Tyler Smith

Mrs. Pearce/Pre-AP English II

Research Paper

9 May, 2016

THE FACT OF FICTION

        Think to every time you’ve seen a teenager walk by in a Dragon Ball Z shirt, or saw a long line to the debut of a Marvel Comics movie. Crowds of people even swarm to ComicCon each time it happens, dressed to look like their favorite character, be it popular Batman or obscure like the Masked Man. Many people happily indulge in their choice pastimes much as they can, but fans of fiction certainly take the cake. And their obsession isn’t just passionate, it’s in the human nature! As people, we are drawn to larger-than-life stories, with these tales having existed since time itself and being the base of many religions. However, are these interests beneficial? Surely, deep-seated connections to stories that aren’t true aren’t anything but distractions, right? Well, that would be incorrect. Fantasy and Fiction actually greatly better society by inspiring creativity and giving humanity something to enjoy.

        The inspiration is far from hard to see. In fact, fiction inspires itself all the time. The popular Japanese comic series JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was itself inspired heavily by the Fist of the North Star series that came not even a few years before. As Journalist Ellie Robins noted, “[Fiction is] enough to make you reflect on the decisions of your past.” As an art form, these writings are heavily impressioning on others. This means that the things that people remember will always come full circle to inspire the things they create. Just by looking at the high amount of video games inspired by their creators’ childhood favorites, like EarthBound, Mega Man, and Super Metroid. The memories left behind to them from their inspiration drawn from these sources would be poured into their later works by way of their memory’s inspiration. Toby Fox, the creator of the highly successful 2015 indie game Undertale has gone on record saying that games like Earthbound were the main inspiration for his game because they had a big impact on him. The influence isn’t stuck to creating more fiction however. It’s easy to see through superheroes being used to advertise soda, genetic code being named after video game characters, and Sherlock Holmes being cited as a childhood hero of some real forensic detective workers. These characters and scenarios build a connection with us and stay in our subconscious, creating a new connection with other events that can shape how we look at the world. Exposition pours from every J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling into the hearts of countless fans and future creators alike to create worlds of fiction that begin merging with our very own in spirit. “Writing is 5 percent inspiration and 95 percent perspiration” (Alcorn). This means that the uniqueness of the designs or world crafted and the work put into them greatly affect the soul of the work, and it’s quality and impact as a whole. Incredible inventions of sci-fi inspire future creators to achieve levels of awe like Marty McFly’s hoverboard. Incredible heroes with larger than life origins such as Captain America and Spider-Man who were once made to be ordinary people inspire legions of children across the globe to be drawn to stories of people who fight to do the right thing. The introduction of training-heavy shows like Dragon Ball Z and Hunter X Hunter to the United States taught lots of American kids that they can do anything if they push their limits and work hard enough. The inspiration carries on to those who never moved on to create a work to surpass their inspiration, they give everyone touched by their success something to aspire to, even if larger-than-life and especially grandiose. This is why fiction doesn’t just work for itself, it works wonders for everything around itself. It’s a caveat for creativity with the power for anyone who wields it to be a god with just enough drive, shaping and forming a world with its own set of rules for the pure enjoyment of others.

        That enjoyment others share is what fiction is all about. Not just for creators and lovers, but the passersby who dip into a superhero movie now and then, or casually play some Mario with their family. It’s in no way just for super-fans, or enthusiasts, or creators, it’s for everyone! “I’m just one of millions, and millions of hands out there. Each just like me… eager to continue your stories in their own way” says Matthew Toronto, creator of the Nintendo based webcomic Brawl in the Family. This is a phrase held dearly to fans of “BitF” for a good reason. It’s said by the embodiment of the creator himself in the comic, to the characters he guided along the comic for 600+ strips, before thanking them for showing him the joy of their adventures and leaving the comic forever, left for their world to be continued by others just like him and the people who just wish to read the work of others like him. “As a species, we need [fiction. It] diverts our attention from the mundane and takes us out of ourselves for a while”(Parnell). These stories put the spotlight on the place of someone else, someone made to be like us, but with more blanks for one to fill in themselves, so that every interpretation by an ongoer is special. The attachment grown allows everyone, regardless of any circumstances, to have something larger than themselves to enjoy. Music,  Art, Literature, Comics, Acting, and Animation all present themselves to as large of an audience as possible, holding out their existence for people to latch onto and find excitement, or happiness, or heartwarming experience in. Everything has its fans, be it a large group or small. And for everything with fans, there’s someone who can tell you all about how much they like it and why. The audience defines the genre, and every creator’s dream is to create something that reaches out to a large group of people and draws them in. Many independent Youtube show creators such as animator and voice actor Chris ‘Kirbopher’ Niosi, critic comedian and actor Jon ‘JonTron’ Jafari, and artist Omni ‘ArtsyOmni’ Jacala treat their fans as oppositely as possible from paparazzi. That’s because their original intent was for these fans, and the purpose of their work is to reach out to them and give them something to enjoy.

        It’s simple to understand how fiction benefits society. These stories, characters, and worlds take us out of the mundane yet practical world we inhabit and place us in a new experience full of interesting designs and differences from what the world we live in would have one expect. An unpredictable yet completely moldable force of opportunity and creativity, which functions as a paintbrush onto the world around it and gives color for others to see. It’s not hard to see what someone can find by looking deeper into it, they find layers upon layers from the bedrock structure of the writing to the topsoil details that make up every page, panel, level, and lyric. Fiction is the necessary escape to keep itself alive and keep a spark of motivation and excitement alive inside everyone it reaches with its wide grasp.

WORKS CITED

Robins, Ellie. "Characters from Novels Can Influence Real-life Behaviour » MobyLives." Melville House Books. Web. 09 May 2016.

"Interview: Undertale Game Creator Toby Fox." The Mary Sue Interview Undertale Game Creator Toby Fox Comments. Web. 09 May 2016.

Alcorn, Randy. "Randy's Insights on Writing Inspirational Fiction - Resources - Eternal Perspective Ministries." Randy's Insights on Writing Inspirational Fiction - Resources - Eternal Perspective Ministries. Web. 09 May 2016.

Toronto, Matthew. BitF #599 "Meet Me at Final Destination (Part 5)" 2015. Brawl in the Family.

Parnell, Rob. "Why Fiction Matters." Why Fiction Matters. Web. 09 May 2016.

Jafari, Jon. "JonTronShow." YouTube. Jon Jafari. Web. 09 May 2016.

Niosi, Chris "Kirbopher" "Christopher Niosi." YouTube. Christopher Niosi. Web. 09 May 2016.

Jacala, Omni, and Chris Szczesiul. "Smashified." YouTube. 'ArtsyOmni' Web. 09 May 2016.