Why Do We Like to Watch the Same Films Over and Over Again?

Why do we enjoy watching certain films over and over again? There is a deeper explanation that goes beyond mere amusement or pleasure.

Why do we watch the same movies over and over again? Why do the main TV channels show the same films on Sunday afternoons? Indeed, why do we enjoy watching certain films over and over again?

There is a scientific explanation to answer these questions that can even explain, from a psychological point of view, the “boom” of remakes.

This article explains why this phenomenon crosses ages and social classes and what specialists say. So, as you enjoy your next favorite classic, you will be aware that it is not just a matter of pleasure but has more profound introspective implications.

What is it that motivates us to watch the same film over and over again? Is it just entertainment or is there more to it? If you are interested in this topic, need to write an essay on a similar topic, or are looking for an essay writer, you can visit WowEssay and find many useful things there. Of course, you won’t find a free essay writer there, but you may find a great professional for a low price.

According to experts, we do it because we enjoy it, but it may also be linked to reliving experiences.

American researchers Cristel Russell and Sidney Levy found that watching the same film over and over again leads us to find details in our favorite scenes and to feel that comfort and pleasure of being in a warm and safe environment, as we know that what we are about to experience is to our liking.

These two psychologists, working for the University of Chicago, studied re-consumption habits, i.e., why people actively and voluntarily choose to go through the same experience repeatedly.

In this way, by reliving those moments that have marked us throughout our lives, we gain richer experiences that can even lead us to deeper introspective insights.

Indeed, both researchers argue that watching the same film over the years helps us become aware of the passage of time, with all that this implies in terms of our personal growth, showing us how we change internally, reflecting on the past and the present.

For example, when we watch ‘Titanic’, we remember with whom we saw it the first time, the scenes in which we were moved, how we thought then about love, life in general, and so on.

It is at this point that these two psychologists, in a report published in the Journal of Consumer Research, point out that even the experience of watching the same film over and over again can help us to be aware of how we overcome a conflictive situation, such as the death of a loved one.

That is why we don’t necessarily like to watch “happy” films, but also dramas or even nostalgic films. Each takes us through different states that remind us of old times.

Likewise, the specialists point out that our mind distinguishes the emotions aroused by our favorite films, and that is why we see the need to watch them at a specific time. When we are happy, we remember a memorable comedy, and if we are going through a sad situation, we turn to a dramatic one.

The report also details that re-consumption involves an active search for new meanings with great emotional value, hence its “therapeutic effect”.

Why do kids watch the same film so many times without getting tired of it?

Children also enjoy watching their favorite films over and over again

In the case of children, a phenomenon similar to that of adults occurs, although, of course, not as intense.

Children enjoy watching the same film, or the same scene, over and over again, because they are aware that they know what will happen and feel comfortable and safe.

Seeing a film repeatedly makes it possible to elaborate on a theme or turn a problem of one’s own. We think that we are only spectators in the cinema, but in reality, due to the phenomenon of identification, what is reflected on the screen often lives close to our own: the life of the other person can be our own life, and we are not merely observers, because sometimes what we see conditions us. Cinema allows people to identify with what they see and can lead to a resolution. It has a vicarious effect: you learn through the experience of others.

So, watching the same film over and over again is not something strange and even less addictive, but, in addition to pleasure, it is linked to the conscious or unconscious search for more profound levels of introspection.

In this respect, it should be emphasized that if a person goes to the same film over and over again (as can also happen with a song) for the mere fact of “repeating”, then we are dealing with an unresolved emotional picture that needs to be treated, especially when melancholy is awakened.

It is advisable, in such cases, to consult a specialist as there is some mental obstacle that prevents one from expanding the mind, awakening creativity, and, in short, taking charge of the present.

“As long as one is actively aware of re-experiencing – and not a passive, uncontrollable addiction – it can offer many opportunities for self-reflection,” Russell points out in his work.

On the other hand, as we said, re-consumption can lead to a state of catharsis, when the person identifies with the character, experiences internally what happens in the film, and releases pent-up emotions.

“Re-experiencing allows one to become aware of repressed or suppressed traumatic events,” adds the specialist.

That is why therapists generally emphasize the “healing” aspect of reliving or re-experiencing our favorite films.

Cinema is like an infinite game of Chinese boxes, like overlapping stories that sometimes address several crucial aspects of each of us. They make us discover things about ourselves through them. Hence the subjective or therapeutic effect it can have.

So, you know, if you like to enjoy the same film over and over again, rest assured that you are not the only one and that this habit shows that, in addition to laughing or crying at that memorable scene, you are probably experiencing, at the same time, a process of introspection and inner growth.