The idea that art promotes empathy has become a platitude. This idea is particularly prevalent when it comes to those works of art described as “narrative”: stories, novels, TV shows, movies, comics. We assume that works that depict characters in action over time must make us empathize with them, or as the saying goes, “walk a mile in their shoes.” And we assume this is a good thing. Why? The slippage between empathy and the good in our public discourse presumes that when we feel the suffering of others, we are prompted to relieve it. But this is not always true.
Source : The Banality of Empathy
