The Suspension of Disbelief...
Posted: Sat Apr 14, 2012 10:42 amThe suspension of disbelief is a truly wonderful thing, it is what enables us to identify with, and care for, the diverse range of characters that appear in the vast number of stories that we engage with throughout our lives. As I child I loved listening to the stories my parents read to me at bed time, and my love of stories has never diminished. I like the escapism of the created world and the ability to experience the emotions attached to a situation from the safety of the pages in a book. I like both fiction and factual stories, because at the end of the day they are both about people and what it means to be human.
The suspension of disbelief enables us to visit alien worlds, times outside of our own existence, and situations that we would never encounter, and it enables us to believe and identify with the characters that we are experiencing it through. We may not know what it is like to be on the bridge of a starship, but we can identify with the character’s fear, joy, excitement etc, and through these emotions we gain entry into this fantastical world.
Identification with a character is not something that can be assumed, it has to be developed and nurtured, it’s not unlike the development of a friendship. If the story is to be told to a large audience then the story teller will often use something guaranteed to be shared by the majority, such as the experience of ‘loss’ or ‘injustice’ for example. If the story is being told to a friend around the campfire then the ‘hook’ can be so much more personal.
Paul Schatzkin’s father suffered and died from Multiple Myeloma, which is an illness that Morgan told Paul that he suffered from, and that nearly killed him in 1987. Both would have strong emotions attached to that illness, and through that it is quite understandable that the two men might have developed a bond.
In the story of Dr. Brown it was Mr. Twigsnapper’s character I took to most, after all what is not to like about this the Irish, saxophone playing, horse loving, British spy? I have had no experience that would even come close to what it would have been like as part of the passage crew on a Midget Submarine in 1943, but I can relate to the emotions those crews must have felt and I can’t help feeling admiration for anyone who was involved. This character also has the ability, just like Jason Bourne, to protect himself against a better armed assailant, with nothing more that a rolled up newspaper and his instincts.
When does a slight embellishment become a lie and at what point does fact sprinkled with supposition become fiction? I’d always had a nagging doubt about some of the stories presented by Mr Twigsnapper and Mr. Barrett (Morgan), but how could a group of internet forum members, who seemed quite intelligent, rational and not ready to jump off the deep end, be convinced of the story and be bringing parts of the missing pieces to the table if it were not true?
Well, it became a little clearer on 10th February when I became aware of punctuation traits shared by Mr. Twigsnapper, James Barrett, Lady Grady, Victoria Steele, Grinder, Madison, Mark Culpepper, Lisa Culpepper, Elizabeth Helen Drake… Was I disappointed? Yeah, I felt like a fool, what are the odds that all these key people would share the same punctuation traits in their messages? The rational conclusion is that they all originated from the same source. I posted my findings on 2nd March and it was suggested that all these people were using the punctuation as a code. Luckily one person was able to break the code and receive their hidden message!
Once the suspension of disbelief is created it needs to be maintained, and it is a delicate path to tread. It can easily be derailed by the sudden appearance of a microphone on the screen at the cinema, or a continuity error whereby the actor’s cigarette miraculously extends and contracts between shots. Once the illusion is shattered you are left seeing the construction from the outside rather than being immersed within it, and it looks quite different.
Now having these considerable doubts I’m left wondering:
What are the true facts?
What is educated guess work?
What is fiction?
…And also, why the deception?
For basic research it is desirable to be able to triangulate any fact, i.e. have three independent sources that corroborate it. The internet is a nightmare in some respects because you often cannot drill down to see where the source of the information originated. It is much better to have first-hand accounts, primary sources that can provide information. Luckily for Paul he had O’Riley (Mr. Twigsnapper), and Morgan (Mr. Barrett), two individuals at the heart of the ‘clandestine activities’ of Dr. Brown, who better to provide information on that aspect of his life? On the face of it we have two independent sources, but their forum posts show the same punctuation traits!
Telling and listening to stories, true or otherwise, is part of being human; we are interested in each other and are gifted with an imagination that enables us to escape and be entranced by a reality that is not our own. I think any story teller, in whatever medium, needs to remember to respect their audience. The audience is placing their trust in the story teller not to abuse them as they allow themselves to suspend their disbelief.
So yes I feel a fool, and I doubt I am alone in that feeling… but it was a fantastically entertaining story.
I’m reminded of the film ‘The Sting.’
Chris
The suspension of disbelief enables us to visit alien worlds, times outside of our own existence, and situations that we would never encounter, and it enables us to believe and identify with the characters that we are experiencing it through. We may not know what it is like to be on the bridge of a starship, but we can identify with the character’s fear, joy, excitement etc, and through these emotions we gain entry into this fantastical world.
Identification with a character is not something that can be assumed, it has to be developed and nurtured, it’s not unlike the development of a friendship. If the story is to be told to a large audience then the story teller will often use something guaranteed to be shared by the majority, such as the experience of ‘loss’ or ‘injustice’ for example. If the story is being told to a friend around the campfire then the ‘hook’ can be so much more personal.
Paul Schatzkin’s father suffered and died from Multiple Myeloma, which is an illness that Morgan told Paul that he suffered from, and that nearly killed him in 1987. Both would have strong emotions attached to that illness, and through that it is quite understandable that the two men might have developed a bond.
In the story of Dr. Brown it was Mr. Twigsnapper’s character I took to most, after all what is not to like about this the Irish, saxophone playing, horse loving, British spy? I have had no experience that would even come close to what it would have been like as part of the passage crew on a Midget Submarine in 1943, but I can relate to the emotions those crews must have felt and I can’t help feeling admiration for anyone who was involved. This character also has the ability, just like Jason Bourne, to protect himself against a better armed assailant, with nothing more that a rolled up newspaper and his instincts.
When does a slight embellishment become a lie and at what point does fact sprinkled with supposition become fiction? I’d always had a nagging doubt about some of the stories presented by Mr Twigsnapper and Mr. Barrett (Morgan), but how could a group of internet forum members, who seemed quite intelligent, rational and not ready to jump off the deep end, be convinced of the story and be bringing parts of the missing pieces to the table if it were not true?
Well, it became a little clearer on 10th February when I became aware of punctuation traits shared by Mr. Twigsnapper, James Barrett, Lady Grady, Victoria Steele, Grinder, Madison, Mark Culpepper, Lisa Culpepper, Elizabeth Helen Drake… Was I disappointed? Yeah, I felt like a fool, what are the odds that all these key people would share the same punctuation traits in their messages? The rational conclusion is that they all originated from the same source. I posted my findings on 2nd March and it was suggested that all these people were using the punctuation as a code. Luckily one person was able to break the code and receive their hidden message!
Once the suspension of disbelief is created it needs to be maintained, and it is a delicate path to tread. It can easily be derailed by the sudden appearance of a microphone on the screen at the cinema, or a continuity error whereby the actor’s cigarette miraculously extends and contracts between shots. Once the illusion is shattered you are left seeing the construction from the outside rather than being immersed within it, and it looks quite different.
Now having these considerable doubts I’m left wondering:
What are the true facts?
What is educated guess work?
What is fiction?
…And also, why the deception?
For basic research it is desirable to be able to triangulate any fact, i.e. have three independent sources that corroborate it. The internet is a nightmare in some respects because you often cannot drill down to see where the source of the information originated. It is much better to have first-hand accounts, primary sources that can provide information. Luckily for Paul he had O’Riley (Mr. Twigsnapper), and Morgan (Mr. Barrett), two individuals at the heart of the ‘clandestine activities’ of Dr. Brown, who better to provide information on that aspect of his life? On the face of it we have two independent sources, but their forum posts show the same punctuation traits!
Telling and listening to stories, true or otherwise, is part of being human; we are interested in each other and are gifted with an imagination that enables us to escape and be entranced by a reality that is not our own. I think any story teller, in whatever medium, needs to remember to respect their audience. The audience is placing their trust in the story teller not to abuse them as they allow themselves to suspend their disbelief.
So yes I feel a fool, and I doubt I am alone in that feeling… but it was a fantastically entertaining story.
I’m reminded of the film ‘The Sting.’
Chris