What Is “Catharsis”?

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

The Literary Definition of Catharsis

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

What Is Catharsis?

Catharsis is the release and relief of strong or repressed emotions. The word “catharsis” comes from the Greek word “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 that have previously been repressed, by bringing those events back into consciousness and re-experiencing them.”

As it applies to film and art, emotional catharsis can result from the emotional impact 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
• Relevant experiences
• Connection with the characters
• Moving performances

A Brief History of Emotional Catharsis

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

Today, however, the word has become almost synonymous with art. People often describe art that evokes strong emotions 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 enables 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 film as a medium has specific qualities that can effectively provoke an emotional response in viewers.

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

Once that connection is established, everything the characters go through becomes more emotionally charged. The best technique 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 with the characters, only for tragedy to befall them.

What’s incredible about this montage is how it evokes so much emotion within the first ten minutes of the film. The reason is that the feelings of love and sadness are part of the human experience. We are innately connected to these two emotions. Filmmakers use both 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 emotion. Theater is, of course, also visual, but film uses the close-up. This allows us to see the details of a character’s feelings, further triggering our emotional response.

In Good Will Hunting, there is a cathartic moment when Will releases his pent-up emotions to his friend and therapist. The film builds emotion by establishing Will’s abusive childhood and its impact on his life. Watch this example of catharsis and notice the powerful performance and execution.

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

Of course, for this scene to reach its emotional peak, we need to understand everything that leads 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 not the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” Whether you agree with Scorsese or not, his comment highlights the different kinds of experiences films can create.

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

Other films are a more inward experience. As Scorsese puts it, cinema can convey emotional and psychological experiences. This is a defining feature of Scorsese’s directorial style. So what is the significance of catharsis? Why is it so important in film? Through catharsis, movies can form an intimate bond with their audience.

Cathartic films often linger in our minds. They not only affect how we see the world, but very likely influence how we see ourselves. The value of cinematic catharsis does not lie in how many people watch a film, but in how it stays with its viewers afterward.