Escapism
By Ingrid Muñoz
It was about a year and a half ago when someone told me that actors are guilty of something called escapism. I didn't know what he meant, so I looked it up. Merriam-Webster defines it as "habitual diversion of the mind to purely imaginative activity or entertainment as an escape from reality or routine." As an actor, I don't think his statement is always accurate. I never saw acting that way. To me, acting is an attempt to connect with people, to tell a story, to make someone laugh (or cry), and yes, sometimes to make someone forget their troubles, or at least remember that they're not alone in those troubles. Actors connect with the characters we perform; therefore it follows that we connect with everyone who relates to that character. Sometimes those characters are based on real people from the past, so we connect with history too!
To me, acting is stepping into other people's shoes. Empathizing. Giving them a voice. When I act, I am essentially walking for the character I am playing.
Besides, if anything is a form of escapism, it's the attachment we have to our electronic devices, in which case we are all guilty of it. The TV shows we binge, the cat videos we distract ourselves with for hours, maybe even the books we can't put down.
So my question is: Is escapism something to be guilty of, like it were something to be avoided at all costs? Maybe it's necessary in certain amounts, and maybe when we exceed that amount, it's a warning sign that something in our lives needs to change.