Quotes / Escapism

I guess I have to face
that in this awful place,
I shouldn't show a trace... of doubt,
But pulled against the grain,
I feel a little pain,
that I would rather do... without...
I'd rather be free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...
I'd rather be free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...
Free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...
from here.

— Rebecca Sugar, "Escapism"

Baby I've been stompin' round in these heels for all the goddamn day,
I got aches and annoyance from livin' to earn my pay,
yet some piece and quiet from you would really go a long way,
So ease it down
You see I'm tired, I'm spent, I'm really feeling my age
You know life is twice as hard when you're livin' half on the stage,
and I barely have the energy to sing you this song,
So let's get some cartoons and vodka, and do 'em all night long!

You can me juvenile, but I'm picky on how I spend my time
Don't ya know it takes to crates of makeup to come out looking this fine?
I don't work these nails to the bone to hear you squabble and whine,
so help me out
You better believe that I'm hot, I'm wet, and really not fair
Takes more than I tall cool glass of you, there honey, to bring me up for air
And I been to blown to rest these bones for a long country mile,
So let's get some cartoons and vodka, and put 'em on for awhile!

—Jinkx Monsoon, "Cartoons and Vodka"

"People have always needed a safe place to escape reality, whether it’s Oz or Middle-earth or Hogwarts or the Marvel/DC Comics universe. It’s very therapeutic to go from the stress of everyday life to a place far, far away. That’s the gift of Star Wars."

—Mark Hamill

Downy feathers kiss your face, and flutter everywhere,
Reality is a lovely place, but I wouldn't want to live there.

—Owl City, "The Real World"

"She doesn't go to school or go home. She just plays video games all day."

— Hikari Horaki, Neon Genesis Evangelion

"You are Bella Swan"

People defend her, because they are really defending themselves"

Shmelia Rockie, YABS

Phineas: If you could have a super power, which one would it be?

Buford: That's an interesting question you pose, as it reveals not only one's impulses and desires, but one's deepest fears as well.

— Phineas and Ferb

I never fully understood [the label of 'escapist'] till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, 'What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with, and most hostile to, the idea of escape?' and gave the obvious answer: jailers."

—C. S. Lewis, "On Science Fiction"

"Most people live their lives turning their backs on things too difficult to face. Ignoring what hurts you eventually becomes a habit, the natural thing to do. If we only allow ourselves to see what we want to see, we just end up fooling ourselves more and more. But eventually, we cloud our vision so completely, that we become blind to the small truths that are all around us. The same way that the twinkling of the stars is blotted out by the glare of bright city lights."

—Polka, Eternal Sonata

"But whether it's emotional familiarity, vicarious fantasy romance, simple adventure and excitement, Sci-Fi action and danger, or cheap thrills and laughs — these are movies, and this is what people love about them: the ability to vicariously transport yourself into a fantasy world, away from your boring day job as a bank teller, a CPA, or a tollbooth operator."

— Harry S. Plinkett

Life goes on, it gets so heavy. The wheel breaks the butterfly.

Every tear a waterfall. In the night, the stormy night, she closed her eyes.

In the night, the stormy night, away she flies...

—Coldplay, Paradise

"What I find important when I read a book or watch a movie is that it just hits you and messes you up! The commonplace, the banal everyday life, I just find it tedious. I'd rather read a bad Sci-Fi novel than a well-written novel about daily life, like 'Will Bob succeed in getting Alice into his bed?' And then that just goes on for 300 pages, I simply don't like it."

— François Froideval, writer of the Black Moon Chronicles

"There is nothing wrong with escapism. The key points are what you're escaping from, and where you're escaping to. As far as I was concerned, escapist literature let me escape to the real world."

— Terry Pratchett

If I imagine myself slipping into these stories as I read them, I can forget all about my loneliness. I pretend that I’m the protagonist of these stories. That way, even someone who is lonely, shy, and unhappy like me can become a popular girl who everyone loves.

— Atsuko Sasaki, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

There's a place that I go that nobody knows
Where the rivers flow and I call it home
And there's no more lies
In the darkness there's light
And nobody cries
There's only butterflies
Take me away (Take me away)
A secret place (A secret place)
A sweet escape (A sweet escape)
Take me away (Take me away)
Take me away (Take me away)
To better days (To better days)
Take me away (Take me away)
A hiding place (A hiding place)

— Natasha Bedingfield, "Pocketful of Sunshine"

---