askchapo

This is less about media literacy and more about detachment and compartmentalization. Fiction is fiction, it's easier to play and experiment in a fictional space because there are no real consequences. People can easily say "yes I would pull the lever to save the 5 children tied to the railroad track even if it means I have to watch one child be crushed before me due to my action, it's the right thing to do! Just like the protagonist in this story I read." Thing is if you actually stuck them in a freight yard with a bunch of children tied to the tracks they'd probably struggle with the choice a lot more than they did while reading a novella on their sofa.

I think people here really give fiction and media more power than it has, people mostly just consume it for fun. Reading about plucky underdog guerrillas fighting an imperialist occupation is good story telling, it makes for exciting drama. Enjoying that doesn't really translate to having good geopolitical takes, cuz real world drama isn't fun, it's uncomfortable and challenging and can actually affect your life.