I’m asking as I’m trying to understand empathy and whether it’s normal to get so invested in fake characters, I mean it’s probably a testament to the writers but I overthink… a lot.

This question was bright on as I’ve been catching up on The Blacklist and at lunch today watching Season 8 Episode name “Anne “ and it wrecked me.

Tap for spoiler

Basically the main character Red has to live a guarded life and for once he let it form and got close to Anne and you could tell shit was going to go downhill and it destroyed me when you think about it from his or her perspective.

For reference I’m 41 year old dude, not that it matters.

Edit: Bedtime for me but back tomorrow to reply to all.

Edit 2: I’ve got 41 comments to respond to. Currently working but I’ll be back y’all.

  • throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    My memory sucks so can’t remember much, but:

    The Hunger Games (1) when

    Major Spoilers btw

    Rue died and Katniss was honoring her, and did the District 12 salute and the scene cuts to District 11 start doing it, then the whole riot scene and it just reminds me of so much of the injustice and tyranny of the world… I just can’t stop crying. I wished we have some of the District 12 - District 11 Solidarity IRL.

    I actually remember when, as a kid, I rarely cried about fictional stories, or something even bad events IRL.

    But once I go through the existential crisis at 18, I started to actually feel stories, like actually feeling it. I ser deaths, injustice, and tyranny. The “veil of innocence”, as I call it, completely shattered. The world isn’t beautiful, its hell, its horror.

    Its actually when you get older, you understand the stories being told.

    • 5too@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      22 hours ago

      I feel like there’s a term for it, but I can’t recall it now - it seems like after you have kids, emotional impacts in media can also start to hit a lot harder. I’m not sure if there’s some empathetic response that tends to get strengthened or what, but my wife and I both have things we either can’t watch anymore or don’t process the same way. Like, I decided to start rewatching Star Trek: DS9 a few years ago (a year or two into fatherhood) and got wrecked by the scenes in the first episode where the captain relives losing his wife.