Have you ever watched the romantic comedy-drama film “10 Things I Hate About You”? Do you remember that part when Kat read her love poem aloud?
Can you pass me a handkerchief, please?
Movies make me cry. It’s not a secret. I don’t mind doing it even in front of other people and I know I’m not alone. There’s nothing neither shameful nor embarrassing about it. It’s not women’s thing and it’s more than just being highly sensitive. Actually, people who cry during movies are somehow special; they are the strongest people of all; they possess something most people don’t- EMPATHY.
Yes, crying means empathy. Empathy means inner STRENGTH. You put yourself in someone else’s shoes. That’s not even close to easy, is it? You carefully observe with one goal: to understand. You are strong enough to care about others with your whole heart.
According to some researchers, 92% of people shed tears during movies. What are the reasons people cry while watching them?
First of all, some people get caught up in the story or are greatly touched by the amazing performance of actors. In other words, people feel like being on an emotional roller coaster while admiring art. It’s a mysterious thing called Stendhal Syndrome (also known as Florence Syndrome), named after a French author.
While visiting Florence, he wrote: “I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen…Everything spoke so vividly to my soul…Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling.” Have you ever experienced something like this?
Second, people may connect with the characters in a psychological way. They see the world through characters’ eyes feeling joy and pain; they suffer, they feel deeply. Not only they feel, they become more sociable generous and want to help. Other people can count on them. They are STRONG. It’s oxytocin’s fault!
Paul Zak, a neuroeconomist, said: “when the brain synthesizes oxytocin, people are more trustworthy, generous, charitable, and compassionate. I have dubbed oxytocin the “moral molecule,” and others call it the love hormone. What we know is that oxytocin makes us more sensitive to social cues around us. In many situations, social cues motivate us to engage to help others, particularly if the other person seems to need our help.”
Third, while watching a movie, there are people who may recall on their own joyful or painful memories. They accept their past experience, face it, deal with it, and have STRENGTH to move from fiction to reality. This means when they are broken down, they have that same STRENGTH to recover quickly.
Living in a world of narcissists, it takes a real courage, GREAT EMOTIONAL STRENGTH for someone to try to understand and care about others’ feelings, don’t you think so?
Now you know. Next time you watch a movie, don’t keep tears inside you. Stay confident, comfortable in your own skin, instead. You are a human being above all -the strongest one!
Let it rain, my friend. Let it rain.
SOURCE:
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_stories_change_brain
