Escaping with the Arts

Plays, movies, television shows, artwork, books, etc.  The reason why many people say they enjoy these things is that they offer an escape from real life.  But do they really?  Surely, most forms of art tell an outward story different from the individual person's own experience, but underneath lie many of the same issues and feelings that exist in everyone's lives.  If art did not reflect our own problems and feelings, then we would likely not feel a connection with it.  In order for art to be successful, it must provoke thought or emotion.  Therefore, art is not really so separate from our daily lives.  All the things you would think people want to escape from: hatred, betrayal, poverty, despair, are usually included in art forms (whether that art be in the form of a book, play, movie, etc.).  If one of the appeals of art is that it provides a way to escape from everyday life, then why include all those things that tend to make our lives harder?  If art's purpose was to help its audience escape, then why include anything other than rainbows and butterflies-surely THAT would be an escape.  So, really, art brings us deeper into ourselves and the problems in our lives and in our world.  It brings attention to such things and does not seek to push them tidily away in order to present a flowery version of life.  To look at it another way: through art, we are brought closer to the heart of feelings and issues that plague us, not led away from them.