Emotions in Movies

[fuzz]

In a recent thread the topic of people on the autistic spectrum lacking skills in empathy arose. I was saddened to see that some people on the spectrum do indeed believe this, and I would be interested in exploring this topic further if others wish to as well.

As a start, I wonder what people would get out of movies if they did not feel emotion and empathy with the characters. I feel very intense emotions watching a good film.

I would be interested to know if this youtube compilation by Cinefix of so called emotional movie scenes does get any emotions going in you?

 

[Judge]

A lot of powerful, moving films mentioned. Though I'm a bit surprised "Sophie's Choice" and "The Deer Hunter" weren't even mentioned. Or did I miss that?

Yet one film in particular grabbed and shook me from the very beginning to the very end. It exhausts me each time I see this film. Having done so many times, and only a day or so ago.

"Saving Private Ryan"

"The Deer Hunter" remains the one film where I couldn't help but notice the responses from the audience. You could just feel than anger and frustration in that scene where three captive soldiers of the Viet Cong were forced to play Russian Roulette.

 

[WittyAspie]

A lot of powerful, moving films mentioned. Though I'm a bit surprised "Sophie's Choice" and "The Deer Hunter" weren't even mentioned. Or did I miss that?

Yet one film in particular grabbed and shook me from the very beginning to the very end. It exhausts me each time I see this film. Having done so many times, and only a day or so ago.

"Saving Private Ryan"

"The Deer Hunter" remains the one film where I couldn't help but notice the responses from the audience. You could just feel than anger and frustration in that scene where three captive soldiers of the Viet Cong were forced to play Russian Roulette.

Have you seen Hacksaw Ridge? I highly recommend it.

 

[Judge]

Have you seen Hacksaw Ridge? I highly recommend it.

Not yet, but it's on my list. That's the one about the conscientious objecter, right?

 

[WittyAspie]

Not yet, but it's on my list. That's the one about the conscientious objecter, right?

Yes. It definitely caused an emotional reaction.

 

[Judge]

Oddly enough though, with "Schindler's List" I've always been so impressed with it as the ultimate "template" for film making and story telling I seem to emotionally disconnect from the content of the film. And the acting quality....unforgettable when it comes to Ralph Fiennes as Obersturmführer Amon Goethe.

Yet with Sophie's Choice it starts out sad, goes to tragic and ends in devastation.

 

[Valentine]

If anything aspies have greater empathy than NTs. we simply express emotion in a way that they do not understand. i have been moved to tears by many movies. i cant watch anything to do with the holocaust at all for example.

 

[Suzanne]

I am not into movies at all; I prefer reading over watching and many times, my eyes are so misted over, that I can barely read or so angry that I can hardly read!

 

[xudo]

I was saddened to see that some people on the spectrum do indeed believe this

It's not that I just believe it, I'm actually pretty much devoid of empathy. Empathy requires you to be able to put yourself in someone else's shoes, which I can't do. I can only see things from my point of view, no matter how hard I try. I can sympathise, but not empathise.

As a start, I wonder what people would get out of movies if they did not feel emotion

I am capable of feeling emotions, this is different from empathy. I do get upset or angry or whatever when watching certain films. For example, the Disney Pixar film 'Up'. I cannot watch the beginning without crying. I don't think it's empathy, because I don't have to see anything from their point of view, because they show you every sad bit in the guys life and that makes me sad. I may have a hard time with empathy, but that doesn't mean I'm completely devoid of any emotion at all.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Yeah, I feel a lot of empathy in a depiction of a good story. I get invested in the characters. A big reason why I like Game of Thrones is that and RR Martin isn't afraid to remove characters and introduce different ones.

But I know that I can interpret voice, body language and facial expressions very well. Others struggle with this and that is the apparent lack of empathy that we get told is lacking in many of us.

 

[Myway]

Emotions in movies don't mean anything to me. I rarely get emotions when watching movies. I don't watch movies that often anyway, so that could be why.

 

[Judge]

Pretty much any film that has me in one frame of mind at the beginning that ends with me in another frame of mind is a success, IMO. Where it serves as a catalyst to move you in some way. Even better if a film "enlightens" one somehow.

 

[twilightzone76]

It's not that I just believe it, I'm actually pretty much devoid of empathy. Empathy requires you to be able to put yourself in someone else's shoes, which I can't do. I can only see things from my point of view, no matter how hard I try. I can sympathise, but not empathise.



I am capable of feeling emotions, this is different from empathy. I do get upset or angry or whatever when watching certain films. For example, the Disney Pixar film 'Up'. I cannot watch the beginning without crying. I don't think it's empathy, because I don't have to see anything from their point of view, because they show you every sad bit in the guys life and that makes me sad. I may have a hard time with empathy, but that doesn't mean I'm completely devoid of any emotion at all.

I love that you can differentiate between empathy and sympathy. Many think they can empathize but it's usually sympathy they're referring to. Understandable when you need to be able to experience the emotion in order to understand fully what it is.

It's sort of like a pre-teen who swears up and down they're in love when an adult knows it is just a crush. You don't know what "in love" really means until you experience it later on, when you have matured.

 

[Judge]

I've always suspected that with some people on the spectrum that empathy wasn't necessarily absent. Just something they were unable to spontaneously "project" at an appropriate time.

That it's "in there".....somewhere. But not being able to project it when expected or appreciated makes some think I don't have it and never did.

 

[Ronin82]

I'm incredibly sensitive to emotional content in movies. I still can't watch Disney movies without tearing up! Mostly I know what its like to deal with tragedy on the level portrayed in the movie, so I'm empathizing only because I really DO know what it feels like to go through life's devastations. Romantic comedies or dramas don't move me as much since I don't have a frame of reference to feel those emotions being portrayed, but I do have a set of movies I watch that I KNOW will make me cry. Funny, the longer I'm in therapy, the easier its getting to cry at emotional content in movies/tv shows. Something must be working...

And I do feel very empathetic towards people, I just have no clue how to SHOW it, since the body language and social customs are lacking in that area.

 

[toothless]

ive never had empathy so i dont get affected by emotional scenes in films,i dont get affected even if they show mangled bodies of an earth quake on the news or starving people, i do however have sympathy-like xudo, i often think in earth quake news-what about the animals? where are they? and i might think that the dead people may have had children but generally i only think of the animals or if its a person with special needs or a vulnerable elderly person.
i have a lot of sympathy but its learned,so it feels fake when i process it in my head.

i think its important the autistic community doesnt label everyone the same, just because they dont like being labelled with no empathy as some of us actually dont have empathy, mine is related to having been totally disconnected to humans my whole life.

 

[Nicci]

I do mirror the emotions of movie characters now. But I remember not doing so when I was younger.
I've always had a difficult relationship with emotions in general – not just the emotions of others. I didn't understand my own emotions the way others seemed to do, and I had no clue what people meant when they said things like "how does that make you feel?" I literally had no idea where to even start looking for the answer to that. Now I understand emotions and I've even learned to decode other peoples emotions sometimes (though not always successfully). And I think that plays a big role in me mirroring fictional characters' emotions.
I still have difficulty handling emotions (both my own and others') sometimes, and as much as I've gotten better at that I think it'll probably always be difficult for me. And I do feel like my relationship with emotions is more mechanical, if that makes sense, than a normal relationship with emotions.
But yeah, the ability to understand the emotions of others (and also myself) isn't something I feel came completely natural to me. And it still causes me difficulties.

Side note: I always get confused about what people mean by empathy and sympathy. Every time I look up what the difference is, I forget it almost immediately because they seem so similar to me.

 

[Adora]

I don't usually cry over movies but there are certain movies I avoid,I don't like overly violent Horror and I don't like movies about war,but i do get emotional over things in a movie like if a animal especially a dog gets hurt that can make me upset.

 

[Suzanne]

I'm incredibly sensitive to emotional content in movies. I still can't watch Disney movies without tearing up! Mostly I know what its like to deal with tragedy on the level portrayed in the movie, so I'm empathizing only because I really DO know what it feels like to go through life's devastations. Romantic comedies or dramas don't move me as much since I don't have a frame of reference to feel those emotions being portrayed, but I do have a set of movies I watch that I KNOW will make me cry. Funny, the longer I'm in therapy, the easier its getting to cry at emotional content in movies/tv shows. Something must be working...

And I do feel very empathetic towards people, I just have no clue how to SHOW it, since the body language and social customs are lacking in that area.

I so agree that if you have experienced something, that you can then empathise with someone else.

I know a single lady who would dearly love to be married and although I am married and only spent a fraction of time single, I can somehow put my "feet in her shoes" and feel her pain, but it is very uncomfortable, because I am in danger of being overbearing and so, have to keep a watch on myself.

 

[WereBear]

But I know that I can interpret voice, body language and facial expressions very well. Others struggle with this and that is the apparent lack of empathy that we get told is lacking in many of us.

I am also good at such, it helps. I pick up on the emotions of the characters in the movies, but it has to be earned

One thing that is odd/funny is how a lot of women like movies called "weepers" where they "have a good cry." I don't necessarily feel the same way: a movie has to fit my definition of Good Movie to actually move me. While all a Weeper has to be is sad.

I once got swept up into a party of women who were watching Steel Magnolias, a famous Weeper. To describe it without spoilers: one character in particular had a very sad life, but it didn't make me cry because it seemed to me this person had brought it on themselves with a series of very stupid decisions.

That didn't matter to the rest of the women. In fact, I was the only one not crying!