I&#x27;d guess that, at least in some times and places, a religious narrative of life and the forces in it filled that role to some degree.<p>I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s a coincidence, for instance, that <i>Paradise Lost</i> reads so <i>cinematically</i>.<p>Maybe modern mass entertainment does have a larger effect, but I wouldn&#x27;t take it as necessarily true. A little set design and presentation wizardry and a willing audience can fire the imagination in major ways. See: otherwise seemingly sane people joining ISIS to fulfill their role in a religious narrative. Usually if someone credits mass entertainment media for their violent acts, they were unbalanced loonies to begin with.