How Fantasy Becomes Reality

Has a book every shaped how you feel about or behave in society?

In How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence social psychologist Karen E. Dill argues just this. She claims that people chose to believe, instead of critically examining, what they read. She suggests that people often get lost in a storyline and acquire the beliefs of its main characters.

As an avid reader, I too have been caught up in a storyline and have invented my own similarities with a main character. For example, when I was young I used to read The X-Files books non-stop... and then I decided I wanted to be a pathologist just like Scully. Well, that didn't turn out.

There are larger implications with reading, too. Past psychological studies purport that a positive correlation exists between reading romance novels and not using condoms - thus increasing your chances of STDs and a whole host of other problems (Dill, 13).

Reading a book on a new-to-you culture can leave you with either negative or positive opinions on a group of people... which can lead to the formation of stereotypes and impact how you behave towards others. It is imperative to read multiple viewpoints and to always think critically.

Dill argues that we have a tendency to believe what we read, even when it is near impossible for what we read to be true. Remember the hype for the release of the last Harry Potter book? I'm sure it is near impossible for any of us to forget. Dill claims that the massive turnouts the for release of Harry Potter books occurred because Harry is real to readers. I'll let Dill explain:

[Readers] know he's not sitting in a castle somewhere in England. Yes, they know people can't really shoot lightening bolts out of a magic wand... But J.K. Rowling is one of the richest women in the world because she's made characters and situations that are so human and meaningful to us that we choose to hold them in our mind's eye as real, even though part of us knows they are not real in the mundane sense. I guarantee you, for many people in the world, Harry Potter is more real than their own next-door neighbor (Dill 84).

The sad thing is that Harry Potter, and other literary figures at that, are a lot more real than some of the people I bump into on a regular basis. Perhaps I read too much?


Dill's work is very broad. Here are just a few more interesting points:
- On average, Americans spend 2/3 of their waking lives consuming mass media (I think this would apply to Canadians as well).
- Media capitalizes on how our minds function - people are unaware of the effects of exposure to media as the mind is largely unconscious.
- The results from eating food high in fat are not immediate - eat a piece of cheesecake and you don't automatically gain 10 pounds. How people consume and are affected by media works in a similar fashion. After playing a violent video game you don't immediately go outside and punch that annoying neighbor of yours square on the nose... but add up a decent amount of exposure to media that portrays violence and you'll be more prone to act aggressively.
- Exposure to degrading music (ie - violent, racist, or sexist lyrics) is correlated to individuals engaging in sexual activity at a younger age.
- Video games are highly stereotypical. Currently the overwhelming majority of victims in games, or the bad guys the gamer is sent out to kill, are Muslim.
- Female bodies are disproportionately presented in both video games and films for children. For example, if "Lara Croft were real, she couldn't do the athletic tricks she does in the game - she'd be lucky to be able to stand up with those huge breasts! And if Disney's Princess Jasmine were real, we'd probably find her alarming because her eyes are bigger than her waist." (Dill, 134-135).
- Media can be helpful - journalists have brought attention to domestic violence which has led to increasing amounts of attendance at shelters.


Overall, Dill argues that we need to be critical of what we view in the media. Media is created by big businesses who wish to sell products, not to entertain people. We need to be aware of the impact of exposure to the media. We can still watch our films and television, play video games, and surf the Internet... just be sure to incorporate real-life activities into your life like sports, arts and crafts, or even picking up a book.

The bottom line?
Awareness of what you consume is key.

Blog Tag

The wonderful CurlyJ of Running From Cupcakes put me into a game of blog tag last night.

The rules are quite simple - each blogger who is tagged must answer 8 questions and then tag their favourite bloggers who will preferably do the same.

However, please don't feel obliged to follow suit if you don't feel up to sharing personal information... just take it as face value that I really like your work :)


So, onto those questions...

1. Milk or dark chocolate?

I grew up with milk chocolate. Over the last few years I've switched to dark chocolate but it doesn't taste nearly as good as the milk variety... dang being health conscious.

2. What's your favourite colour?

Deep, vibrant, and royal purple. It's gorgeous and somehow looks both sophisticated and quirky... and it brings out my green eyes haha.

3. Do you have any creative hobbies?

I have many! My first love is writing (both fiction and non-fiction). Photography. Pottery and painting - I even won an award for it in highschool. I like to think that baking is a creative hobby as well... especially when I make my own cookies without the help of a recipe.

4. What was your favourite subject in school?

History. I have loved learning about other cultures, global issues, and the past ever since I was young. I also had an amazing teacher who sparked my interest in the subject.

5. What is your favourite season? Why?

I always have a hard time answering this question. Summer is nice - it's warm, bright, and there's so much more free time during that time of the year. I love winter because of the Canadian snow and that festive holiday feeling that is hard to escape... not that I would want to! And then there's the fall... nothing makes me happier than walking home from a day at university with beautiful, bright red maple leaves scattered along the lane.

6. Who inspires you to sing like crazy when nobody is around?

I have a few. Michael Buble, Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat...

Back in June I had the good fortune of being introduced to Ellie Goulding's work through E, my favourite Englishman. I'm addicted to her CD, just hearing her music makes me smile. I've recently been listening to a lot of A Fine Frenzy. Carley Rae Jepsen is probably my number one artist though.

Actually, here's some of my favourites... just a click away :)
- Carley Rae Jepsen's Tug of War, Heavy Lifting & Hotel Shampoo
- A Fine Frenzy's What I Wouldn't Do
- Ellie Goulding's The Writer

7. What is your favourite dessert? Can you make it?

Probably bread and butter pudding, English style. The family recipe we have for it is so unbelievably good. I've helped to make it before but can't say that I've done it independently.

8. How did you learn to cook?

Specifically to cook? That would be my mom... and I guess those old home economic classes from highschool.
Baking, on the other hand, has been a combined effort of books, my mom, and my aunt.

Now, my favourite bloggers, in no particular order...
The Household Goddess
What Red Reads
The Window Seat Reader
Rantings of a Single Girl
Running From Cupcakes

Black and White Hearts

Sweet Sunday's Yummy Lit Review:

Black and White Hearts

Every once in a while there comes a time when only a heart shaped cookie will do. This past Thursday, the day that marks my parents wedding anniversary, was one of those times in my household.

A combination of low funds and my love for baking led me to give the creative gift of freshly baked cookies. I told my parents to put down a request for any kind of cookie they desired - chocolate, nut, toffee, peanut butter, coconut... anything. Instead, they gave me free reign. Stating that whatever I made tastes great (besides those meringues from a few weeks ago), I was told to come up with something on my own.

After reading through many recipe books, websites, and blogs I came across this recipe for Black and White Hearts. The ingredients looked scary... cream cheese, shortening... the kind of stuff that leads to bad health. But it's not every day your parents hit 32 years of matrimony. With this in mind I felt fully justified to try out this yummy looking concoction.


Here's the recipe from The Cookie Bible (2004, p 118):

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

1. Combine butter, sugar, cream cheese, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until light and fluffy. Add flour; beat until well mixed. Divide dough in half; w rap each half in waxed paper. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

2. Preheat oven to 375F. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut dough with lightly floured 2-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Place cutouts 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

3. Bake 7-10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Remove immediately to wire racks to cool completely.

4. Melt chocolate chips and shortening in small saucepan over very low heat 4 to 6 minutes or until melted. Dip half of each heart into melted chocolate. Refrigerate on cookie sheets or trays lined with waxed paper until chocolate is firm. Store, covered, in refrigerator.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen.

I have used The Cookie Bible many times before and I've never gone wrong. Black and White Hearts are no exception. The recipe was easy to follow. With the help of the internet I was able to convert ounces into grams. And during the "2 hour refrigerate the dough" downtime I was able to create a second batch of cookies which will be featured in next week's Sweet Sunday Yummy Lit Review.

However, there is one catch to this recipe... and a warning for those who set out to create these cookies.

Do NOT dip the entire half of a heart into melted chocolate. I did this for a full tray of cookies... and after I took them out of the refrigerator I was left with 12 cookies glued onto a cookie tray.

It seems like a simple concept really - of course the chocolate was going to dry hard and stick to whatever it is near... be it a baked cookie or a cookie tray. Thankfully I caught onto this predicament before putting the chocolate coating onto the second tray of cookies.


In the end I was left with four dozen delicious cookies. Cream cheese and shortening, two ingredients I have always avoided to include in my cookie baking sessions, lend these treats a distinct and rich taste. And there's something so refreshing about getting a cold cookie out of the fridge on a warm summer's day.


Hope you all have a sweet Sunday!

Book Beginnings on Friday

After Looking through some blogs on the Hop I discovered a new-to-me meme going on in the book blogger world.

Book Beginnings on Friday, hosted by Becky at Page Turners, is another Mr. Linky method to get us bloggers to connect. All that is required? Just the first sentence of the latest book you are reading.


I'm currently reading a non-fiction book titled How Fantasy Becomes Reality: Seeing Through Media Influence. Written by Karen E. Dill, a social psychologist, this book analyzes how the media (tv, music, movies, and even reading material) shapes western culture and one's perception of themselves.

How Fantasy Becomes Reality begins by stating "right now, at this moment in history, Americans are having a love affair with mass media."

I admit, this does sound dry, to the point, and something that we all knew... but the book is really interesting. I'm only 46 pages in (just started reading last night) but I can't wait to do a real review of Dill's work.

Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Jennifer of Crazy-for-Books, is back up for the last weekend of August.

The Hop, for those who don't know, is a way for book bloggers to connect with each other during the weekends. Every week Jennifer asks book bloggers a question to facilitate the community's discussion.

This week's question: Do you use a rating system for your reviews and if so, what is it and why?

A - I don't use a rating system. I've been blogging for just over a month and I have considered using one... especially after visiting some truly awesome book blogs that do.

However, I began blogging with the intention of not hierarchically arranging books but to critically examine the positive and negative elements of what I read. I do not particularly want to say that one book is better than another, but to engage in an argument and question its premises. Recently I've taken to reviewing a book and then posing a question. I believe that reading should be an active experience, and thus my reviews often lead to discussion questions.

Happy book blogging and I hope you all enjoy the last few days of August. I can't believe its almost September! This month has flown by... and I personally can't wait for the next one to start :)

Matters of the Heart

One of my friends recently recommended reading Danielle Steel's Matters of the Heart. She claimed that it was the best Steel book she had ever read. According to her it was a page turner, suspenseful, and a novel she couldn't stop reading even on her honeymoon this past June. With that kind of acclaim I had to give the book a shot.

Taking my friend's word, I began to read the book on an early flight out of Vancouver. I did manage to finish the book yesterday though I read the majority during my flights.

I must admit that at first I was a bit skeptical of this novel. I am an avid reader of Steel but I find her work repetitive. How many times does she have to reword the same sentence, allude to certain plot twists, or repeatedly mention a character's wealth? To me a Steel book has always been a source of cheap entertainment. Her work can be engaging, fun, and romantic... but it is not a ground shattering, award-winning piece of fiction by any means.

Matters of the Heart did live up to my friends praises. Steel expertly creates a love story between an isolated, but intelligent and well-balanced, woman and a sociopathic man. She illustrates the traumas of being in a physically and psychologically abusive relationship. Her descriptions are vivid, intense, and original. And, most importantly, she creates a fast paced and non-repetitive tale. This book manages to escape the downfall of many Steel novels, that being repetitive descriptions and dialogue.

Interestingly, the sociopathic man in Steel's work is portrayed as an acclaimed writer. Steel links the man's unbalanced behaviour to his writing by stating "it was why he wrote the books he did, all those dark characters lived in his head, and were different sides of him, the ones that didn't show" (Steel, p 275).

This reminded me of our previous discussion on how a library relates to one's personality.
Just how personal is a work of fiction?

Having written a little bit of fiction myself, I do believe that writing style and theme are more intricately connected to someone's personality than the books they store on a shelf. Writing comes from within a person and is a direct expression of their thoughts, censored or uncensored.

But even the notion that what someone writes reflects their own character is troublesome. Does that mean Steel is prone to affairs or Stephen King has murderous tendencies? The psychology behind writing is an interesting topic that I would like to explore.

Overall, Steel's novel is enthralling. Though a significantly darker tale, Steel maintains her tradition of captivating the audience and producing a quick read despite its many pages. I would recommend Matters of the Heart to those who are already familiar with Steel's work... and those, who like me, had become tired of her repetitive writing style.