have to watch a few TV ads to realise that. It’s why I never do.

Meanwhile, in my own little world I create my own fantasies rather than swallowing the ones the rich and powerful dream purveyors try to feed me. Mine seem so much more real, but they come at a price. Maybe more on that another time. It’s much too late in the day to get too serious.