H2O #114: In Which We Discuss the Suspension of Disbelief

Coming out of our discussion last week, we work off of Doug’s suggested topic: the willing suspension of disbelief. It’s a critical element in genre fiction — that agreement between the artist and the audience that certain parts of a story are there and they make sense within the story. You have to be willing to accept things like transporters, aliens, telepathy, time travel, and all manner of things to enjoy the story.

But if you stare too hard at it, the whole thing comes apart. And sometimes, that’s not what the author or filmmakers intended. Sometimes they take for granted what audiences will accept or reject, and we take a look at a few that get it right, and some that don’t.