It sounds strange, but sometimes I want to watch something sad. I want to be moved. I might even want to cry. That's a weird thing to admit, but after a quick search I found that it's actually quite common. People seek out sad media looking for a good cry.
But why? It doesn't seem to make sense to go looking for sadness. If, according to the foundational mood management theory, we pick movies and games to regulate or boost our moods, Then why would we choose to be sad?
What does the field of media psychology have to say about our interest in sad movies? And how can they help us with our own pain? We've got some terrible news today. Let's have it. Wanda's going back to America.
That is bad news. We need Kate. And we need Leo. And we need them now.
Come on! One of the most widely believed reasons we like watching sad films would be our need for catharsis. To build up emotions and purge them from our system. In a sad movie, we expect people to be sad and to express themselves.
Typically, in our real lives, we aren't encouraged to feel out our sadness and we can even grow ashamed of experiencing it. We can mistakenly believe that sadness is wrong or unhealthy. Watching sad movies can help us feel things we don't let ourselves feel in our everyday lives.
However, research shows that catharsis isn't actually the strongest reason why we seek out sad stories. There are implications that we don't use sad movies to simply purge emotions. Instead, we use them as tools for learning how to clarify and organize our own sorrows.
Media psychology research suggests that movies can actually be used as tools to bolster our defenses against past, present, and future pain. We've all endured something painful. Once we reach a certain age, we've gathered several painful memories that linger with us as we mature. These moments help shape us, but processing these memories can be difficult.
In the bustle of everyday life, we don't usually pause to contemplate how much it hurt to lose a best friend, or cope with a betrayal of trust. However, when we sit down to watch a movie in which relatable characters undergo similar situations, we gain something important. Research shows movies that help us contemplate our woes increase our feelings of gratification and self-acceptance. We become more willing to exercise self-compassion, treating ourselves more kindly and appreciatively. This is very important for our well-being.
Consuming sad movies can even help us when we're in the middle of feeling sorrowful. According to social cognitive theory, we are subconsciously always looking to learn from others, even and perhaps especially from people in media, to learn about trauma and the appropriate behavior for coping with negative emotions. While not all modeled behavior we see on TV can be helpful, Some of the most touching and famous displays of emotional coping include tenderness, compromise, self-love, and personal growth. The more practice we get processing our past tragedies, the more confident we will be in the future when we can handle the inevitable sadness we encounter in our lives.
In other words, we develop our emotional resilience, our ability to bounce back quickly from negative emotions and problem-solve situations. Lastly, I want to discuss the ability of sad stories to help us become better people. Meaningful media that shows us characters and people acting and reacting virtuously in a tragic situation inspire a mysterious but powerful feeling that media psychologists have named elevation. Elevation is the feeling we get when we find meaning in sadness and feel inspired to grow into more charitable and selfless people in the face of suffering. In fact, psychologists have found that media which elicits feelings of elevation can encourage pro-social outcomes, and actually inspires people to think and treat stigmatized social groups more positively.
In conclusion, at first it might seem like a paradox that we would seek out or appreciate a sad movie, and it seems strange to think we have something to gain from being sad. But we know how respected and loved some sad movies are. They are so revered because even though we aren't always aware of it, we know deep down that they help us accept, cope with, and defend against our own pain as well as inspire us to help others. Mindfully watching Schindler's List or Atonement or Inside Out at specific times in our lives can provide us with very important opportunities for emotional clarification and elevation. Next time you go looking for a good cry, take it in and think deeply about your own pain.
The more mindfully we watch these films, the more we stand to gain in emotional stability, and the more we may be inspired to give back. Thank you for watching. I'll be uploading more to this channel about navigating emotionally intelligent movies, games, and internet content that can bolster our well-being. Please subscribe if you'd like to see more videos like this.
Until next time, happy watching.