Similar situation. Been online since ’88 and formed many online societies which brought together many people who went on to do far greater things than I. It feels good to be a part of Internet history in some small way.
You’re right of course. Delusions based on media are hard to shake. They’re crafted by screenwriters who comprehend the tropes of our culture and know how to “get in our heads”. Genius really.
Best example is 30 second commercials. We get to meet these people and understand them within a few seconds. How? They fit the tropes that make up part of what we consider the norms and we hardly question them.
A 90 minute movie, with more time, can really investigate more complicated tropes – the biggest trope being the Monomyth [Joseph Campbell] – Hero’s Quest. And we *love* a hero’s quest, even if we pick the side of the anti-hero, or the mentor, or the love interest, or whatever.
Their questions become our questions. They’re a powerful tool to explore one’s self as is all literature. But one has to pull the head away from the computer or the TV or the movie from time to time and go, “Ok, what part of MY story am I in right now?”
“Am I just playing off of a script? What script? What stereotypes am I conforming to without even realizing it?” “What stereotypes am I screaming, “THAT’S NOT ME AT ALL!” when everybody else sees you as conforming perfectly to it?” etc..