Is it normal that when i think about films, tv show and video games...

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Basically, when I watch a film or TV Show or play a video game that emotionally affects me (makes me feel sad) and I think about the fact that they're not real, I get really pissed off. I actually feel like hitting something. Of course I know that they're not real all of the time but when I think about it specifically I get angry.

An example would be Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. That game made me come the closest to crying then anything ever has. When I then realise that it's not real I almost feel cheated of emotions.

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Based on 77 votes (35 yes)
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Comments ( 3 )
  • Energy
    12 years ago

    Hm, the getting very emotional after watching TV, or playing a video game seems normal to me. However, the getting angry part sounds a bit weird...

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  • squirrelgirl
    12 years ago

    You might be angry because you think you are wasting your tears on fictional characters. I've done research as to why people become emotionally invested in fictional characters:

    There are a couple of philosophical theories floating around that attempt to explain it. The one that made the most sense to me is the one (forgot what it's called) that states that the emotional part of our brain can't distinguish between fictional characters and real people, because there's a part of it that believes that the story could have actually happened and the characters actually were real people. So we come to feel for the characters we know as though they were actual people, even though the logical part of the brain doesn't understand it because it knows that the characters don't exist.

    Something else you might want to look into is a phenomenon studied by psychologists called 'parasocial relationships'. It's where we form emotional attachments to fictional characters that we enjoy because the constant exposure to them through movies/TV/books tricks our brain into thinking that they actually know us like we know them.

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    • zchristian
      12 years ago

      Hmm maybe thats why i often finds it hard to be evil in games where i have the option not to be...

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