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medpundit |
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Saturday, February 08, 2003Fantasies are daydreams taken to absurd heights. The images and mental pictures of events start in the mind of the fantastist and end up being confused with reality. Many children are fantasists. They rush in to tell you about the dead bodies in the lane, or some equally improbable story, worth no more than a glance from behind the paper. If daydreams become so all-engrossing that they result in the confusion of fantasy with reality, or persist beyond junior school, there is cause for concern. Psychologists suggest that living a life of fantasy may also represent a desire to achieve an otherwise unattainable goal by escaping from the limitations of everyday life, a modest background or mediocre ability. The Italian neurosurgeon doubtless dreamt of being a great professor as he heaved the patients around the operating theatre, or busied himself with the instruments. The medical student who failed couldn’t face the reality of his lack of ability and created a substitute dream world. Both yearned for the respect of society. Treatment of fantasy is difficult. There is no magic pill. The mental turmoil in some people caused by difficulties encountered in facing up to truth has been laid down in childhood. It is hard, if not impossible, to eradicate it. In the documentary by Martin Bashir, Jackson only seemed truly happy when he was watching his younger self perform and when he was surrounded by adoring fans. He often mentioned fans referring to him as "little Michael," and told how devastating it was when a fan asked to see "little Michael" and was disappointed to see a growing adolescent instead. Much of what he's done - the plastic surgery, the shunning of the adult world, surrounding himself with children - is an attempt to remain "little Michael" and retain all that adulation he knew as the youngest, cutest member of the Jackson 5. posted by Sydney on 2/08/2003 08:07:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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