What Is “Catharsis”?

When was the last time you cried while watching a movie? Do you remember the exact scene? Many people suppress their emotions because of various events in life. Art can evoke an emotional release of these feelings, also known as catharsis. Catharsis can be an overwhelming emotional experience. Films with cathartic power can move audiences to tears while also leaving them deeply satisfied. What is catharsis?

The Literary Definition of Catharsis

Catharsis is a term widely used in art, and its origins can be traced back to art itself. What does catharsis mean? Let’s define catharsis and examine its origins.

What Is Catharsis?

Catharsis is the release and relief of strong or repressed emotions. The word “catharsis” comes from the Greek “katharsis,” meaning “purification” or “cleansing.” In the field of psychology, the American Psychological Association defines catharsis as “the release of affect associated with traumatic events that had previously been repressed, by bringing those events back into consciousness and re-experiencing them.”

As it applies to film and art, emotional catharsis can be the result of the emotional effect of tragic drama. Heroes in cathartic films often undergo a cathartic release that leads to restoration.

What makes up catharsis in a story?

• A buildup of emotion
• Related experiences
• Connection with the characters
• Moving performances

The History of Emotional Catharsis

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle described catharsis as an emotional purification of fear and pity aroused by tragedy.

The term was later adopted by psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Josef Breuer. For them, catharsis was a therapeutic technique used to reduce psychological complexes by bringing them back into consciousness and allowing them to be expressed.

Today, however, the word has become synonymous with art. People often describe art that evokes emotion as cathartic. Music, theater, novels, and film can all contain cathartic elements that relate to the audience’s psyche. Art can trigger emotional catharsis by connecting with the personal experiences of its audience.

Cathartic art often reflects our own experiences. It allows us to connect with the art and the artist on a deeper level. One of the best mediums for creating cathartic art is film.

What Is Catharsis in Film?

Various art forms can produce catharsis. Music, novels, and theater can be incredibly emotional. But the medium of film has specific qualities that can effectively elicit emotional responses from viewers.

The first of these qualities is film’s ability to condense time. Through editing, a movie can show us weeks, months, or even years in a matter of seconds. When done effectively, film can connect audiences with characters in a short period of time.

When audiences connect with characters, everything the characters go through becomes more emotional. One of the best techniques for achieving this is the montage. A montage condenses time and events to create a narrative sequence. The montage in Pixar’s Up connects us to these characters, and then tragedy befalls them.

What’s incredible about this montage is how it evokes so much emotion in the first ten minutes of the film. The reason is that love and grief are part of the human experience. Humans have an innate connection to both of these emotions. Filmmakers harness them to heighten our feelings and then release them in an incredibly cathartic moment.

Film is also a deeply visual medium. It lets us see characters experience emotions. Theater is of course visual as well, but film uses the close-up. This allows us to see the details of a character’s emotions and further trigger our own emotional responses.

In Good Will Hunting, there is a cathartic moment when Will releases his repressed emotions to his friend and psychologist. Emotional tension is built by establishing Will’s abusive childhood and its impact on his life. Watch this example of catharsis and the superb performance and execution.

Through the craft of filmmaking, the audience is able to witness his cathartic moment up close, creating a cathartic experience both for Will and for the viewers.

Of course, for this scene to reach an emotional peak, we need to understand everything that has led up to it. Remember: the greater the buildup and repression, the greater the release.

The Value of Catharsis

When asked about Marvel movies, director Martin Scorsese famously compared them to theme parks, saying: “That’s not cinema, it’s something else... it isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” Whether or not you agree with Scorsese, there is something to be said about the different kinds of experiences film can create.

Some movies are purely escapist, allowing audiences to escape reality for at least an hour or two. These types of films have tremendous value. Even so, there is a clear distinction.

Other films, however, are a more internal experience. As Scorsese says, cinema can convey emotional and psychological experiences. This is a defining characteristic of Scorsese’s directing style. What is the meaning of catharsis? Why is it so important in film? Through catharsis, movies can form an intimate connection with the audience.

Cathartic films often linger in our minds. They affect not only how we see the world, but quite possibly how we see ourselves. The value of catharsis in cinema does not lie in how many people see a film, but in how long the film stays with its audience afterward.