On February 2, 1979, tragedy struck an apartment on the seventh floor of 445 Fountain Avenue in New York. A 4-year-old boy who had just gone to the movies with his family to see Superman (the version with Christopher Reeve, of course) jumped out of the window believing he had the same powers and could fly. In fact, he had been jumping off tables and chairs trying to do so until his ambition went much further. Across the country (and, they say, around the world), thousands of children and adults believed too much in the idea that a man could fly, and the result was a media campaign against the superhero. Sadly, as we know now, he is not the first nor will he be the last case of people believing everything they see on a screen.
Learning C1 of Na’vi
Recently, we learned that a woman with mental health issues had to be hospitalized after her Internet-connected refrigerator displayed an advertisement for the series Pluribus with the text “We’re sorry to have upset you, Carol”. What was the woman’s name? Of course, it was Carol. Not knowing what was happening, she collapsed, as could be expected. It shouldn’t surprise anyone: it’s not new that cinema and television can exacerbate or even create mental disorders. At this point, it should be taken for granted.
In 1998, the premiere of The Truman Show, in which Jim Carrey was the star of an involuntary reality show, caused hundreds of cases of what has come to be called “the Truman illusion,” a syndrome that makes people believe they are being filmed 24/7, following the reality fever. The level reached was such that one of the patients traveled to New York to verify that 9/11 was real and not just a plot twist in their own reality. As Andrew Niccol, the director of the film, stated, you know you’ve made it when a syndrome is named after you.
The following year, madness broke out with Matrix, the movie in which Neo (Keanu Reeves) had to choose between a world created by machines or reality, fighting against them. The film not only created a multitude of philosophical treaties and theories but also, hundreds of people who firmly believed they were living in Matrix. And, although over the years we may think we are much smarter and believe we have left behind all these syndromes caused by fiction, the reality is quite different.
The last one is perhaps the most striking: people who experience depression after watching Avatar. Seeing the incredible places that James Cameron showcases in his films, the journeys mounted on winged creatures, the love for nature and the love for community, many have wanted to leave everything behind to go to Pandora with the Na’vi, even learning the language to imagine a world beyond. Upon leaving the cinema and comparing the gray reality of the city with the open and free spaces of Pandora, many found solace only by rewatching the movie as many times as they could. Yes, that is happening. Really.
In an episode of the wonderful series How To With John Wilson, the filmmaker approached a group of people who were trying to learn Na’vi and spoke openly about their lives before and after Avatar. And instead of laughing at them, what he does is understand them, give them a shoulder to cry on, show the support network they have built among themselves with James Cameron as an excuse. Because, deep down, don’t we all want to feel a little more connected, even if it’s with a ridiculous hobby as an excuse? In a society that seems to need fiction more than ever, we cannot expect anyone to fall into the idealization of it. It is simply the course of time.
