RPF pros and cons
Advantages of being obsessed with stories about real people: There’s an objective reality. I really like that. Because then your interpretation of events can be “right” or “wrong”. You don’t have to say, “Well, your interpretation is equally valid”, because it’s not. I can feel that smug feeling of being objectively right.
On the flip side, I also like it when my interpretation turns out to be wrong, because then I know that it is wrong, and I know what areas of my view of the world need fixing. It’s not just the author being arbitrary. It’s reality.
Also, the level of detail. That kind of detail just doesn’t exist in fictional media. Sure, we can pretend that each character in a work of fiction is the hero of their own story, but in real life it isn’t a pretense. It’s true. Every character in the story is as real and complete a person as every other character.
Disadvantages: Moral ambiguity. Just plain sweet in fiction, a hell of a lot more complicated in real life, where real people get hurt. Good stories contain a lot of tragedy, and when this is tragedy that actually happened that I’m getting story-telling pleasure from, it causes feelings for guilt. Also, the concern that you are invading other people’s privacy, or contributing to the invasion of other people’s privacy.
On the flip side, I also like it when my interpretation turns out to be wrong, because then I know that it is wrong, and I know what areas of my view of the world need fixing. It’s not just the author being arbitrary. It’s reality.
Also, the level of detail. That kind of detail just doesn’t exist in fictional media. Sure, we can pretend that each character in a work of fiction is the hero of their own story, but in real life it isn’t a pretense. It’s true. Every character in the story is as real and complete a person as every other character.
Disadvantages: Moral ambiguity. Just plain sweet in fiction, a hell of a lot more complicated in real life, where real people get hurt. Good stories contain a lot of tragedy, and when this is tragedy that actually happened that I’m getting story-telling pleasure from, it causes feelings for guilt. Also, the concern that you are invading other people’s privacy, or contributing to the invasion of other people’s privacy.