Reviews and summaries of our favorite stories are everywhere.
From plot summaries on a Wikipedia page to fan wikis and study aid sites such as SparkNotes, the summary of a book, movie, or TV show is just a Google search away. Reviews are even becoming more accessible with apps such as Letterboxd.
I recently read a post that said the only way to fully engage with a work of fiction is to experience it firsthand, i.e. reading the book, or watching the movie or show, rather than just relying on reviews or summaries.Â
To fully engage with a piece of media means you are taking it all in with minimal distractions. You’re going to a quiet space to dig into that book whose pages you can’t stop turning. You’re putting on a movie without letting your attention wander to scrolling through your feed.
It’s been normalized to put a movie or a show on in the background while you do work, or to only half pay attention to what you’re watching, to the point that Netflix shows have doubled down on their writing to account for this, focusing on obvious dialogue cues rather than visual cues to tell the story.Â
Putting a show on for background noise is not inherently a bad thing; some people work better with background noise, or simply enjoy it. But I believe it is beneficial to, every once in a while, truly focus on a new piece of media. You don’t have to write an essay on it or dissect every element of the media through film theory or critical theory—just simply watch or read and think about what you’re seeing. Do you like it, or hate it, and why? Does it remind you of something else you’ve seen or read before?
Why is it important to engage with fiction this way? Firstly, it’s a way to respect the time and effort the artists put into their work. Look at your favorite book. Hold it in your hand, feel its weight. Flip through the pages. All those words don’t just magically appear in there, the author spent much of their time writing and rewriting scenes, choosing those words and crafting those scenes!Â
Secondly, taking the time to read a book, or watch a movie or show is essentially the only way to form your opinion of it. It’s the only way to ensure that when you talk about this piece of media, you’re bringing your own interpretation and experience with the story to the conversation, not just parroting someone else’s opinion. Don’t just write off a show as bad or trashy simply because other people say so. Watch it and see for yourself! You might find that it’s enjoyable. You might even end up agreeing that it’s bad and trashy, but you’ve come to that conclusion yourself. You could end up deciding that it’s bad and trashy and you like it anyway.
Engaging with fiction in this way also helps you process a story’s potential flaws without dismissing the entire thing as bad. With critical discourse becoming somewhat mainstream, everyone seems desperate to prove that their favorite piece of media is “good,” on a technical and moral level. But engaging deeper with our favorite stories also involves acknowledging when a story falls flat, when it fails its attempted addressing of a topic, or when there is a plot thread that is completely dropped without resolution. These flaws are flaws, to be sure, but recognizing them shouldn’t always taint the work (except, of course, in cases where the flaws reveal intentional harm).
All this talk of engaging deeply with media has made this seem rote and academic, but more than that, experiencing fiction can just be fun. Diving into a fictional world, getting wrapped up in a plot, and falling in love with the characters can be a great way to spend a few free hours on a weekend.
Written reviews and summaries have their place and value, but reading those won’t substitute experiencing a story for yourself. So go out there and read a book or watch a movie without scrolling through your phone. I promise, it’ll be worth it.