# Do you 'project'/fantasise that you're the person you're watching on TV. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 26, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722 "2009-08-26T01:11:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/1 "2009-08-26T01:11:56Z")
I found myself likening myself to John Lock when watching Lost (except when he was being a tard) And for the entirety of Prison Break I felt good by thinking of myself as being not to dissimilar to Michael Schofield. Of course I know I’m not. I am flawed (deeply) but one can forgive a human being for being wishful can’t one? It’s been a while since I watched a new episode of ‘House’ but when I did, I did the exact same thing. I imagined myself as House. Do you find yourself identifying with characters you’re watching on TV? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/2 "2009-08-26T03:52:54Z")
Definitely. But only certain ones, and when it happens, it happens subconsciously and I only notice it if something dramatic happens and I feel something emotional. Then I go, “Oh wait. It’s TV. I’m not that character!” I find myself becoming Mulder a lot… I suspect most media strive to portray relatable characters. ---
**Author:** ![mecaenas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/91b2a8/32.png) [@mecaenas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mecaenas)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/3 "2009-08-26T11:12:54Z")
No. I frequently empathise with the main characters but never have imagined myself as them. I’m now curious as to whether I’m the odd one out in this scenario. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/4 "2009-08-26T14:03:33Z")
No, I don’t usually imagine myself as one of the existing characters. But I do often insert myself into a show 😃 Sort of a “what would I do if I was in this situation?” kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/5 "2009-08-26T15:27:52Z")
No, but occasionally if a particular actor’s performance in a movie has resonated with me, after the movie ends I’ll think as if I’m speaking or acting as that character. It’s kind of hard to explain but for instance, I’ll speak with the speech patterns of the character, or as I walk through the house I might feel as if I’m inadvertently walking with that character’s gait or type of body motion. It usually wears off after an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/6 "2009-08-26T16:03:31Z")
> [@badbadrubberpiggy](#): > > No, I don’t usually imagine myself as one of the existing characters. But I do often insert myself into a show 😃 Sort of a “what would I do if I was in this situation?” kind of thing. I sort of do that also … more of a why is he doing that, he should be \ Or sometimes I go off on a tangent about what I would do if I were another person in that alternate earth situation, like in a post apocalyptical society, how would mrAru and I get along and survive best. I do the same with books… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/7 "2009-08-26T16:14:07Z")
I’ve been watching Mad Men and then on Monday at work, I was thinking about how different my office is from the one on the show. (FYI, it’s a show set in a NYC advertising agency in the early 1960s.) ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/8 "2009-08-26T16:31:17Z")
Identifying with a character is completely different from projecting yourself onto him or her. I do the former fairly often, but never the latter. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/9 "2009-08-26T17:38:40Z")
All I can say is watching “Married with Children” back in the 90’s when I was unmarried and childless is **completely** different than watching the reruns now that I’m, well, you know. Poor Al. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-project-fantasise-that-youre-the-person-youre-watching-on-tv/507722/10 "2009-08-26T21:03:00Z")
I’ve been in a marathon catchup of Burn Notice on DVD, and Micheal Westin is now commenting on my every move. “The secret to a good message board post is brevity…”