What Is “Catharsis”?

When was the last time you cried while watching a movie? Do you still remember the exact scene? Many people suppress emotions because of various events in their lives. Art can evoke the emotional release of these feelings, also known as catharsis. Catharsis can be an overwhelming emotional experience. Films with a cathartic effect 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 the arts, 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 affects associated with traumatic events, previously repressed, by bringing these events back into consciousness and reexperiencing 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 experience a cathartic release that leads to restoration.

What makes up catharsis in a story?

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

The History of Emotional Catharsis

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle described catharsis as the emotional purification of fear and pity evoked 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 into consciousness and allowing them to be expressed.

Today, however, the word has become synonymous with art. People often describe art that evokes emotions as cathartic. Music, theater, novels, and film can all contain cathartic components 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 its own specific qualities that can effectively elicit emotional responses from audiences.

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

When viewers establish a connection with the characters, everything the characters go through becomes more emotional. The best technique for doing this is the montage. A montage compresses time and events to create a narrative sequence. The montage in Pixar’s Up connects us with these characters, only for tragedy to befall 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 the emotions of love and sorrow are part of the human experience. Humans have an innate connection to both of these emotions. Filmmakers use them to heighten our feelings and then release them in an incredibly cathartic moment.

Film is also an extraordinarily visual medium. It allows us to see characters experiencing emotions. Of course, theater is visual as well, but film uses the close‑up. This lets us see the details of a character’s emotions, further triggering our own emotional response.

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

Through filmmaking, audiences are able to witness his cathartic moment up close and in person, creating a cathartic moment both for Will and for the viewers.

Of course, for this scene to reach its emotional peak, we need to understand everything that 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, that’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 experiences that film can create.

Some movies are purely escapist, allowing viewers to get away from reality for at least an hour. These types of films have tremendous value. Even so, there is a clear distinction.

Other films are a more inward experience. As Scorsese said, film 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 their audiences.

Cathartic films often linger in our minds. They not only affect how we see the world, but are also likely to influence how we see ourselves. The value of filmic catharsis does not lie in how many people see the movie, but in how the movie stays with its audience afterward.