Amelia Vallejo 8AF
From an orphan that discovers that he’s a wizard to a group of dragons that stop a twenty-year-old war, fiction is a widely known genre in the entertainment industry. People of all ages enjoy it. But why is it so popular?
One of the main reasons the genre is so prominent is because of its versatility. The word “fiction” means something invented or untrue. Any work that comes from the creator’s imagination is considered fiction. For example, imagine you wrote a book about people falling in love; that would be fiction because you invented the story. But fiction can also talk about animals that go on an adventure in the jungle.
Another reason that makes fiction so popular is how the characters become more engaging than real-life characters; the creator’s ability to give the characters personalities that make them unique, but not too different from reality plays a big importance in making fiction so catchy. Relatable characters help the people reader to form a special bond that can make the person come back to see the rest of the character’s story. Relatable characters can also make people feel understood. Even if you don’t relate to any of the characters, you can still see the world differently through that character’s point of view. These factors can make the characters more appealing than someone that existed because people in real life rarely show all of their traits and make themselves less understandable.
Presenting a new approach to the world is also a reason for the genre’s popularity. Technology that is so advanced we can only dream of it, magical spells that can do everything from controlling a person’s mind to folding your socks. Demigods who battle mythological beasts. Any change to the world as we know it, for creating a better realm, is a way to immerse people in the story. It breaks the monotony of daily life and brings an escape from reality.
Fiction can also make you be thankful for reality as it is, even though it’s the complete opposite. You may not understand what I mean but let me put it in this context: A world that is in a nuclear war, everywhere you look, can only be described as destruction. In a scenario like this, it’s obvious why our world would be a better place to live. However, even in something like Harry Potter, it can make you be glad to have what you have. So, in a more engaging story, the characters will usually undergo tragedy, but as fun to read or watch as it can be, no one likes going through a hard time in their lives.
From versatility to relatable characters, fiction addresses the majority of needs a person is looking for when they want entertainment in a story. From people looking for horror movies to people wanting to read a good romance book, everyone can be happy with it, and because of this, fiction is as popular as it is.