Photo by Kevin Woblick on Unsplash
The advice…
As you grow older you do not become immune to scary movies. On the contrary. With age your emotional sensors increase proportionally: the fear conjured by scary movies gets more intense, tragedies become sadder, and romantic comedies happier. With age you will discover a whole spectrum of emotions during the weirdest of on-screen moments - even during some adverts (especially Christmas ones).
Where it’s coming from…
When I was a child and I’d watch a movie that I considered scary - like parts of ET - I remember thinking (as I covered my face) that, when I grow up I will no longer be scared. I was convinced that as an adult I would see through the whole drama and watch a movie while being well aware that I was watching actors in costume.
This never happened. Far from it.
Today I am physically unable to watch a scary movie. I am seriously concerned my heart would cave in with the fear.
Same applies to emotional movies. The intensity with which I feel an emotion has grown to match my years of existence. Instead of crying less, I cry more - because as an adult I see a whole new layer to old movies which I did not see as a child. For example… the other day I watched Mamma Mia (2008) with my husband and daughter. I had watched the movie before. But this was the first time watching it as a mother and I balled my eyes out when Meryl Streep sang Slipping Through My Fingers about her growing child. (I’ve included a YouTube link so you can get what I’m talking about…. Getting emotional again while it plays).
The good news is that the feel-good feeling of feel-good movies is also amplified with age.