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why-we-cry-at-movies

Why Do We Cry at Movies Even When We Know They're Not Real?

why we cry at movies even when they are not real emotional contagion empathy mirror neurons fiction catharsis film psychology audience response

YEET MAGAZINE

• 1 min read
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Name the first film that made you properly cry ↓
The first film that made you properly cry.Not a little misty. Properly cry — the kind where you had to pause it, or hope nobody noticed, or gave up hiding it entirely. Whatever the film was, it's probably the first time you realized movies could actually get inside you like that, not just entertain you for two hours.

YEET Magazine

Why Do We Cry at Movies Even When We Know They're Not Real?

We cry at movies because the brain responds to fiction as if it were real, at least in the moment. The same empathy systems that respond to real people respond to characters.

This is not a failure of the brain. It is a feature. Fiction allows us to experience emotion in a safe container, which is part of why stories are pleasurable.

The most effective films do not manipulate the viewer into crying. They earn the emotion by building characters the viewer cares about.

What do you think? Which movie made you cry the hardest? Share your answer.

Source: YEET Magazine