By: Nasiphi Mvunyiswa

The main reason we love watching movies and series so much is because of the far-fetched story lines and the extraordinary fictional characters that would not normally exist in real life.  We love getting lost in that fictional adventurous world because real life seems so boring.  But with the events that have been making headlines around the world, maybe these storylines aren’t so far-fetched and maybe these extraordinary characters could actually exist.

Let’s begin with the story that has been at the centre of attention in the country since it took place- the death of Reeva Steenkamp. Everything about this tragic event has elements of a phenomenal movie script or one of these weekly series we get addicted to. Golden boy sports hero shoots and kills girlfriend on Valentine’s Day and now the whole country is entangled in this court trial with lawyers that are exactly like those fictional lawyers we watch in shows like The Good Wife.

And then there’s the Shrien Dewani saga. Man hires people to kill his wife and hopes to never get caught but the evidence points to him being guilty. Doesn’t that just sound like a CSI script?
And the recent story that has been causing waves all over the world, the Malaysian plane that went missing.  I mean come on! How does a plane just disappear? Sounds a bit like a conspiracy. Something you would see on the popular American series, Scandal.

And those are just a few of the crazy events that have been making headlines. It really does seem like this world of ours isn’t as normal as it used to be. We don’t need to watch movies or watch these series anymore; we just need to watch the news daily and we’ll feel as if we’re watching fictional drama stories. That’s how crazy the world has become. Vindictive cold blooded killers actually exist. We all remember the event that took place at the Batman movie premier right? A man just started shooting people, apparently unprovoled. Numerous people died on that day. And these people just came to watch a movie, and ended up dying like they were in a movie. But America is a special case; it’s filled with trigger happy people. So if you go a day without being shot in that country, you’re a survivor.

Man who shot people at the Batman premier
reportedly calls himself “The Joker”. Snap shot from NBC News.

So what exactly is the problem? What makes people get so crazy? Numerous therapists have a theory that the fact people watch these movies and series might be a large factor. People get so entangled in the story lines, they can’t tell the difference between the real world and what’s fiction.

And the sad part in all of this, in the real world we have more villains than we do the heroes.  Watching the news is enough to depress anyone, with stories like little children getting raped by grown men.
It seems to be getting worse as the years go by, people seem to be getting more violent and the world is turning into a sick place. Who knows where this world of ours will end up, but something’s seriously wrong with it.