Reality VS Escapism

Secretly, deep down at the bottom of our souls, we thrill and quiver at the sight of destruction. The human eye is lustful; it craves the novel, the unusual, the spectacular. Probe the dark recesses of the internet and you'll uncover the rotten underbelly of humanity; the entire gamut of depravity there for all to see. Reality, however grim, holds a perverse yet undeniably mass appeal.

You'd think I'd be surprised then that a movie trailer for Super 8 has topped Twitter's trending topics, even in the midst of one of Japan's biggest natural disasters. Surely all those live news feeds depicting graphic images of epic destruction would be enough to push it to the very top?

But no. JJ Abrams' movie takes pole position. Why? Because however much the grim realities of life might fascinate and compel us, escapism is always the preferable option. Get the fuck out of dodge, away from all the bullshit and hate. After all, "the best stories in the world are but one story in reality - the story of escape. It is the only thing which interests us all and at all times, how to escape." (Walter Bagehot).

Let us escape, if only for a while.