MARTIN ROE/UNITED NORTHERN PHOTOGRAPHERS MIDNIGHT EXPRESS: Clubbers in Sheffield, England, escape to the dance floor

Fly Away

When our world seems to be falling apart, we cope by pretending it isn't. 2003 will be the year of escapism

By JEFF CHU

Posted Sunday, Dec. 8, 2002; 2.02 p.m. GMT
Nostradamus can't have been a popular kid. Next year marks the 500th anniversary of the seer's birth, and history tells us that he was a precocious child. You can just imagine the little prophet clambering up a medieval jungle gym and muttering about how the whole shaky structure would collapse in a heap seven moons later. And you can hear the exasperated whines of all the other kids: Shut up, man! Just shut up!

Now, as we endure our daily diet of misery in the papers and on TV, we often wish the whole depressing world would just shut up. War, terrorists, economic worries, Michael Jackson: we're spooked. Even after Sept. 11, the threats seemed distant; New York was at least an ocean away. But Bali and warnings of more attacks in Europe and Asia brought the fear home. We're not bullish on business either: a survey by Taylor Sofres Nelson found that about half of executives in Japan and China say the global economy will worsen in 2003, while a Daily Telegraph poll showed Brits to be so down about the nation's future — and the weather — that more than half have pondered emigrating.

It's not easy to escape. But we'll try. Expect the next 12 months to see the creation of our own Never Never Lands, where we get away from it all, whatever bad news "it" turns out to be be. 2003 will be the year of escapism — hedonism for some, fantasy for others, nostalgia for many more.

The signs of the New Hedonism are every-where. We're smoking more and drinking more. A white powder nicknamed Charlie is more a fixture on the social scene than ever, and a "drug" to watch is Charlie's copycat — foke, or fake coke, a nontoxic option for those who want the wild image and a working nose. Bored with swingers' clubs, some Parisians are riding an orgy-mobile, a bus that circles the city while its passengers have sex. (No, we can't tell you where to buy tickets.) The point of this "extreme sport," says Frédéric Taddeï, who chronicles late-night life for his TV show Paris Dernière, "is to increase the sense of adventure."

You don't want to go that far? Then escape through the arts. Our favorite young wizard should return to the page next year in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Comic-book sales will stay hot, as favorites like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen come alive on the big screen. We'll also see The Return of the King, the final part of The Lord of the Rings . "You go to the theatre or to the cinema or read a book to get some reinforcement that good will prevail," says Fran Walsh, co-writer of the Rings film trilogy. "It's more than escapism — it offers some hope." The hobbits, adds Rings director Peter Jackson, "step up and are brave when they have to be." We'd like to think we could do the same.

But sometimes you just want to eat ice cream and crawl into bed. Amid terror alerts, profit warnings and news of yet another J.Lo wedding, we crave the safe and the stable. So nesting and nostalgia will be big, as will detail therapy — a focus on little things that can make us feel a little better — in everything from food to fashion to decor. "Cuddle degree will be important," says trend watcher Li Edelkoort. Felts, satins and linens will be in, along with beiges and blues. We'll throw rugs over the floorboards and afghans on the sofa. Soup and comfort food will be on the menu. When we shop, we'll stick with what's worked for us before. "If you're feeling uncertain, you consume the brands you know," explains consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier. "It's all about control."

We escape because we want to create a semblance of security in a world where security is rare. But we know that we can't be escape artists forever, and that a smoke, a film or a new suede throw won't last. Still, in 2003, we can — and will — pretend. We'll tell ourselves that big bad Osama isn't going to blow this well-decorated house down, that one more bowl of chicken soup will be good for the soul, that there is such a thing as Happily Ever After..

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