‘What Happens Next?’: Can Escapism Be Good for Us?

Feeling guilty about your secret fondness for Married at First Sight? Don’t be – whether through television, books, games, films or music, escapism serves as a crucial element of the human experience.

Monash University's What Happens Next? podcast, hosted by Dr Susan Carland, returns this week with part two of its series on escapism. Often trivialised – and sometimes demonised – escaping into our favourite pop culture outlet provides us with a necessary break from the hustle and bustle of daily life. It even has the power to renew and rejuvenate.

On today’s episode, expert guests explore different forms of escapism, from pseudo-nostalgia, to live action role-playing and video games, to reality TV.

Listen: What Are We Trying to Escape?

Case Western Reserve University’s Professor Michael W Clune makes a vital distinction between healthy escapism and addiction. Done right, participating in escapist activities enables us to leave our habitual mindsets behind and access new perspectives. In contrast, addiction reduces the experience to mere dopamine hits.

For Michael, escapism is “a kind of spiritual hygiene” due to its ability to reframe our thoughts and reset our patterns of behaviour.

Associate Professor Davide Orazi, from Monash Business School, explains the appeal of pseudo-nostalgia – longing for a time or place that never existed – and escapist activities such as live action role-playing, popularised in television shows such as Westworld.

His research and personal experiences show that these activities can serve as a valuable outlet for individuals to break away from the routine, have novel experiences and even acquire new skills, all contributing to their overall wellbeing.

Author and cultural critic Dr Clem Bastow discusses the ways we can use escapism to explore versions of ourselves through fictional characters.

While modern society often pushes us to monetise our hobbies, Clem stresses the importance of embracing activities that aren’t financially profitable, but bring joy and relaxation.

Dr Whitney Monaghan, a lecturer of film and screen studies in Monash’s School of Media, Film and Journalism, argues that we bring our full selves, experiences, and realities into our interactions with media. Are we really escaping anything after all?

“People's memory of the pandemic is going to be sitting down and watching Tiger King and posting Tiger King memes, which is incredible. And ... because we were in lockdown, those that were staying at home and binge-watching were doing a civic duty. I think that's a pretty interesting form of reframing our thinking about how we engage with media.” - Dr Whitney Monaghan

What Happens Next? will be back next week with the penultimate episode of season eight. Don’t miss a moment – subscribe now on your favourite podcast app.

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