No way.

Belief is always complicated. We read and watch stories about people, some of which claim to be true. In the end is what makes a story believable is in the idea it represents. An idea can’t necessarily be proved or disproved but represents and embodies something people believe in or wish to believe in. With his hyperbolic characters and stories, Gabriel Garcia Marquez considers the stories he tells to be very real. What makes his books believable is the way we relate to each of the characters and the ideas that they and the events they witness embody.

The idea can be something as simple, abstract, or complex. We look to literature and media to remind us about the larger picture beneath most of the mundane and systematic social interaction that occurs in day to day life. Sometimes it’s just a satirical poke at the reality we live in, other times its to feel an ultimate purpose or driving force, and sometimes its watching some reality TV for the purposes of boosting self esteem.

Even fantasy, while its own alternative reality, has to maintain its own believability. If Gandalf the White suddenly erected a scud missile launcher to quell the oncoming invasion from Mordor, I feel most readers would find themselves suddenly disinterested in the story being told despite the thousands of pages that preceded this event. To believe in a good story it requires a plot, characters, and scene that interact with one another in a consistent and interesting way and present an idea the reader wants to believe in. Whether it is the idea that good shall triumph over evil or that three hundred men in red capes wielding homoerotic spears can kick some serious ass, it embodies a belief already present in our minds that we wish to see manifested before us.

Edit:
-Brian Walker