Growing up - scary movies get scarier, adverts make you cry

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.