Why Do People Enjoy Action Movies? The Science Behind It

Love watching Black Panther and Avengers Endgame? These action movies are a  treat to the people in New Zealand. They are all based on thrilling stunts and high-stake risk, which keeps the eyes of the audience on the screen without any blink.

These movies are exciting, but there are other reasons why people love watching them. There is a psychology behind it. Try to recall the last action movie you saw. Can you think about why you watched that movie? How did you feel while and after watching it?

While watching them, we expect a spectacular series of events. Sympathizing with the characters in top action movies and imagining ourselves in their place excite us. Watching the firefights and explosions in big buildings is upsetting yet thrilling. We all know that these movies are fictional at the end of the day.

There is psychology why people love to watch action movies.

Action Movies Cause Stress Among People

Yeah surprising? While stress is not good for your health, most of the time, these movies are produced to do so. It is short-term stress, and we have complete control over it. We can always pause or stop watching it.

Our brain is highly alert when watching these movies. It stimulates a lot from movies than it does from real-life scenarios.

Connect Emotions and are Comfortable to Watch

The other important thing about action movies is that they are comfortable to watch. When watching it, we are emotionally invested but do not risk ourselves by intimidating the hero’s actions. The hero wins at the end of the day, facing all the obstacles.

We feel the same pain and happiness as the hero, so his accomplishments in the movie give us a sense of relief.

We smile when we see our favorite hero smiling or overcoming hurdles. We see them in pain; we feel ourselves in their shoes. Find out the eight best-streaming sites to watch action movies.

Action Movies and our Prefrontal Cortex

When watching these movies, our brain has to stop taking them too seriously. For this, we have the prefrontal cortex. It is a region in the brain that helps in self-control. People who have some issues in this brain region tend to relate more to the movies and respond as if the scenes are real.

You might have noticed kids jumping or being scared when they see some action movies; this happens because their prefrontal cortex is still developing.

These insights about the prefrontal cortex and their relationship with the action movie are from Zack.

Action movies have the Best Scene and Sound Mixing

The bad guys chasing good guys, beautiful heroines, big explosions, fights, impossible wins, and the background voice keep us watching the movie. They have perfect choreography and the right direction.

Some sci-fi and fantasy movies also incorporate ideas from the action genre to keep their audience on the edge of their seats.

Inspiration from the Action Movies

People say that they get inspired and feel determined when watching action movies. However, some action movies are also responsible for crimes and violence in society.

The impact of these movies on an individual’s behavior depends on the aggression trait in his personality and the functioning of the orbitofrontal cortex.

Emphases on Visual Perception and Audience’s Attention

In the filmmaking industry, many emphases are on visual perception and attention. If we study brain psychology, it takes little information from different things we look at. And then seamlessly combines all the information to create a meaningful experience. It is what filmmakers keep in mind when making an action movie.

Filmmakers understand how our brain constructs the perception of the visual world. Visual perception is not about a continuous stream but a series of different events stitched together in our minds.

The director of Iron man 2, Jon Favreau, quoted, “The best visual effects tool is the audience’s brain”.

The data collected from 75 people who watched Iron man 2 on their flat screens studied the eye-tracking of the audience. The analysis showed that the audience was consistent in their eye movement. Their gaze was directed at superheroes, their faces, weapons, and cars bouncing.

Therefore, filmmakers calculate exactly where the eye of the audience should be and prioritize how to attract it to a specific point. This psychology behind the action movies makes us keep our eyes wide open in specific scenes.

Wrapping Up

Action movies are fun to watch, but one should avoid watching them too much. They do not have a good impact on an individual’s behavior. Anything in excess is not good for one’s personality or health.

Science also shows that people who watch action movies eat more than people who watch other genres of movies. Watching too many action movies causes disturbance in the normal heartbeat and blood pressure.

However, as we continue to watch action movies and enjoy them in the comfort of our homes, psychologists and neurosciences continue to study the relationship between the visuals of movies and our cognitive thoughts, perception, and attention.

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