Fiction AFFECTS Reality Because NARUTO!
16Out of all the fiction affecting reality arguments, this is easily some of the most absurd.
"Mentally ill people BRUSH THEIR TEETH THANKS TO NARUTO and you want me to believe that FICTION DOESNT AFFECT REALITY????"
That... wow. There are loads to unpack out of that sentence.
This notion was actually based on a Tumblr post that said, "Sometimes, you have to be mentally ill to get mentally well." So, it's not suggesting that mentally ill people brush their teeth thanks to Naruto. It's suggesting that normal people have to be mental so that they can be encouraged to do stuff in the real world, and by that, they mean have a fictional character convince them to do something so that you are more motivated by it, such as brushing your teeth.
This is an innocent and wholesome post that can motivate people to do something, and I don't dismiss the effectiveness of it. I couldn't find the original post of someone saying it, but a more recent example that I can think of is when some people online say that they are motivated to do something because they thought of Mike from Breaking Bad basically going "So, here's what you're going to do."
I admit that sometimes, I do have people in my head that motivate me through the day, except they're not usually fictional characters. I thought of Gordon Ramsay just yelling at me, and that really motivates me.
The point is this is an example of fiction affecting reality, but that's not why people say fiction affects reality. They say fiction affects reality in that if you play violent video games, you're a murderer in real life.
"People stay alive thanks to fictional characters, people are inspired to be better thanks to fictional stories and you're TELLING ME FICTION DOESN’T AFFECT REALITY."
Yes. Fiction doesn't affect reality in all circumstances. For example, the same person who writes this likes the Hannibal miniseries, and here's their response of Hannibal being, you know, a cannibal.
"I don't see it that way. Hannibal is an anti-hero to me."
I'm glad that you don't see it that way because there is a whole army of online moral guardians who will call you a cannibal for it and they will tell you that you should not like Hannibal because fiction affects reality and therefore if you like Hannibal, you are a cannibal.
OOPS.