Fantasy Films and Escapism

Over the past ten years, American culture has been bombarded with fantasy films ranging from The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter. There doesn't seem to be an end to this influx either; three Harry Potter movies are currently being planned. The genre of fantasy also extends to the superhero world as well. Even though the ever popular Spiderman franchise has come to an unsatisfying end, a new Batman film a of as well as an Iron Man film are planned for release this summer. When analyzing this issue, its rather difficult not to wonder why the American public has such a fancy for this farfetched genre.
One obvious (yet still completely valid) assumption is perhaps Americans are looking for a medium to escape the difficulties of reality. It is important to note that it is commonplace for superhero films and other fantasy flicks to saturate the list of top grossing films for their respective year. Personally, I feel as if this assumption is completely true. I am not afraid to admit that I look at fantasy films as a way to escape reality. I recently had the opportunity to watch the newest Harry Potter film. While watching this movie, I put myself in the shoes of Harry and truly felt as if I was in their own world. For those two or so hours, I almost forgot the hardships of reality and was whisked away into a fantasy world, almost as if I had just dreamt. I forgot about homework, pledging a fraternity, and even some family issues that I am currently having. I felt refreshed.
Specifically, looking at the success of the Harry Potter franchise (which consistently grosses a very large sum of money), perhaps the American public identifies with Harry. Harry Potter starts out in the franchise as a young British boy who finds out he is destined to become a wizard. After this epiphany, he is whisked away to a fantasy world where he learns how to fulfill his destiny and destroy his arch nemesis, Voldemort. Personally, I feel as if Harry represents the modern American dream. When watching, people want to be Harry and, like him, successfully destroy their enemy. Ties can be drawn to the situation with Iraq where people dream of ending terrorism and establishing peace in the middle east. Perhaps Voldemeort represent this idea of terrorism.
I could elaborate much further on many other popular fantasy franchises, but the key idea is that people use these films to forget about the hardships of reality. One can only wonder if that these movies are simply allowing people to turn a blind eye to the war in Iraq and become less aware of global events. Regardless, I see no end to the popularity of fantasy films in the near future and believe that the movie market will continue to become supersaturated with these films.