Let's get into how your favourite movie affects your brain. Have you ever come out of the movies or watched a movie at home and felt mind-blown – like it changed the way you think about something or yourself? Or maybe you're going through a difficult time in your life, and you randomly watch a movie that seems to give you the pathway forward.

This is the power of film.

Maybe you sat down to watch a movie to be purely entertained, and you come away from it reflecting on the take-away message for days – literally obsessed by the words spoken.

We might go into a movie feeling good and come out feeling unnerved or teary.

So, what leads to our minds becoming absorbed by the movies we watch? Why do we jump or flinch when an actor is hit by a bus, or something is thrown?

There are a handful of movies that have had a strong and lasting emotional and psychological impression on me and this is what we explore in this YouTube Video.

And to come back to a question asked earlier…why do we jump in our seats or flinch when watching a movie? Basically, in a nutshell, answer – we all have a lifetime of experiences outside of movie watching on how to deal with danger, physical objects and movement in general.

So, I hope this has given you something to think about – and if nothing more – it has prompted you to watch some of the movies I mentioned today. I'll finish up with the words of carmen from south park – bye for now!

Take Care,

Patrick

Dr Patrick Kingsep
Clinical Psychologist