Full Idea
We routinely do not respond to art as if we were as if we were real-life spectators of its events.
Gist of Idea
We don't often respond to events in art as if they were real events
Source
Daniel Jacobson (Ethical Criticism and the Vice of Moderation [2006], 'rejection')
Book Reference
'Aesthetics and the Phil of Art (debates)', ed/tr. Kieran,Matthew [Blackwell 2004], p.354
A Reaction
This strikes me as one of the basic facts about aesthetics, and especially of narrative art. People sometimes encounter terrible events on the street, only to find someone is making a film.