Blogpost 4: "Heartbreaking"

Heartbreaking movies makes me so fascinated about being a film director because of the challenge in thinking a great concept that will make the viewers cry. This kind of movie makes me think how hard and easy relationship can be. Though I'm not in a relationship. But still this gave me an idea on how a relationship can go.

In addition to that I read an article entitled, "Why watching a tear-jerking film actually makes you happier" from the site dailymail.co.uk by Ted Thornhill. States that, researchers from the Ohio State University found that watching a tragedy movie caused people to think about their own close relationships, which heightened their own emotions such as happiness. The study involved 361 college students who watched the shortened version of the 2007 movie Atonement, which involves two lovers who are separated and died as war casualties. After the movie, the students rated how much they enjoyed the movie and how the movie had led them to reflect in their lives - their goals and relationships. People who experienced a greater increase in sadness while watching the movie were more likely to write about real people with whom they had close relationships, she said. This in turn, increased the student's life happiness after watching it, which was related to a more enjoyment of the movie. 'People seem to use tragedies as a way to reflect on the important relationships in their own life, to count their blessings,’ she said.Positive emotions are a signal that everything is alright. But negative emotions, like sadness, make you think more critically about your own situation. So watching a tragic movie about star-crossed lovers like Romeo and Juliet may make you sad, but that will cause you to think more about your own close relationships and treasure them even more.

Knobloch Westerwick said, "People seem to use tragedies as a way to reflect on the important relationships in their own life, to count their blessings."  People who experienced a greater increase in sadness while watching the movie were more likely to write about real people with whom they had close relationships because they relate their life in the movie. There is greater chance that this kind of movie serves as an outlet to people. By these, they realized and remembered things earlier that made their heart cry.

In addition to that, in the article entitled, "The Surprising Reasons We Like Sad Movies." from the site greatest.com by Katie Koerner, according to Paul Zak, Greatist Expert, Professor, and Director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies, sad films make us feel empathy for others through the release of oxytocin. When we empathize with other people, our brain releases oxytocin, which engages brain circuits that causes us to care about others. Exercising empathy makes us able to connect to the real paople around us. says Zak - both right after watching a sad film and later on, by training our oxytocin system.
 

Jessica Magidson said, “Hey, at least I’m not lying frozen on a board in the ocean while my boyfriend drowns!”  We may be drawn to sad and tragic movies because we have the tendency to feel happier after watching them. These good feelings may result from feeling thankful for the situations in our lives or from feeling connected to other people (or both).