Guest article by Olga Vinogradova
From the moment the Lumiere brothers made their first film, therapists and psychiatrists have become interested in how cinema affects a person.
Let’s figure out how you can have an exciting time with the help of good films and carefully understand yourself and your emotions.
Why are movies therapeutic?
Cinema is one kind of art. Art’s essence lies in the creator’s cognizing and transferring a particle of reality to the viewer.
Art captures the general character of a culture. In cinematography, we can see the history of entire generations and decades. Cinema shows us how our grandparents, moms, and dads lived.
A big screen also helps to pass the time, have fun, and sometimes think. Movies form a worldview and outlook on life. Through films, you can teach people both good things and bad things.
So the impact of cinema is enormous. But the most exciting thing is that this influence is imperceptible.
“Cinema Therapy” is a term we can use if we start using films for healing.
Cinema therapy
Cinema therapy is one of the areas of art therapy. It appeared not so long ago – about 30 years ago, when the psychotherapist, Bernie Wooder, in the process of counseling, caught himself drawing an analogy between the situation of the client and the heroine of a movie. And psychologist Gary Solomon likened films to “healing tools” and called the whole process a “healing journey.”
Cinema therapy is not only a plot and story but also an audio-visual series, which makes this art therapy direction effective.
Who will like cinema therapy?
Film reflection becomes a powerful tool for self-development when we have accumulated emotional problems, but there is no readiness for individual psychotherapy and direct work with inner demons.
Regular and systematic film therapy provides gradual emotional maturation and personal growth through studying emotional responses to films. Behind any vivid reactions may be our repressed experiences or aspects of personality.
Usually, while watching, a person merges with one of the characters if his mood or situation is close to him. An analysis of the behavior and actions of the hero helps to look at your life from a different perspective. It is also necessary to express the list of feelings and problems the film has revealed in our minds.
Don’t be afraid to try cinema therapy without a therapist. You can think about everything through the prism of personal views. But if questions and doubts remain, whether you understood everything correctly and drew conclusions regarding your situation, then you should turn to the help of a professional. It will help you see what elements of the film your subconscious mind has deliberately ousted from the field of perception.
Cinema therapy works quite simply. When we watch a particular movie, we form an attitude towards it and experience emotions and thoughts that highlight our mental processes.
So, we get in touch with ourselves and our inner feelings, correlate the magnitude of our emotions with the events that provoked them, and looked for parallels in cinema and our real life.
What are the positive effects of cinema?
1. The opportunity to live the forbidden fruit.
Since civilization imposes certain restrictions on people art can compensates for ancient prohibitions and thus reconciles with the sacrifices made. Every person has inclinations that he cannot fulfill due to regulations. After watching a movie, he can put himself in the place of a hero and symbolically live a forbidden desire.
2. The opportunity to look at the situation from a different angle and see the diversity of options.
In this case, cinema therapy is a kind of simulator. A person analyzing the situation from the film, rethinks his actions, expands the boundaries, and experiences feelings that he could not show before.
Interpreting situations from the film, he understands beliefs and hidden attitudes, which significantly help his upbringing.
3. See all the diversity of the world.
Each nation can demonstrate its ideals and religious ideas through cinema, which the viewer can take on faith without evidence, thereby influencing both the unification and the boundary of peoples and individual strata of society.
4. Sense of belonging.
Watching a movie together and understanding that people worldwide have also watched the same movies satisfies the need to belong to a large group. And it gives us a sense of identification.
5. Helps develops empathy.
Worrying about our favorite movie character, we learn compassion, improving emotional intelligence.
6. Positive thinking and increases spiritual growth.
It is possible with a long-term love for good cinema and self-reflection for you to absorb all the director’s messages, let them through you, and transform them into a new experience. This process undoubtedly contributes to spiritual growth.
7. Inspiration and motivation for change.
There are hundreds of lists of the best inspirational movies on the internet, and for a reason. Due to the strong audiovisuals and meaning, the film has a strong short-term impact on the psyche.
It is like a magic sign that many are waiting for to start a new life or decide on life changes. This motivation really works, but don’t wait too long. More often than not, the film’s impact will begin to wane after a few days.
"Why do people go to the cinema? What takes them into a darkened room where, for two hours, they watch the play of shadows on a sheet? The search for entertainment? The need for a kind of drug? I think that what a person normally goes to the cinema for is time: for time lost or spent or not yet had. He goes there for a living experience; for cinema, like no other art, widens, enhances, and concentrates a person's experience and not only enhances it but makes it longer, significantly longer. That is the power of cinema. Stars, story-lines, and entertainment have nothing to do with it."
Watching movies helps with stress and anxiety
Stress in small amounts is stimulating, but in large quantities, it can be disabling. It is impossible to remain in a state of panic for a long time. You need a break to gain strength and continue on your day.
Seeing a movie is a great additional tool that allows you to relax, look at the problem from the outside and see solutions.
We are taking a short break with our favorite series or movie, allowing us to regain control over our condition in real life.
Some films can help you release your emotions. For example, if you watch a sad piece, it will help you express your feelings. So you will feel better than before. On the other hand, a light comedy film can positively affect your mood and make you perceive the world a little rosier.
But we must remember the thin line between support and denial. It’s important that the break does not become numbing or a tool of avoidance.
How to choose the right movie
In my opinion, the most suitable genre for cinema therapy is melodrama, comedy, and drama. Also, viewing romantic pictures can bring couples closer.
It is important that the staginess of the film in its emotional impact does not exceed the emotional responses to the semantic content of the film.
The experience of conducting cinema therapy groups shows that the maximum response from the audience is received by films whose characters solve universal problems that reflect the conflicts of the typical psyche.
The film’s emotional impact is higher if the characters are faced with the need to make meaningful choices for themselves. Films that trace the destructive consequences of the actions and strategies of the characters are no less helpful.
I also often get rescued by films about the zombie apocalypse, where it is evil but it is less real than what we encounter in life. Movies like this vent fear in a safe way. Thrillers and horror movies work the same way. Also, these films will help you to express aggression in a healthy way.
In turn, fantastic films help expand a person’s consciousness, pushing the boundaries of reality. They make us turn on the imagination and dream.
Movies and TV shows are great for partners. I write more about this in my article, Cinema Therapy Benefits For Couples.
Cinema is one of the most accessible types of mass art. And the positive effects should be considered.
I wish you find films that will become your medicine for the soul.
Where to find Olga:
- Website: goodmoviefinder.com