The idea of watching other human beings suffer physical and emotional pain sounds like something only a sadist would enjoy. That’s not the case though is it because many of us love sad, depressing, or tragic films. So are we all masochistic or is there some semblance of logic behind it?
Turns out there are a few different reasons we might see a movie we know will be traumatic as opposed to a laugh-a-minute comedy, and one of them involves science. We crave movies where everything goes wrong for the characters on screen because negative stimuli triggers powerful responses in our brain, or at least it does with women, as one study found. However, this should not be considered an exclusive finding as every individual has a varied response to negative and positive stimuli but it does seem apparent that watching heartbreaking footage can leave us feeling happier when all is said and done.
One reason that this happens is because seeing other people experience extreme hardship allows us to reflect on, and give perspective to our own lives. Suddenly our own existence doesn’t seem so horrible when we compare it to say, I don’t know, Solomon Northup in ’12 Years A Slave’. Which makes us narcissists right? Well maybe, that’s an argument for another time.
This is also an imagery technique used in therapy for people who need help realising their life isn’t so bad. Sad movies also allows us to confront terrible events in a ‘safe and protected environment’, allowing us to be more prepared for when we experience these things in reality. When misfortune does inevitably befall us, we can relate it to something we’ve already partially experienced when watching a film. Watching a sad film can remove certain inhibitions and allow us to access an emotional side to our personalities that we don’t always let people see, thus allowing us to work through and/or cope with our own issues.
Watching a depressing film apparently brings on a sense of catharsis, opening up an emotional release for us that purges feelings of stress and anxiety, lifting our spirits and energy levels. Perhaps we shouldn’t writing this, because isn’t that what exercise is for? Anyway.
It’s not all about personal reflection, there’s actually a chemical process that happens within our brain. When we emphasize with people, even fictional characters, a chemical called oxytocin is released which literally prompts us to start caring about other people (sounds like some humans need a good dose of this). Being able to say you’re a caring person who is considerate of others is always a good feeling and watching traumatic films seems a good way of achieving this.
Furthermore, survey data has uncovered the not so shocking revelation that crying makes us feel better. When we vent some water, salt, saliva and mucous we also let go of our pain, for a little while at least, and start to look on the bright side again.
With all that in mind here’s a nice varied list of films where some pretty horrible or sad things happen, sure to make us feel wonderful in no time.
- ‘Marley and Me’
- ’12 Years a Slave’
- ‘American History X’
- ‘The Green Mile’
- ‘Titantic’
- ‘The Notebook’
- ‘Saving Private Ryan’
- ‘Haichi: A Dog’s Tale’
- ‘Crash’
- ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’
- ‘The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’
- ‘Seven Pounds’
- ‘The United States of Leland’
- ‘The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete’
- ‘Blue Valentine’
- ‘Armageddon’
- ‘Wall-E’
- ‘Inside Out’
- ‘I Am Legend’
- ‘Sophie’s Choice’
