The Consolation of Fiction: Catharsis and Hermeneia

You could call it a stab at a phenomenology of misreading. Or you could call it a stab in the dark. But hopefully not.
Follow me on Twitter: / electricdidact
Oh, and Alex Booer, who I quote in the video, has just started her own KZbin channel about the intersection of theory, history and Christianity: / @thechristianoverthink...
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Works Cited:
Storify with convo including @Jagspelar, @alexboor and @johnlb on watching, reading and listening when feeling down: storify.com/ElectricDidact/notes
Aristotle, Poetics (classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/poe...)
Aristotle, Politics (www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/t...)
Roman Jakobson, Two Aspects of Language and Two Types of Aphasic Disturbances (1960)
Aristotle, On Interpretation (classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/int...)
Paul Ricoeur, Freud and Philosophy (1970)
Further Reading:
Wikipedia, “Catharsis,” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsis)
Esta Powell, M.A., M.S., “Catharsis in Psychology and Beyond: A Historic Overview,” (primal-page.com/cathar.htm)
Sadeq Rahimi, “The Unconscious: Metaphor and Metonymy,” 2009, (somatosphere.net/2009/04/uncon...)
Josephine Livingstone, “In Defense of Cultural Criticism in Trump’s America” (particularly paragraph 7) (newrepublic.com/article/14090...)
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Assets:
The Fellowship of the Ring (Theatrical Version), New Line Cinema
Vicky Chow performs Steve Reich - Piano Counterpoint (2011) (arr. Vincent Corver), Vicky Chow, Dec. 27, 2013 ( • Vicky Chow performs St... )
Toonami - Rurouni Kenshin Long Promo (1080p HD), SlimD716, Feb. 4, 2013 ( • Toonami - Rurouni Kens... )
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Music:
“Conversation Piece,” Mystery Mammal, The Wonders of Modern Technology, CC BY (freemusicarchive.org/music/Mys...)

[@GameLimbs]

So, I've watched this like three times now, and I'm really digging the idea that our self selection of comfort fictions is a form of speech. That we use them to say something about our feelings, to give them meaning (even if only in the moment and only to ourselves). And maybe it isn't necessarily productive in the long run, but coping mechanisms can be vitally important too. But what I also realised is that I like the way you use music in the videos. A lot of youtube talking heads-videos have a constant background track that seems to just be there to fill some imagined void of attention that would otherwise open up for the viewer, and I usually just want it gone so I can concentrate on what's being said properly. But you vary the pieces throughout, giving different sections different sonic backgrounds, which gives the music a reason to be in the video too. So kudos for that!

[@ElectricDidact]

Awesome! Thanks for the comment, too. My music decisions are pretty deliberate, so it's nice to know they're effective. :)

[@HozukiHangetsu]

Yes! Someone else who can appreciate the value of Kenshin! Sorry, just nerding out over here!

[@ElectricDidact]

Haha yeah! It's been fun watching it over the past year or so. :)

[@ACEANIMATIONSTUDIOS]

Kenshin is my fav Pasifist protagonist xD

[@SuperMegaPeanut]

Very interesting to characterize music as fictive!! I definitely have think a bit about the implications of that... Great video btw!

[@ElectricDidact]

Thanks! Yeah, so it's not a common way to talk about music, but it does seem more prevalent in literature on hermeneutic theory when it comes to music and (to me at least) is a nice way to open up the ways we can talk about music. (Hint hint: you might want to check out my video essay on this very topic, it is *super* interesting: kzbin.info/aero/PLqDbDyQNACJ7us5sObwFMmi0LzWSkTwty) :)

[@SuperMegaPeanut]

That playlist is great, I've watched through it several times already. I might have to read some Ricœur and Roger Savage, because I'm really into this!

[@liltick102]

I’ve been going through a really rough depression the last 2 years - feeling like I’ve lost so much identity, on 13 hr a week avg screen time sometimes - I have noticed I’m beginning to more than before rationalize all the things that have kept me feeling how I do, fixated on the idea of catharsis and not losing myself / further isolating myself fr people And ya I’ve rly rly noticed watching anything, all I focus on is things such as character growth and whatever, only rly trying to analyze a characters subconscious aspects and struggles idk It’s been hard to tell if it’s healthy or not

[@ElectricDidact]

Solidarity, friend. You're not alone. 💜

[@DJSTOEK]

❤❤

[@azertyQ]

umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu en.wiktionary.org/wiki/umuntu_ngumuntu_ngabantu