watching a movie…

Do you cry while watching a movie? This is a BIG SECRET about people crying while watching a movie…

Hand on heart, people who cry while watching a movie have something that others have not fully cultivated - empathy. A special type of person possesses empathy. Many people - narcissistic people and sociopaths, for example - are born without it and live their whole lives without ever really putting themselves in another person’s position. They can’t feel anything towards other people and that’s not always a good thing.

In fact, it takes a lot of strength when you take care of other people and their situations. Life is cruel to some people, and if you’re able to actually put yourself in someone else’s position and feel that pain, that says something about you. You are strong enough to actually endure that pain, but still feel it. You are strong enough to be strong for others as well and you have the ability to actually feel what they feel. Caring for other people is never a weakness, even if that person is just a character in a movie. It shows that you actually have a heart, a heart that can be broken for others. Although it may be broken, by the end of the film, you know it will be reassembled.

The ability to recover quickly says something else about people crying while watching movies: they are strong enough and smart enough to actually separate reality from fiction.

Of course, that’s not the only reason people cry while watching movies. Tears flow because you too experienced what the character in the film experienced - tears of memory are painful. Sometimes it’s cathartic to see movies where people experience things that we experience too, simply because it allows us to get rid of some repressed emotions in a healthier way.

Then, there’s the kind of tears that flow when you’re actually just impressed by the artistic genius of the film. It’s not something only pretentious people do. This is called Stendhal syndrome in its more advanced forms, and it means that a work of art can take you to the point where you feel physical and emotional symptoms. For people who are really sensitive, watching a really good movie, listening to a good show, or even reading a real comic can be a test of their ability to maintain a calm facial expression. It, too, can be like a carousel ride - it forces you to face and accept emotions that most others ignore.

If you ask me, it requires a lot of strength. It may not be the kind of strength most people imagine when they think of a strong person, but it is the most important type of emotional strength: empathy. Even if we can’t lift a 100kg weight, we explore our emotions, it can lift our spirits more than anything else.