Most of us have experienced it: falling in love with a TV show, book, or movie to the point where it consumes your time, thoughts, and emotions. But really, it’s the characters that tend bring you in. Whether it be Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series, Noah Calhoun from The Notebook, Stefan and Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries, or any other character of your choosing, some fictional figures are just too fantastic, and we find ourselves growing attached as if we know them.
If you’ve never experienced this, you probably think I’m crazy. But hear me out. Reading a book series or watching a TV show from beginning to end takes a lot of investment. You watch these characters grow and develop, it’s almost as if you go on the journey with them. How can you not grow too attached?!
Every little thing they do pulls at your heart. The anxiety whilst reading or watching is consuming. Whether they achieve greatness and you get just a little too giddy, or they endure an epic failure and the disappointment overwhelms as if it was your own, you basically begin to experience what the characters themselves are feeling. It’s strange, I know.
If you’re rather unlucky, your character’s fate may take a turn for the worse. When your favorite character dies, you don’t really know what to do with yourself. If you’re anything like me, you lay in bed for days and contemplate life, because without this character, what is life anyways?
Obviously, I am exaggerating a tad bit. But growing fond of a character is part of the magic of books, movies, and television. You get watch or even live vicariously through these characters as they go through trials and tribulations, you get to know them, watch them grow, and the development is so intriguing. So while some think these things can be a waste of time, I believe that they are an experience worth pursuing. Growing attached to a fictional character may seem ridiculous to some, but to others, it’s a way to step away from their own life for a while and step into another’s. And that’s quite an experience to be had.
