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Kelsie Suluai
Writing 2010
Rogers
3-20-15
Enjoyment of movies
Movies, books, the daily dose of gossip; why do we enjoy it? Could it be perhaps that we
are given insight into another persons life that it distracts us from ours. It could be a part of
ourselves that we wish we could strive to be or promise ourselves never to be like that. Maybe if
we see someone in situation where they suffering that it makes us feel better and we can continue
to move on with our lives. And the thought of helping someone knowing people will
acknowledge us as we are striving to be a good humanitarian in the eyes of others. Here are
some opinions of various kinds on why watching movies intrigues us.
Anna Bartsch and Tilo Hartmann wrote an article of the Role of Cognitive and Affective
Challenge in the Entertainment Experience. In their article they mentioned that coming home
from a long day of activities and challenges, we relax by entertaining ones self with an electronic
device; especially with television or movies. They mentioned two types of entertain experiences
Hedonic and Eudaimonic ergo pleasure seeking and truth seeking. Specifically in movies
Hedonic viewers would be watching movies to have fun and a way to let of steam Its important
to me that I have fun when watching a movie (Hartmann, 2015). As for Endaimonic viewers
would be watching movies re-evaluate themselves as an individual I like movies that challenge
my way of seeing the world (Hartmann, 2015). Watching an inspiring movie to make ones self a
better person doesnt seem to bad, just as watching a movie to get a good laugh. As Bartsch and

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Hartmann have suggested, when a good outcome for a favorited character happens we are
relieved just as a bad outcome happens for disliked characters. In reality it is very convincing
that when we see justice prevail we bask in its ambience.
An online article also suggests the we as film viewers seek to explore sensations we
rarely experience in our daily lives. To feel the sadness and grief as one experiences when a
loved one is lost, or the joy when loved ones reunite over a long period of time. Film viewers
watch movies to reconnect with our higher selves to be reminded of what humans are capable
of, in terms of both good and evil (CrackingYarns). This article also suggested that we watch
to be reminded that we are not alone. The struggles of life film viewers experience in their daily
lives are experiences others have gone through. Somewhere there is someone who has gone
through a similar experience and they have a story to tell.
In Hartmanns and Bartschs article they mention a hedonic (pleasure-seeking)
experience; to watch a movie a movie and enjoy it. If so then how about watching a movie in the
genre of tragedies. In the article of Sad movies dont always make me cry: The cognitive and
Affective Process Underpinning Enjoyment of Tragedy by Dohyun Ahn; focuses on why people
enjoy tragedy. Tragedy possess even more challenges than other negatively valenced genres
such as suspense or mystery because tragedy by definition does not end with an uplifting or
hopeful outcome. (Ahn, 2012). Therefor we have a feeling of empathy with those suffering in
the movie. He also talks about seeing an individual in an even worse situation as oneself can
bring comfort to people who are in distress, because they perceive depressing content as
uplifting.
Just as Author Ahns article suggests that we enjoy tragedy movies because we experience
the feeling of empathy it brings along with it. Author Alice E. Hall goes in to detail in her article

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of Testing the relationship between trait empathy, Transportation, Perceive Realism , and Movie
Enjoyment. The degree of ones empathy they feel towards another is based on the variety of
factors. So the relationship to the target and the targets situation. (Hall, 2010). She explains
there are four forms of Trait empathy (focus of current research). One of them being perspective
taking which refers to how you view another individual. Fantasy empathy also includes the
viewing of others, or putting yourself in their shoes, but in this case its putting oneself into the
shoes of a fictional character along with the situations. The other form of empathy is Empathic
concern; where you have a feeling of sympathy or concern for others. The last form is personal
distress, if one individual sees someone in a negative situation, it makes the observer feel distress
as well. For example if you have ever seen The Princess in the Attic theres a point in the movie
where she meets her father but he does not recognize her because he had a concussion. As she
being dragged out, you (as an observer) feel as helpless as she and want her father to remember
her as well.
To the question at hand of why we enjoy watching movies is that we enjoy them because
we get to look through a window into anothers life. As author Alice has said we are able to put
ourselves in the shoes of another by a form of trait empathy; that form is perspective taking,
which refers of how we view another individual. As Hartmann and Bartsch has suggested we
experience various forms when we watch movies. One form is watching a movie to have insight
of ourselves and hopefully make a better person out of ourselves. The other form is purely for
pleasure; enjoying a movie to achieve a great laugh or blow off some steam. The thought of not
being alone is also comforting to some who watch movies. The struggles of life have ways to
bring us down and knowing that there maybe someone else who is going through a similar

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experience is comforting. To see one in distress, grief, or tragedy can bring enable us to prepare
ourselves