Why Do We Cry With Love Movies?
Friday night … plan? Go to the movies or stay home watching a movie. Available options? All romantic! Was there none of terror or action? No! We want to cry hard for two hours and not worry about the makeup coming off.
Some may think this Friday night plan is from a die-hard masochist or someone who really enjoys having a hard time. But it’s not like that. It is an excellent way to relieve pain from the past or express something that happens to us today.
Heartwarming scenes, crying insured
That could be the summary of any love movie. Why do we want to cry even when the story has nothing to do with us, when we are happy because we have found our better half or have been able to “bury” the memory of an ex a long time ago?
The answer is a simple word: Empathy. To be empathetic with the protagonist of the film is to contact their feelings, just as if the story happened to us or our best friend was telling it to us.
The factors that can provoke this emotional experience in the cinema are, for example, the story in general, the times the actors cry on stage, the happiness that the characters can experience and the message they leave at the end.
That is why crying appears without us looking for it or waiting for it … and we are not ashamed either. “I’m crying for the movie … or do you not understand?” You can tell the bride to your partner when you extend a handkerchief (to be as gentleman as possible).
This lack of modesty in front of the screen makes us, for example, break into tears in the middle of the cinema without caring too much what the person next to us thinks (not the boyfriend, but the stranger). Many indicate that the darkness of the room or the clarity of the images together with the surround sound make us more prone to tears.
We cry even though the ending is happy
“They were happy and ate partridges” say all the stories of princes and princesses that we read or saw when we were little. The same is usually applied (with very few exceptions) to romantic movies.
Misunderstandings, anger, misunderstandings, new partners and even the passage of time are not enough reason for these two people to end up kissing before the “end” sign. And there we do need an extra dose of tissues! (and of course the makeup kit to avoid looking like a raccoon).
Now … is it possible to cry with “happiness” for the wonderful ending and the long-awaited kiss? Experts indicate that no one sheds tears when they are happy. What do you mean not? If the story was so beautiful!
The hypothesis of psychologists is that we actually cry because that happy ending reminds us of unpleasant feelings that we have suffered at some point in our lives.
As it is not well seen (socially speaking) to burst into tears all the time, we usually repress that emotion. So when we watch a movie, read a book or listen to a song, there is something deep within us that we cannot keep any longer.
The happy endings we are used to on the big screen evoke an ideal world full of love, without problems and with many partridges that end up on the grill.
For adults, the outcomes of stories transport us to an age where everything was “rosy”, that is, when we were children. However, once we have shed the last tear of the night and gone to the bathroom to touch up our mascara and eyeliner … we must return to everyday life, without exception.
And that is exactly what makes us sad. Not the most romantic phrase you’ve ever heard from a man’s mouth in front of his beloved woman. Or the most beautiful scene with a beach full of palm trees … and even the kiss in the rain.
When we cry before a happy ending we are bringing to light our most “idealistic” side, the one that yearns for the perfect love, the ideal partner and the magical environment. So the tears, are they from happiness or from joy? What do you think?
