Comic Books: Fictional or Factual?
When we think of fiction, we think of a made up story, something that isn’t real, it only exists in the mind of the writer. However, where do you think the writers get their ideas from? They base them on their real life experiences and people they have met, or possibly themselves; the inspiration needs to come from somewhere. At the end of the day, fiction is just exaggerated truth.
The main example I want to make is comic books. Obviously the idea of superpowers, villains and world domination isn’t real, or is it? It may not appear in your everyday life as it appears in the comic books themselves, but there are characters in the world who can associate with these roles; showing this fictional world to be an exaggerated version of reality.
A personal favourite of mine is Spider-Man; I was able to relate to the character when I was a kid because I was also quiet, shy and bullied in school. As a result, I would always incorporate the story into my real life as a coping mechanism (and to make my school experience a bit more interesting). It was through this that I realised maybe these stories aren’t so far from the truth as we think. Every kid that is bullied at school usually suffers this ridicule because they are “different”. What comes along next? An incident which changes their lives forever and gifts them with abilities beyond anyone’s strength or understanding. Well, in reality we don’t need any lab experiments gone wrong, alien contact or a radioactive spider bite, we discover our abilities.
When we are weak in some areas, we become stronger in others. Therefore, when we read comic books, do we love them for their use of escapism? Or because we find solutions in them? Resonating with a character creates a strong emotional connection, which in return, will fuel your imagination and change your perspective on life.
Another example we can take is the X-Men. I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase the kids in school that were sent to the special needs department are “stupid”, they were in the “dumb class” and everybody else was above you. If you think about it, this scenario isn’t so different to the story X-Men; the characters were “different” and people didn’t understand them, so they were labelled as “freaks”. Therefore, they were sent to a special school for others who were just like them. The overall message the these outcasts or “special” people are here for a reason, we might feel pushed aside but we are capable of more than we realise.
If you think about it, aren’t all the best creative and intellectual minds in history misunderstood? Vincent Van Gogh is considered a misunderstood genius. Unfortunately, it took us years to recognise his talent and the way his mind worked. There’s a reason why we still discuss him to this day — he made his mark on the world when he had the chance.
Everybody with a creative mind or a wild imagination has the same power.
We are all superheroes. The world we face can be evil and scary. The villains can be those who hold you back, they can even be the mental barriers that we all have. We may feel invisible at times, but we are the ones who can make the biggest impact as a result of this. We can help people on a daily basis if we take our chances, be more courageous and learn to use our powers in the right way. Lives can be saved through art.
So, maybe this secret world of superheroes isn’t all made up after all. This world is real, the only difference is it exists in our minds, for those who understand it and connect to it. The decision on how you will use this power is down to you.
