A client told me recently that she watches movies with the goal of “being moved.” I couldn’t agree more. I like my movies like I like my life: passionate, positive, with a message behind the madness.
Film critic Judith Crist who recently passed away to that great theatre in the sky, famously remarked that the job requirement of a film critic was “passion, perhaps even love, for what movies are, do and can be.” (The New York Times, August 7, 2012).
And so between my client, myself and one of the most famous film critics of our times –there is agreement. Movies matter.
When I was in graduate school, I wrote a paper on the effects of movies on our moods. At the time there were only a few papers addressing this theme, so my professor was eager to see me pursue it further.
My other studies prevented that, but I was curious as to how much more had been written to date on the topic. A quick google search turned up quite a number of scholarly articles and a few books. I was happy to see that the quest to understand the effects of movies on our moods continues.
One article discussed how movies are much more than entertainment, that we have physical and emotional responses to movies. The benefits of comedies were noted, citing researchers who’ve found that laughter can distance you from your problems, and therefore enhance your sense of well-being. And laughter can also lower your blood pressure the same as physical exercise can, as well as improve your immune system, and decrease stress hormones. Horror movies can be a substitute for high-risk behaviors and so are a good thing in this regard, but other times horror movies can trigger repressed trauma, so I think I’d leave these flicks off the movie therapy list. Romantic movies were recommended in order to get a break from our problems and get new perspectives that help us cope better. (Chicago Tribune News, June 22, 2011)
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So the conclusion? Feeling sad, anxious, or just out-of-sorts? Need a quick mood fix? Need a laugh? Need to see your problems from a new or higher perspective? You don’t have to reach for high calorie or high fat foods. You don’t have to go for mind-alternating drugs or alcohol. And please don’t take out your bad mood on the dog, the cat, your best friend, or spouse.
Just make it a movie therapy night, because that is everything that “movies are, do and can be.”
. . . Watch for more posts where I’ll mention specific movies and how I suspect they change the consciousness. And leave your comments about movies that have moved you!
Sanity now!
