At their worst we call such watching mindless. But a really good movie or novel enables us to feel the situation depicted with all the attendant emotions as if we ourselves were involved. And the best of creative writing make us look at alternative ways of living as we find ourselves involved in a clash between two models. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings brings us right into the cosmic struggle between good and evil. That is why there is no clear dividing line between fantasy and parable.
Parables are shorter and have a more obvious twist or punch line to make a point.
In both cases a story is imagined by someone to captivate and shock us into seeing life from an unexpected point of view. But we can also choose to do our own creative imagination. People often claim that they have no imagination. But all of us can imagine the most complex good and bad situations fast asleep in our dreams. And we certainly began with a powerful gift of imagination as little children.