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when reality clashes with fantasy
2021-May-30, Sunday 02:00 pmThese last few years have clearly taken a toll on my personality and emotional regulation.
I enjoy roleplaying games with group tactics, but I can't play Wasteland 3. I wrote previously that I intended to play the new release of this game, but the weapons are just too realistic. I hear them during the day and night. When I hear them in game, I realize that rather than lowering my stress level, this realism-in-gaming is increasing it instead. My gut starts to squeeze slightly nauseous. I don't like real world guns in my games. I hear them in real life here in the #WarzoneInMinneapolis. Earlier this month, I bought the Mass Effect trilogy on sale, but I ran into the same problem. The sounds stress me out.
I enjoy dystopian stories, but I can't watch Fahrenheit 451 on HBO. It's a good film, a nice adaptation of the classic story. I just can't stomach the gaslighting, though. We had 4 years of lies under President Trump, and I saw Republicans in Congress claim from one side of their mouth that the January 6th insurrection was carried out by Antifa and was similar to Black Lives Matter protests. You'd think they would want an investigation of it, since it supposedly involves their ideological opponents, right? Instead, from the other side of their mouth, they voted against any investigation, because they know the lies they tell would lead back to themselves and break their motivating spell of untruth. I got over halfway through the show on HBO Max when I started having to take breaks. I still haven't finished the show. There is simply too much realism in this dystopia, and my body can't take the stress it induces.
I enjoy horror movies, but I can't watch The Girl With All The Gifts on HBO. It's a very interesting version of the zombie apocalypse story. The justification it offers is unique and has different consequences than the usual zombie (even zombie-infection) plot. But like all zombie stories, it includes infected people hunting uninfected people. Our real world already includes people who threaten or ostracize other people who are trying hard to avoid infection. I had to take a break from the movie. I just can't tolerate that dynamic any more.
I like the fantasy of conflict where nobody actually dies. I dislike the reality where real harm and death are created. The two modes of experience are just too easily intertwined these days.
I enjoy roleplaying games with group tactics, but I can't play Wasteland 3. I wrote previously that I intended to play the new release of this game, but the weapons are just too realistic. I hear them during the day and night. When I hear them in game, I realize that rather than lowering my stress level, this realism-in-gaming is increasing it instead. My gut starts to squeeze slightly nauseous. I don't like real world guns in my games. I hear them in real life here in the #WarzoneInMinneapolis. Earlier this month, I bought the Mass Effect trilogy on sale, but I ran into the same problem. The sounds stress me out.
I enjoy dystopian stories, but I can't watch Fahrenheit 451 on HBO. It's a good film, a nice adaptation of the classic story. I just can't stomach the gaslighting, though. We had 4 years of lies under President Trump, and I saw Republicans in Congress claim from one side of their mouth that the January 6th insurrection was carried out by Antifa and was similar to Black Lives Matter protests. You'd think they would want an investigation of it, since it supposedly involves their ideological opponents, right? Instead, from the other side of their mouth, they voted against any investigation, because they know the lies they tell would lead back to themselves and break their motivating spell of untruth. I got over halfway through the show on HBO Max when I started having to take breaks. I still haven't finished the show. There is simply too much realism in this dystopia, and my body can't take the stress it induces.
I enjoy horror movies, but I can't watch The Girl With All The Gifts on HBO. It's a very interesting version of the zombie apocalypse story. The justification it offers is unique and has different consequences than the usual zombie (even zombie-infection) plot. But like all zombie stories, it includes infected people hunting uninfected people. Our real world already includes people who threaten or ostracize other people who are trying hard to avoid infection. I had to take a break from the movie. I just can't tolerate that dynamic any more.
I like the fantasy of conflict where nobody actually dies. I dislike the reality where real harm and death are created. The two modes of experience are just too easily intertwined these days.
"We sure could use a little good news today." (YouTube)