Do you connect more with fictional characters?

Post Reply New Topic

I feel deeper feelings for tragedies in fiction than I do tragedies in real life. When 9/11 happened, I felt bad about it happening but it felt so removed from me that it didn't affect me the way it did others. However, if something happens in a TV show I like, it effects me as if it were real.

I recently read and the watched The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I relate to the main character, Charlie, more than any other fictional character.

Now that I think about it, I do feel like I feel more for fictional characters than to people in real life.

I was in highschool on 9/11 and I was more appalled by the reactions of my classmates than to the actual attack. We had a TV in class and was watching it live. I'm not sure how to explain how they were acting. They weren't exactly cheering, but they seemed kinda excited to see the second plane hit. They didn't seem to understand that they were watching people die when the planes hit the towers.

This actually doesn't surprise me in any way - in modern culture the only context young people have for scenes like that is from movies and video games, when of course there are no real people involved, and the scenes exist for the sake of excitement and entertainment. It's nothing to be ashamed about. If you've never come across something like that happening to real people in your own country before then it will automatically go through the same established reaction pathways as the above. I would hope the other kids also later gained a better understanding of what was going on.

Of course it's still concerning that our media desensitizes us to scenes of violence.

I feel this way whenever I watch a movie or read a book. I feel that I 'know' the characters and understand them. Most of the time, I don't even feel that way with people in my everyday life, not even my family.

I absolutely connect more with fictional characters - When I was a teenager, I felt a sort of "bond" with characters like Wilt from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Victor van Dort from the Corpse Bride because they and I shared many of the same quirks, mannerisms, and personality traits. I feel the same way about Fluttershy from MLP now. If I met someone IRL who was the same way, I probably either wouldn't notice or would be a bit pained to realize it - like if I was seeing someone acting out my struggles/experiences in front of me.

Yes

Yay necro thread.

I'm equally disconnected.

Heh.
I similarly do not "connect." Whether fictional or real makes no difference. It's an alexithymic deficit of the attachment response.

I definitely connect with fictional characters a lot more than I do with real people. I feel particularly connected with Clara from Doctor Who and Gwen from Torchwood, even though I'm not really similar to either of them.

I might feel a bit connected to the characters I created on the video game I play.

I feel strong connections with Sgt. Schultz of Hogan's heroes and Cacnea of Pokemon. Cacnea's a real Sweet Pea.

I'd have to admit to the same thing. I've never been able to really form attachment's to real people on any level, but I tend to get attached to, and feel something for, fictional characters in various media. It's sort of nice to know it's not just me that is like this.

It's also a double edged sword as it can be an issue when something negative happens to the characters you're connected with. It's one of the major reasons I'm very much into FanFiction, I like that other's can carry on stories, or change the history of something in a way that's more pleasing to me and my connections to those in a particular setting, if anyone understands what I mean.

I relate to fictional people also more than real life. In real life I have no empathy. I guess because I do not know when to be sad or happy for someone. I have learned from therapy that when someone is talking and smiles then I should smile also. So I react to how the other person is.

Yes. I relate strongly to L and Near from Death Note. We're all presenting as socially awkward but turn out to be rather intelligent. Not to mention I love toys and have a sweet tooth

I have to say I connect more with fictional characters than real life. I usually get obsessed with the shows I watch, for example, Anime! I am so obsessed with it to where I want to go live in Japan, learn Japanese, draw Manga, and all that cool stuff. Also the fictional characters teach you things about the world! There is like a never-ending connection between me and the character!

I'm a Sensitive so I have actually felt people's emotions/energies too much at times. Like when I still lived in the house as a kid I felt my father's anger which in turn made me angry. When someone laughs at me IRL I laugh back almost automatically. I even had a friend who was tired of a game then I got tired of the game. There was also a line in a TV show that I found funny but my friend thought it wasn't funny so it suddenly wasn't funny.
However the funny thing is it all happens for a moment so it's like I'm two sides of the same coin: cold but sensitive because I'm the same way. Even though I have those what some would say "merges" I don't connect to people in general on a deep level so I connect more with fictional characters or the artistic type often musicians so when I do connect with real people they are hard to reach in some way (the last one who reciprocated my feelings broke my heart).
I think it does help that in a movie or TV show they show all sides of themselves but I'm very much an observer so I know enough about people I see. I just don't connect to them. A lot of times it probably is mutual because I can sense a person's disinterest in me but then again I've had people who are cool to talk to me that I don't really feel close enough to either.

I also cried more over losing my computer than losing most friends. I didn't cry at all when I realized I lost touch with most of the friends that I did. My closest friends were online but then I had the problem that they changed from the person they were or they weren't the person I thought (it is harder for me to pick up energy online which is a double edged sword because you get people's most intimate thoughts as much as I'm Sensitive I'm not telepathic so this is a plus and I'm more of a writer than verbal speaker)