A Much-Needed Retrospective On Why Society Needs Cinema Therapy
A Closer Look at the Rewards of a Communal Film Experience
After a month of going to packed movie theaters in Los Angeles to see several films, I’ve overheard many conversations that went something like this:
Did you hear that guy laugh behind us?
Yes, it was amazing, and weird. He made us all laugh.
and
I felt horrible when that bomb went off in the movie.
I know, me too. You could feel the whole theater go silent. Someone sniffled in the corner. It made me want to cry. Why didn’t I bring tissues??
and
Hahaha. I couldn’t stop clawing at my seat.
It was great. So much fun! And when he did the running thing. Hahahaha. It was nice to see so many people out. It felt good.
Is it possible that we’ve been starving for this intense, sensory immersion? Not just with ourselves but also with others?
As the pandemic was just beginning, in May 2020, Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch wrote about why cinema must be a mass medium — “mass-intimacy” as he called it. “There are four key ways in which film attempts this – and manages it better than any other art form. Three of them occur irrespective of whether we are watching a film on an iPad or in an Imax. But the fourth – and possibly most crucial – is singular to seeing a film in a cinema,” said Murch.
Providing a way for people to resolve contradictions in themselves. Murch says that when a film “connects, it speaks to the head, the heart, and the gut,” the experience provides a social and spiritual function. We can have more empathy and understanding, thereby interacting with others in society in a healthier way. In a way, what he’s saying is that we learn through a vicarious experience. It sounds so non-entertaining, but we can still learn while being entertained.
According to a study from 2020, psychologist Ryan M. Niemiec studied how movies can help us be our best selves. He found that when people saw a movie about a character who made a moral choice, did something inspiring, or was admirable in some way, these actions and qualities inspired the viewer to be a better person. The study also found that the connection with emotions in the film, even under a difficult or tragic plot, allowed the viewer to connect with their same feelings — such as love, happiness, sadness — and be healing or motivating.
Even watching a sad movie can be helpful. Personally, I’d be worried if I were in a movie theater watching a sad film and no one was crying! Are we so deadened by small screens and lack of exercising our emotions that we would feel nothing? Releasing emotions while watching a film is healthy. It shows you have empathy, which is also a sign of emotional intelligence.
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