Suspension of disbelief or willing suspension of disbelief
is a term coined in 1817 by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor
Coleridge, who suggested that if a writer could infuse a "human interest
and a semblance of truth" into a fantastic tale, the reader would suspend
judgment concerning the implausibility of the narrative. Suspension of
disbelief often applies to fictional works of the action, comedy, fantasy, and
horror genres. Cognitive estrangement in fiction involves using a
person's ignorance or lack of knowledge to promote suspension of disbelief.
The phrase "suspension of disbelief" came to be used more loosely in the later 20th century, often used to imply that the burden was on the reader, rather than the writer, to achieve it. This might be used to refer to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. These fictional premises may also lend to the engagement of the mind and perhaps proposition of thoughts, ideas, art and theories.
Suspension of disbelief is often an essential element for a magic act or a circus sideshow act. For example, an audience is not expected to actually believe that a woman is cut in half or transforms into a gorilla in order to enjoy the performance.
Coleridge coined the phrase in his Biographia Literaria, published in 1817, in the context of the creation and reading of poetry. Chapter XIV describes the preparations with Wordsworth for their revolutionary collaboration Lyrical Ballads (first edition 1798), for which Coleridge had contributed the more romantic, Gothic pieces including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Poetry and fiction involving the supernatural had gone out of fashion to a large extent in the 18th century, in part due to the declining belief in witches and other supernatural agents among the educated classes, who embraced the rational approach to the world offered by the new science. Alexander Pope, notably, felt the need to explain and justify his use of elemental spirits in The Rape of the Lock, one of the few English poems of the century that invoked the supernatural. Coleridge wished to revive the use of fantastic elements in poetry. The concept of "willing suspension of disbelief" explained how a modern, enlightened audience might continue to enjoy such types of story.
Coleridge recalled:
The notion of such an action by an audience was however recognized in antiquity, as seen particularly in the Roman theoretical concerns of Horace, who also lived in an age of increasing skepticism about the supernatural, in his Ars Poetica.
Suspension of disbelief is sometimes said to be an essential component of live theater, where it was recognized by Shakespeare, who refers to it in the Prologue to Henry V:
According to the theory, suspension of disbelief is an essential ingredient for any kind of storytelling. With any film, the viewer has to ignore the reality that they are viewing a two-dimensional moving image on a screen and temporarily accept it as reality in order to be entertained. Black-and-white films provide an obvious early example that audiences are willing to suspend disbelief, no matter how unreal the images appear, for the sake of entertainment. With the exception of totally color blind people (See: Achromatopsia), no person viewing these films sees the real world without color, but they are still willing to suspend disbelief and accept the images in order to be entertained.
One of the most common examples of suspension of disbelief is in language. For practical purposes, dramas usually are played in the language of the intended audience, irrespective of its context. For example, virtually every film and television series made in Anglophone countries have the characters speaking in English, regardless of the linguistic environment of the narrative. To the extent that foreign or alien language appears, this tends to be for dramatic effect. This device has become so common that suspension of disbelief is an almost automatic audience response in all but the rarest cases.
Suspension of disbelief is also supposed to be essential for the enjoyment of many movies and TV shows involving complex stunts, special effects, and seemingly unrealistic plots, characterizations, etc. The theory professes to explain why a subset of action movie fans are willing to accept the idea that, for example: The good guy can get away with shooting guns in public places (without getting in trouble with the local law-enforcement himself), never running out of ammunition (Rambo movies), or that cars will explode with a well-placed shot to the gas tank (numerous action movies use this trope/plot element).
Suspension of disbelief is also needed when a character is not supposed to age over the course of a series (because of being a vampire or be eternal/immortal because of some quirk/trait/power of the character) but the actor eventually does – as seen in Angel and Highlander. Likewise, the various Terminators played by Arnold Schwarzenegger are supposed to be standardized units from the same assembly line, but the original cyborg in 1984's The Terminator looks noticeably younger than the cyborgs with the "same" organic covering that appear in the 1991 and 2003 sequel movies.
In the three CSI series, it is frequently implied that forensic test results are received immediately after said tests are performed; in reality, it can take several months to get results back, it is inconvenient to the plots to show the necessary waiting period. To advance the plot, a suspension of disbelief is necessary, and viewers must accept that the waiting period has passed or that there is no waiting period to begin with. As well, in real life, crime scene investigators are not responsible for the wide array of police duties that the show's characters typically carry out (investigation, arrest, interrogation, etc.); they limit themselves to forensic and lab work; these series would have audiences believe that crime scene units are solely responsible for entire investigations, including the arrest.
All sorts of story-telling involving puppets or cartoon characters demand suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience, since it is obvious that the "people" seen are not real living persons. On the Muppet Show, the rods controlling Kermit’s arms are clearly visible, but the audience is expected to ignore them.
The phrase "suspension of disbelief" came to be used more loosely in the later 20th century, often used to imply that the burden was on the reader, rather than the writer, to achieve it. This might be used to refer to the willingness of the audience to overlook the limitations of a medium, so that these do not interfere with the acceptance of those premises. These fictional premises may also lend to the engagement of the mind and perhaps proposition of thoughts, ideas, art and theories.
Suspension of disbelief is often an essential element for a magic act or a circus sideshow act. For example, an audience is not expected to actually believe that a woman is cut in half or transforms into a gorilla in order to enjoy the performance.
Coleridge’s Original
Formulation
Coleridge coined the phrase in his Biographia Literaria, published in 1817, in the context of the creation and reading of poetry. Chapter XIV describes the preparations with Wordsworth for their revolutionary collaboration Lyrical Ballads (first edition 1798), for which Coleridge had contributed the more romantic, Gothic pieces including The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Poetry and fiction involving the supernatural had gone out of fashion to a large extent in the 18th century, in part due to the declining belief in witches and other supernatural agents among the educated classes, who embraced the rational approach to the world offered by the new science. Alexander Pope, notably, felt the need to explain and justify his use of elemental spirits in The Rape of the Lock, one of the few English poems of the century that invoked the supernatural. Coleridge wished to revive the use of fantastic elements in poetry. The concept of "willing suspension of disbelief" explained how a modern, enlightened audience might continue to enjoy such types of story.
Coleridge recalled:
”... It was agreed, that my endeavours should be directed to persons and
characters supernatural, or at least romantic, yet so as to transfer from our
inward nature a human interest and a semblance of truth sufficient to procure
for these shadows of imagination that willing suspension of disbelief for the
moment, which constitutes poetic faith. Mr. Wordsworth on the other hand was to
propose to himself as his object, to give the charm of novelty to things of
every day, and to excite a feeling analogous to the supernatural, by awakening
the mind's attention from the lethargy of custom, and directing it to the
loveliness and the wonders of the world before us ...”
The notion of such an action by an audience was however recognized in antiquity, as seen particularly in the Roman theoretical concerns of Horace, who also lived in an age of increasing skepticism about the supernatural, in his Ars Poetica.
Examples in Literature
Suspension of disbelief is sometimes said to be an essential component of live theater, where it was recognized by Shakespeare, who refers to it in the Prologue to Henry V:
"[...] make imaginary puissant [...] 'tis your thoughts that now
must deck our kings [...] turning accomplishment of many years into an
hourglass."
In Popular Culture
According to the theory, suspension of disbelief is an essential ingredient for any kind of storytelling. With any film, the viewer has to ignore the reality that they are viewing a two-dimensional moving image on a screen and temporarily accept it as reality in order to be entertained. Black-and-white films provide an obvious early example that audiences are willing to suspend disbelief, no matter how unreal the images appear, for the sake of entertainment. With the exception of totally color blind people (See: Achromatopsia), no person viewing these films sees the real world without color, but they are still willing to suspend disbelief and accept the images in order to be entertained.
One of the most common examples of suspension of disbelief is in language. For practical purposes, dramas usually are played in the language of the intended audience, irrespective of its context. For example, virtually every film and television series made in Anglophone countries have the characters speaking in English, regardless of the linguistic environment of the narrative. To the extent that foreign or alien language appears, this tends to be for dramatic effect. This device has become so common that suspension of disbelief is an almost automatic audience response in all but the rarest cases.
Suspension of disbelief is also supposed to be essential for the enjoyment of many movies and TV shows involving complex stunts, special effects, and seemingly unrealistic plots, characterizations, etc. The theory professes to explain why a subset of action movie fans are willing to accept the idea that, for example: The good guy can get away with shooting guns in public places (without getting in trouble with the local law-enforcement himself), never running out of ammunition (Rambo movies), or that cars will explode with a well-placed shot to the gas tank (numerous action movies use this trope/plot element).
Suspension of disbelief is also needed when a character is not supposed to age over the course of a series (because of being a vampire or be eternal/immortal because of some quirk/trait/power of the character) but the actor eventually does – as seen in Angel and Highlander. Likewise, the various Terminators played by Arnold Schwarzenegger are supposed to be standardized units from the same assembly line, but the original cyborg in 1984's The Terminator looks noticeably younger than the cyborgs with the "same" organic covering that appear in the 1991 and 2003 sequel movies.
In the three CSI series, it is frequently implied that forensic test results are received immediately after said tests are performed; in reality, it can take several months to get results back, it is inconvenient to the plots to show the necessary waiting period. To advance the plot, a suspension of disbelief is necessary, and viewers must accept that the waiting period has passed or that there is no waiting period to begin with. As well, in real life, crime scene investigators are not responsible for the wide array of police duties that the show's characters typically carry out (investigation, arrest, interrogation, etc.); they limit themselves to forensic and lab work; these series would have audiences believe that crime scene units are solely responsible for entire investigations, including the arrest.
All sorts of story-telling involving puppets or cartoon characters demand suspension of disbelief on the part of the audience, since it is obvious that the "people" seen are not real living persons. On the Muppet Show, the rods controlling Kermit’s arms are clearly visible, but the audience is expected to ignore them.
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