Escapism Is A State Of Mind
After a long day of work or school, people tend to put on their comfort show to have peace of mind and relax their brains. Often it is inferred that the show could be comforting; That one might drift off and fantasize what life would be like if they had a life like their chosen comfort show. When one gets to the point that they fantasize it’s defined as escapism. Escapism is seeking a distraction or relief when the realities of life become too much.
The type of shows that society tends to navigate towards to escape their realities commonly collate with when life is easy and carefree. In other words, they watch shows that remind them of their childhood. The shows do not just have to be about their childhood but something that is not too far off from their reality but just enough that one can escape.
Like everything else Covid boosted entrepreneurship, DIY, and couch potatoes. With couch potatoes, they watch TV all day not moving. Escapism was most prominent during the most historical period. Imagine the world shutting down and nothing to do but stay in the house watch TV and eat. Well, that’s what people did and escapism came in full swing. All the time to dream about how life was when the world was open and interact with people. The only way to see the outside is by looking at TV shows where people interact and can be outside. The chart below shows what TV show ratings were boosted during COVID-19. Which demonstrates the type of shows people watched to escape reality.
One of the shows that I watch when college gets to be too much or just life in general is called A Different World. It’s based on the 90s about college students that go to an HBCU. Throughout the seasons it follows the storyline of the five main characters as they go through life in college. It’s far off to the point that I was not born in the 90’s and the social issues that were important to them are not so dire now. Their clothes were so casual-chic and baggy outfits and their financial situations are not so different from what college students financials are now. There’s this one character her name is Whitley and she’s rich, snobby, and thinks she’s superior to everyone but elegantly poised. Then she falls in love with someone that is the complete opposite of her but brings out the best in her.
Escapism can be anything that causes you relief and distracts you from unpleasant realities. In this case, TV is the most common example of escapism and how it operates. Whenever you have a bad day think about what relaxes you but don’t do it too much or you will fall into the trance of dreaming away your problems. Every once in a while imagining how life would be is not so bad if you can differentiate the reality.
References
Notebook, D. V. (2023, August 31). The Psychology of Escapism: Why Do People Choose to Escape? Medium. https://davincisnotebook.medium.com/the-psychology-of-escapism-why-do-people-choose-to-escape-7379977f075b
infographic: In Times of Crisis, Americans Binged “Comfort Food TV.” (n.d.). Statista Infographics. https://www.statista.com/chart/23940/most-streamed-tv-series-in-the-united-states/
Counterintuitive Fall 2024 
I’ll be happy to help, HotGirlSemester. Thanks for copying your Definition text into this new post. We’ll do all our feedback and revisions here from now on.
Let’s trace the claims of your argument:
Paragraph 1.
—You’re trying to establish that watching shows to escape (and relieve stress?) is a universal experience. AND you want to establish a rapport with your readers. The right pronouns for that are first person plural: WE, OUR, OURSELVES. If WE do it (both you and your reader), you’re not arguing; you’re persuading. Try it. It works.
Paragraph 2.
It’s not too soon to call them Escape Shows or whatever term works for you. Now you’re doing a categorical argument: They represent a carefree time. Whatever era the setting, it’s in the not-too-distant past: the childhood years of the viewer. (Presumably, whatever life your reader has lived, her childhood was less stressful than her present. Do you want to make that claim explicit?) You’re leaving a lot of content on the table, HotGirl. Do the shows have to be literally set during the viewer’s lifetime? Or can they hearken to any era that HAS certain characteristics of a simpler time? Or that LACK certain stressful characteristics of the present? So far, you’re dealing entirely in generalities (which aren’t very convincing). A couple of vivid examples would be very helpful.
Paragraph 3.
You’re losing me here. The transition to COVID was way too abrupt. AND if there’s no specific point to the entrepreneurship and DIY references, they’re just distracting. All you mean to say is that COVID was a heyday for escapist TV watching. You don’t have to ask your readers to imagine it; we all lived it recently. The only argument claim so far is that we used TV to reminisce about times when we could mingle without fear of contagion. So . . . is it the mingling we miss or the comfort of not being scared? The chart is helpful. It says more than your paragraph.
The Chart.
On the other hand, I don’t see any comfy “Different World” or for my generation “Andy of Mayberry” shows there. Maybe The Office was helpful to remote workers who miss the office camaraderie. What’s your take? You need to guide your readers to an understanding of the relevance of the evidence.
Paragraph 4.
You should be able to get good work done in your description of the show you’ve chosen. “Social issues” were less dire. That dovetails with some of your earlier comments, which is good. Their financial situations are similar. So you’re establishing that the right show for your category is “similar but different and simpler.” If a goofy Rags Meets Riches romance is an essential to your category, you’ve nailed it. But can this be generalized a bit? In other words, is it essential to escapism, or just some part of it? Does it have to have romance? Does the romance have to be formulaic? Can there be any narrative complexity to an escapist show? Can the characters be anything more than stereotypes? You see what I’m getting at? What exactly is “A Different World” the perfect example OF?
Paragraph 5.
It looks like you’re going to tell me right here.
That’s pretty vague and doesn’t even specify that it has to be escapist ART or CULTURE. Music could qualify, but you probably don’t want readers to draw that broad a conclusion. So could going out dancing. See? The point is to DEFINE, and your definition doesn’t narrow the possibilities enough.
—It’s OK to tag on a moral lesson as a way to bring your essay to a close, but I’m not sure how yours serves your larger goal. (Maybe you don’t quite know the overall aim of your paper yet; that’s common and OK.)
There’s rhetorical advice in there, blended with the argument advice. There’s a lot of overlap in fact. I hope my observations are helpful. You have a nice relaxing author’s voice, and I like the way you’re blending your own experience into the tale.
By the way, you don’t have to be accurate if the absolute truth doesn’t serve your needs. Be faithful to your sources, of course, but your own story can be tailored to meet the needs of the argument.
You’ll get a preliminary grade for your Definition Argument but not yet for your Rewrite. THAT grade will depend on your revisions. You can improve your second grade considerably, but if your Definition Rewrite isn’t significantly better than your Definition argument, its grade will be lower than for the first draft. So, you have to swim just to tread water and swim well to finish the lap. It’s a rewriting course.
I hope my advice was helpful. Keep the conversation going, please, HotGirlSemester.
Your draft is only 500 words, so you’ve got room for a lot more content. That alone should help you raise your grade.
OK, I appreciate the feedback and I will take questions and suggestions. I will rewrite and swim I do agree there is much more to be said.