Kaylee Muster

Doctor E. Guler

English 150 – 30

10 November 2014

Emotional Processing of Motion Pictures and Its Implications

In this paper, I will be exploring how individuals process emotional provoking aspects of

motion pictures and its overall implications for society. Motion pictures have played a large role

in society throughout history in terms of careers and entertainment, along with discretely

influencing out teaching/learning techniques as well as with our emotions. A combination of

select imagery and rehearsed musical tones help to advocate audience members to feel a certain

way while enjoying a program. By researching not only what contributes to producing a film but

by analyzing factors like brain networking, emotional reactions, and its implications were

explored.

Motion pictures have evolved to become such a rudimentary aspect of the 21st century

that individuals take part in viewing them casually every day. There are clear advances in

technology along with a progression of terminology that has evolved the art of movie making as

well. The entire intent of producing motion pictures has varied from entertainment purposes to

educational opportunities. The amount of viewers per genre of film and the responses to those

films can be determined through the techniques practiced in film production such as lighting,

characterization, music and the directing in general.

The art of motion pictures and mass media has truly evolved overtime to the modern craft

we recognize it as. Experiments in photographing movement had been made in both the United

States and Europe during the latter half of the 19th century with, at first, no exploitation of its

technical and commercial possibilities (Motion). Starting out as photography, the concept of

‘filming’ has progressed from slideshow formats to more motion involved edits.

Therefore, there are numerous factors such as the quality of shots, camera angle, and editing

which contribute to the communicative effect the crew promotes for the viewer’s benefit (Dynel

42). With the attributes of angling, it could be said that viewers in present day are able to

position themselves in better view with movies versus when motion pictures consisted of less

motion and more general imagery. A result that derives from these advances is that viewers have

new access to greater quality entertainment.

Society has not only gained a better source of entertainment over the developing period

of movie making, but there are many career opportunities set up within its business. The crafts

people are included in can be as actors, producers, cinematographers, writers, editors, and film

laboratory technicians who work interdependently in a production effort overseen and

coordinated by the director (Motion). This range extends further and involves society as extras,

scenery, test groups, and the targeted consumer overall. Society also has been in touch with

communication and sharing information by word of mouth, so story telling can be seen as always

being a source of public entertainment that was easy to access. The medium's potential as a

storytelling mechanism was realized very early in its history (Motion). Society can be seen to

both benefit from the careers established with movie making and the pure story telling that is

provided in the form of mediated entertainment.

Terminology subject to film making is very key in defining what is occurring throughout

the story produced. For example, the term film discourse, or film talk, is used in reference to

fictional characters’ communication in films (Dynel 41). Dialect between characters is truly the

base for which an entire movie plot is based off of. Film discourse is viewed as conflating

monologues, dialogues, interactions, and polylogues, exchanges held by more than two

participants, similar to those found in everyday talk (Dynel 42). Communication is such a needed

skill, especially when a story is built off of conversations, so the interactions known as film

discourse are of high importance in film editing.

On the other hand, while majority of modern motion pictures are filled with scripted

dialog, there is another simultaneous communication source occurring between the characters

and audience. While watching a film, viewers should, and frequently do, get so engrossed that

they forget they are sitting in a cinema or in front of the TV screen (Dynel 53). Having a targeted

audience involved deeply with the presented subject is always the goal for any director/ producer

of a film. Additionally, viewers follow the principles of imagination and appreciation proposed

for “non-serious discourse” of films (Dynel 54). By applying individualized perspective towards

events broadcasted, the film dialogue becomes a conversational piece for the viewer as well.

Audiences can become linked to films through conversations. The basic involvement of

viewer’s emotions starts with verbal recognition and acknowledgement. Even adults will let

themselves be absorbed in a gripping story and respond emotionally to the events presented

(Dynel 54). This absorption of thoughts and presence occurs when a similarity is shared or

common ground is made that can link the two sides together and result with emotional response.

An appreciation will thus frequently proceed automatically, below the viewer’s awareness

threshold, unless inferences are cognitively demanding, as in the case of crime stories or

highbrow films (Dynel 55). The genre that absorbs an individual may vary, however there are

overall triggers that can verbally be addressed in these genres to overcome and reel the viewer in.

It could be argued that since the appreciation of cinematographic and discursive techniques

shows grad ability, the distinction between the recipients is blurry. Nevertheless, a lay recipient

watches a film primarily for pleasure and entertainment, but may simultaneously appreciate the

means by which certain effects are promoted (Dynel 55). Participation within films can be due to

both verbal conversation links and the advanced movement procedures taken to acquire the best

image however, there are surely found pleasures audiences relate to in movies.

Scores, lyrics, jingles, and even a brief set of musical notes, are all depended aspects in

chiming in a listener. Hearing has been a key sense utilized in a range of situations from survival

to entertainment, yet sometimes it is utilized in both ways at once. Musical transitions and effects

play a toll on individual emotions. Music could even be seen as a form of language and

verbalized communication that is better understood in the mass societies. The structure of music

and the timing of it has, pertains a lot with movie making and has been used to influence

viewer’s emotions.

Within films, there are multiple musical transitions and keys that underlie a movie and

there are other musical tips that are less discreet, yet all types are purposeful in involving

viewers. Music for film offers particularly rich ground for the exploration of a musical language

of the emotions, leaving considerably less room for semantic ambiguity than its more

autonomous manifestations consumed in recorded, broadcast, or live form (Armstrong 71). By

placing hints of sound throughout a film, it is as if the producer is leaving a trail for the viewer to

follow emotionally. The music acts as walls within a maze, leading the audience to feel the

anticipated feelings the film had purpose in provoking. The musical similarities between the

above cues are striking, as are those between the mood and tone of the scenes and the emotions

suggested to us by the amalgamation of music, image, and narrative (Armstrong 75).

As movie making techniques have evolved, so has the field of music, and the two have

intertwined to be a combined art. From the cinema’s inception at the end of the nineteenth

century, music has been a near constant presence. The demand for suitable music increased with

the cinema’s growing popularity in the first decade of the twentieth century but it took some time

for the concept of an especially composed score to emerge (Armstrong 74). The placement of

sounds and involvement of music has not always been a part of films, yet once united the two

creative mediums have formed an outstanding source of communication. Sudden and intermittent

sounds can both give rise to the sublime, for example a single drum stroke with pauses gives rise

to perceptions of danger whilst ‘low, confused, uncertain sounds’ cause anxiety by means of

their concealed sources. Such sounds are paralleled in the cues discussed by the avoidance of

both pulse and obvious rhythmic patterning. Neither cue provides us with an audible rhythmic

framework within which we can place sounds; without this we are unable to anticipate how the

music may develop, we are at the mercy of its unfolding (Armstrong 76). These examples of

sound placement are practiced time after time within the film making process in order to lay

perfectly with the presented material and add emphasis.

Not only does the placement of the music affect the movie, but more importantly it

affects the viewers and the audience’s connection with the motion picture. The score’s

implacable, quasi-autonomous progress and its high volume are what negate the mythifying,

entertainment-orientated functions which music so often performs when combined with image

and narrative in the cinema (Armstrong 78). Imagery, verbal conversations, and now the

involvement of music are performed together and without all, movies may not be such a popular,

and in turn relatable, medium to view. Stripped of these functions the music no longer affords us

the sublime security of distance; the physical discomfort we feel at the violence of both music

and image has greater immediacy and we are forced to confront that passivity is not really an

option (Armstrong 78). Emotion starts to become the focus and goal for musicians to hit as

composure occurs. The manipulation of the distance between viewer and film has been seen to be

crucial in engaging the critical faculties of the former but as the music moves out of the

background and disengages itself from the narrative so the viewer is less able to escape into the

safety of cultural myth and the immediacy of the image may cause discomfort rather than

pleasure (Armstrong 80).

As manipulation of viewer’s emotions occur, there is a background to the effectiveness

that lies within an individual’s reaction. When an individual’s personality type is dissected,

culture and gender tend to be main factors that define them. So listening to music serves similar

or systematically different psychological functions across both cultures and gender roles (Boer et

al. 356). Broken down in simpler terms, how an individual reacts and involves music to their life

can very much so be determined by their influenced aspects of culture and gender. The term

‘‘psychological function of music’’ refers to the uses of music in everyday life that are

underpinned by psychological processes (Boer et al. 356). Music and the fact that it is used in

everyday life makes it thought of as a universal language. However, there are categories that

make the artistic medium very subjective and relatable.

Culture can be defined through religion, family values and overall the impactful habits an

individual participates in throughout their lifetime. A distinction between personal, social, and

cultural experiences with music is helpful as it captures a range of individual functions into an

interdisciplinary category system that simultaneously relates to different psychological processes

(Boer et al. 357). An artistic identity is just as special and personalized as a cultural identity and

both affect emotion. These dimensions represent a distinction between psychological processes

of listeners’ self as an individual vs. as a social and collective being, and between affective and

cognitive motivational processes (Boer et al. 357). Being a psychological field, the

comprehension of its processes are not always clear. Therefore, to date, these two dimensions

have not been studied together (Boer et al. 357).

Studies reveil the more specific regions of culture that are responsible for affecting

individual’s sense of musical awareness and appreciation. The cultural dimension of

traditionalism vs. secularism may influence people’s uses of music for enhancing their collective

self-esteem (Boer et al 358). Traditionalism pertains to the maintenance of human ideology more

so than secularism which focuses on more political aspects. The two are sub topics of culture as

each define the individual. Yet it can be questioned how each affect musical understanding in

listeners. Furthermore, secular values were negatively associated with family bonding through

music. Listeners from more traditional cultures used music more frequently for bonding with

their families (Boer et al 364). With this coherence in which type of culture connects best with

music, it is easier to appropriately arrange music with a type of audience. This means that

listeners from more collectivistic and more traditional back- grounds use music more frequently

for their value development (Boer et al 365). So although these cultural connections are focused

on music and secularism/traditionalism associations, these statistics help all configure what

music will appeal to any targeted audience.

Gender also contributes to how an individual involves the art of music to their daily

routine. By suggesting that systematic gender differences in music preferences are based on

gender-role socialization into male toughness and female emotionality, differences in musical

behavior may then be rooted in affect proneness and personality traits, which are driven by

physiological differences in emotional experience (Boer et al. 357). For example, men may not

listen to the same genre or music at all compared to other men, yet difference in sexes can be

seen as an even greater conflict of interest. Future research is needed to test whether experienced

affect and personality traits (or gender stereotypes) account for the observed gender differences

in affective functions of music (Boer et al 366). This research can include biological behaviors

and emotional levels for both genders. Overall, audiences again can be targeted due to their

general like or dislike of a music based on subconscious gender segregation.

Emotion is in one way or another triggered for audiences of all cultures and genders. The

factors that strongly engage emotion vary in terms of hormones, brain networking, and even the

interest of the viewer in general. One of the observed hormonal releases studied is known as

Oxytocin. Oxytocin engages brain circuits that make us care about others, even complete

strangers. Perhaps surprisingly, oxytocin engages at the smallest suggestion that someone wants

to connect to us (Why). So while it can be typical for individuals to have this release in hormone

when individuals we care about (such as family) are of topic, there is still a misunderstanding on

why emotion is found while observing strangers interactions. The difference is that stress, no

matter how it is found, is something that majority of individuals perceive. The environment we

are in and the degree of comfort can alter the hormonal response easily. Controlling for distress,

which was associated with elevated stress hormones, empathy was highly correlated with the

spike in oxytocin (Why). Therefore, as in touch and controlled individuals may feel they are with

their emotions, hormones like oxytocin can indirectly affect our emotional availability. So, we

cry at movies because the oxytocin in the human brain is imperfectly tuned (Why).

The previous definitions of movie making techniques, viewer background, and hormonal

release patterns of viewers were combined into a research study observing 3D versus 2D

reactions to films. Over the past two decades, it is clear that visual technology has advanced and

there has also been a rapid increase in affective neuroscience research (Bride et al 1). The

understanding of these advances however, have not been as sufficient. In recent years, studios

have produced and promoted more 3D films, a trend matched by the home electronics industry

(Bride et al 1). Entertainment is defiantly an achieved aspect of this mediated art, but when a

medium involved our emotions so specifically there remain a lot of questions towards why.

Three-dimensional presentation could improve eco- logical validity, since the increased visual

realism of 3D may mimic real-life emotional stimuli more effectively than 2D (Bride et al 1).

Effectiveness of presenting motion pictures, as discussed previously, depends on crucial factors.

This is where music, lighting, and overall production techniques of movies depend on the

viewers in order to be successful; can the movie popular and perceived well.

There are multiple feelings associated within just one motion picture, and as scenes

switch the tone of the subject can effect an entirely different emotion of the viewer. Emotions

influence the perception of stimuli and subsequent course of action, because 3D stimuli offer

enhanced visual realism, we hypothesized that 3D film would evoke a more robust physiological

response than the same clip in 2D (Bride et al 1, 2). In order to evoke multiple emotions,

research was required. A test was conducted in which candidates viewed a truncated film

including clips from My Bloody Valentine (fear), Despicable Me (amusement), Tangled

(sadness), The Polar Express (thrill/excitement) and were screened appropriately (Bride et al 3).

Each of the clips addressed a different category of mentality and brain function. The Difficulties

in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory-Form Y (STAI-Y),

and the Temperament and Character Inventory-140 (TCI) were measures associated with the

conducted study (Bride et al 3). After the study was conducted it was found that there were some

significant findings on the topic of 3D versus 2D presentations.

The findings from these tests led to many concluding ideas. In other words, participants

responded to the film clips across all physiological measures, as would be expected for

emotionally evocative stimuli (Bride et al 4). Not one finite definition was found but instead

statistics on the types of individual responses were gathered. On the topic of the separating

influences individuals have, the study had two significant gender differences emerge: (1) men

were less electro dermally responsive during the first presentation of Polar Express (i.e., greater

tonic period) than women and (2) women had more EDA – Electrodermal Activity responses

during the first presentation of My Bloody Valentine than men (Bride et al 4). These general

conclusions may not have answered the proposed problem, yet they are one step closer to

understanding the effects of motion pictures and how they are interpreted by audience members.

Testing the benefit of 3D over 2D is just one step toward a more realistic laboratory-based

emotional experience—and the contrast may not have been dramatic enough (Bride et al 6).

Information on the functions of the brain and techniques of motion pictures both continue to

build up to this day, and so will the research in connecting their factors.

The focus of my overall research has been to see what emotional factors and oncepts are

involved in motion pictures and what makes viewers react the way they do. To further explore

emotion, it is best to know where emotion derives from within the human brain and the overall

processor of reactions. Emotions, like fear and love, are carried out by the limbic system, which

is located in the temporal lobe (What). This port has many counterparts that contribute to the

functionality as a whole. The main focus however, does lie in the amygdala where emotion is

exercised most specifically. The hippocampus is another part of the limbic system (avenue type

portion) that sends information to the amygdala center, and connecting factor between the two

may be the origin of strong emotions triggered by particular memories (What). As discussed

before there seems to be a link between individual remembrance and how they go on to accept

things emotionally then after. There are other portions of the brain including the hypothalamus,

cingulate gyrus, and ventral tegmental area which act as path ways apart of the limbic system

that feed information to the amygdala as well (What). The previous information acquired

(memories), are stored and then the responses are regulated in the other portions. Each part of the

brain has a specific obligation. Something interesting about the cingulate gyrus is that it is the

part that focuses attention to the event and alerts the remaining aspects of the brain that the

subject at hand is emotionally significant (What, Nanda et al 46, 47). So if the situation at hand is

something emotionally demanding, memories of emotionally demanding situations are

communicated back with the hippocampus and then processed by the other parts. Hypothalamus

and the ventral tegmental area are involved with mood more specifically and in charge of the

increased levels of pleasure, aggression and anger (What, Nanda et al 46, 47). Overall, the entire

human brain works together in order to conclude a thought and process an emotion.

Emotion and the ties/responses that are evoked with the world around us pertains a lot to

visual comprehension and in which there is yet another part of the mind to process such

information. Motion is a perceptual attribute and the visual system infers motion from the

changing pattern of light in the retinal image (Heeger). With this known, we can expect that the

mental make up to be just as complicated as those for emotion. Motion perception is helpful in

many manners, for example when computing a 3D shape, segmentation of foreground from

background, and even simply detecting movement (Heeger). This pertains directly to the

comprehension of motion pictures because the 3D study tested exactly this concept in a real life

model. So not only is it comprehension, but navigation, depth and motion are just a few

mentionable aspects that are made easy with the usage of the visual area processors of the brain

(Heeger).

Down to the basics of visual comprehension, society knows that we see through our eyes.

Vision is combined with vestibular and eye movement signals (Heeger). Eye movement centers

in the brain stem and provides information about eye movements this way. The eye works to

combine the information you see and then the visual receptive fields of the brain digest that

information (Heeger). This digestion can be viewed as essential in how we use sight in general.

The reason for eye movement can be explained with corollary discharge, a copy of the motor

signal that is transmitted to a comparator section of the brain (Heeger). So overall, we see with

our brain is a way more than our eyes because yet another section of the mind processes this

information as well.

Understanding sight and emotion towards what we view can also be known as visual

literacy. There has already been an understanding of visual culture however the ability to

comprehend a subject purely is a different topic included in films. The language of cinema was

created here in America. Cinema is the American art form, but film itself is so ephemeral and

perishable, and the form is changing all the time along with the understanding of visual literacy

through those types of visual arts (Martin). The visual literacy seen while watching a movie is

also a part of why viewers relate to the overall message. An interdisciplinary curriculum

introducing students to classic cinema and the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of film

is revolved around visual literacy or the ability to digest visual arts logically (Martin). Basically,

there are stimulating visual concepts that can teach/allude to different messages than other forms

of literacy. Authors found that emotionally evocative visual stimuli activated parts of the

occipital/visual cortex. In itself this is not surprising because visual stimuli should trigger a

response in the visual processing center of the brain, but the studies evaluated controlled for

simple sensory processing (Nanda et al 46). Being sensorial involved creates yet another bonding

aspect between the visual matter and the individual viewers.

In conclusion, there is a broad range of implications that result from the emotional

processes conducted after viewing motion pictures an understanding them. Motion pictures have

developed from photography and with their developing techniques, they have acquired greater

societal influences that intertwine with emotions. The emotional connections formulated within

the brain, music appreciation, visual literacy, cultural and gender backgrounds, and digestion of

visual art all have been engulfed in the topic of motion pictures through development. Due to the

emotional concepts that derive form all of these underlying aspects, it is better understood how

intensely an individual can be attached/involved with movies. In general, by researching not only

what contributes to producing a film but by analyzing factors like brain networking, emotional

reactions and its implications, my understanding of how motion pictures are compiled had

increased.

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