This was something I was mulling over last night. One of the defining characteristics of a sociopath is a lack of empathy for others while I would think that one of the aspects of a good book or movie is the ability to emphasis with the characters.
Am I way off base here?
How about narcissists, can someone so invested in themselves enjoy a story about other people?
Thanks!
My ex was diagnosed as being a sociopath. She also enjoyed fiction. So, I don’t know what to say.
In case it helps: she hated endings. She’d avoid watching the last episode of a series so that it wouldn’t have to end.
It’s easy to imagine a sociopath enjoying fiction of intrigue - like a chess game.
They just would never care when someone died or their love story didn’t work out, except as a ‘loss’ on the scorecard.
I’d be shocked if some of our greatest authors and directors weren’t psychopaths and narcissists. I’m going with “yes.”
You’ve now got me thinking of flipping the question around.
I enjoy fiction, and can invest myself in a book to the point of caring whether the couple gets back together, or the underdog wins the big fight, or the accused clears his name by finding the real killer or whatever – but, if pressed, no, I don’t actually care what happens to them.
I mean, ultimately they’re just characters in a book; I can, while imaginatively sitting in the shade, find myself rooting for them or sympathizing with 'em – but as soon as I’m back in the cold light of reality, actual people are of course more important, in a whole different kind of way.
So maybe sociopaths can empathize with other people the same way they empathize with characters in books, the same way we empathize with people in books: they can, with some effort, work themselves into a state of, like, hypothetically caring whether the fictional murder gets solved – and the difference between them and us is, that’s also all they can manage when the kid down the street dies of leukemia or gets beaten to death by his abusive stepfather or whatever.
I could see a sociopath having no trouble enjoying a story by inserting himself into it. By making it all about himself, he might be able to have fun with the narrative.
A total WAG.
Seems to me that one’s enjoyment of fictional entertainment media is primarily derived from within oneself. So, I think watching a film or reading a book is mostly a rather insular experience. So, I’m not sure there is any equivalency between what a sociopath thinks of others and what they think of fictional characters. When you read a book or watch a movie you are basically constructing a separate “reality” in your mind, but, in the end, it’s really all you. Of course the material presented makes a difference, but, the effect of the material is determined by how your mind perceives it, with no other ramifications, other than whether you enjoyed it or not. Of course, dealing with real people and circumstances is not like that at all. So, yes, I believe that sociopaths can likely care a great deal about fictional characters.