Sobfest: Why do women love watching weepy movies?

The female love for happily-ever-afters is irrefutable, yet that doesn’t change the fact that we reserve a special spot in our hearts for sad, weepy movies… but why exactly?

The mystery is solved after research by Cardiff University discovered that sad emotions generated by tearjerkers allow women to bond with each other and even share ‘positive’ vibes.

“Our findings suggest that a negative emotional experience such as watching a ‘weepy’ film is more positive when it is shared with a friend,” said Job van der Schalk, a psychologist at the university. “And, at the same time, a positive emotional experience, such as watching a ‘rom-com’, should equally be more pleasant when shared.”

The recent study, published in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal, involved 30 pairs of girl friends between 20 and 33 years old. Each pair was asked to rate some emotionally powerful images on a scale from ‘very negative’ to ‘very positive”, once when they are together and once individually. According to brain scanners, subjects showed more positive reactions to the pictures when they were with their friend than without.

Thanks to this science findings, we no longer have to explain to our male counterparts why a good cry over a weepy movie is a favourable experience, at least for us that is.

Hollywood shows us the money

Hollywood backs the research considering sad movies like The Notebook (2004), Marley & Me (2008), and The Fault in Our Stars (2014) were great successes. Marley & Me, a Christmas flick, exceeded a whopping high of USD242 million (SGD331 million) while more recently, The Fault in our Stars, grossed at an astounding USD307 million (SGD419 million) worldwide.

But even though the amount of female tears might be directly proportionate to a movie’s financial success, we hope you won’t give up opportunities to bond. Sharing is caring, so pass that box of tissues please!

Natasha Gan