Aumia Khundkar, Assistant Editor of ICE Today, graduated as an English major from Monash University in Australia. In her column, she muses on life, the universe and beyond.
I’ve always wanted to be Batman. I get laughed at a lot for that and I can understand why people are amused when they hear a plump, five feet tall girl voice that desire. However, I still want to be Batman; nay – I am Batman.
You can see why people laugh.
But, instead of worrying about my mental health, it might just be worth your while to consider why I have such ambitious plans to begin with. Now, I am not asking you to suddenly understand the depth of Batsy’s crusade for justice or deconstruct his psyche to appreciate his ability to endure; however, I am asking you to value the existence of such a character in a child’s upbringing. It doesn’t have to be the Dark Knight; it can be Snape’s sense of duty that inspires them or Frodo’s courage. The point is that we can gain moral insight from good fiction – and that means any medium of fiction.
Surprised? Don’t be. Fiction helps open up one’s imagination; it allows one to understand people better. Narratives captivate people – they are taken through different ways of life, through altered realities. Various types of characters and situations are presented to the observer who must then be the judge of them. The more one is attracted to the story and its characters, the more he or she will be influenced by it. So as fiction takes one through an imagined reality, it facilitates the growth of one’s imagination. For instance, when an avid fan of Harry Potter reads about how Ron’s self-esteem suffers because of his over-achieving brothers, or when a Naruto aficionado identifies Sasuke’s arrogance as a boy struggling to come to terms with losing his entire family, it implants a seed of empathy towards them. I’m not just saying this – psychologists Mar and Keith Oatley have conducted studies and found this to be true (The Boston Globe, 2012).
So exposure to fiction can make one develop empathy. But how does it ingrain morality in a person? In order to exist in civilization one must believe in justice. Whether it is being doled out or not comes later – recognition comes first. It has been observed that people who indulge in fiction have more of an idea of a ‘just world’ than those who don’t. This may seem strange as many narratives depict awful deeds (think about how Robb Stark died), depraved worlds and villainous personalities, however, because the observers are put in a position of judging the wrongdoing, it helps them to develop morals.
I know what you’re thinking; you already knew that great literature educates and civilizes. This is why you’ve been trying to get your ten year old to read ‘A Tale of Two Cities,’ but he just won’t listen to you! Instead he spends all his time watching cartoons on the tube. Well, to begin with – stop forcing it on him. If he likes watching cartoons, Avatar: The Last Airbender or Batman: The Animated Series is a great place to start. These intelligently written shows tell captivating stories with awesome characters that your child is sure to become crazy about. However, the more important takeaway for you here is that while your child watches something that s/he enjoys, s/he will also be observing what it takes to be a good friend or what makes for an honourable act. Moreover, s/he will be watching his favourite heroes display admirable actions which they will want to imitate. And eventually their attraction towards these characters will prompt them to explore other mediums such as comics, books, films, etc. Nourishing their interest in fiction will help them become more inquisitive and compassionate human beings.
However, fiction is a double-edged sword; it needs to be handled with care. It is essential to be responsible about the materials that children learn from. This does not go to say that it should be censored from devastating details – it just means that what they have access to should be thought-provoking. Children should not, at any rate, grow up watching Bollywood dance numbers. Nor should the only films they are exposed to be repeats of the same love story. Trust me – Mary Poppins (or Star Wars, for that matter) will prove to be much better educators. It is crucial that we surround our children with good role models and what better role model is there than Batman! Okay, maybe I’m being a little biased here, but you get the picture. If we bring them to the wardrobe, they’ll figure out how to get to Narnia on their own.
