So I work with storytelling in video production, and I'm familiar with how and why humans identify and share stories.
But seeing the blockbuster movies out there, most of them action-packed, lots of violence, conflict, and wars, it makes me wonder: Today, we enjoy these movies as a way to escape our mundane routines, sort of like an escape valve.
Did ancient cultures, or do current cultures from peoples that don't have such sedentary, mostly danger-free lives, enjoy similar stories as much as we do?
Yes! Absolutely! Among the earliest written texts we have are ancient epics (Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey), and even before the development of the written word there are artistic renderings of heroes and monsters, famous battles, etc. Proto Geometric pottery in particular is a great source for the pre-literary dissemination of myths and tales of adventure – in many cases, there are narrative scenes rendered during this period (ca. 1030-900 BC) that appear to be depictions of myths that we have not been able to identify. Even before the written word, stories have been key to the human experience.