TV and Tears and FEELINGS

I have only ever cried during two movies: Cool Runnings and Jack Frost. Apparently 90s movies really do me in, and for entirely different reasons. In Cool Runnings it was when they hoisted the bobsled above their heads and walked across the finish line, completing their own personal victory. In Jack Frost, I just remember a kid banging a shovel on the ground, frustrated and upset and grieving. So I cried. Just teared up, really.

From Amazon.com

I cry much more frequently at TV shows. I think it's because I can't watch a TV show without diligently watching each episode, so I grow to care for the characters much more than I ever do in movies. I don't think I've ever seen a graduation on a TV show and not cried. For instance, Gilmore Girls is probably my favorite TV show ever, and I cry every single time I watch Rory graduate from high school, and every single time she pulls up to her going away party in the very last episode. And, a little secret,  I've watched every episode of that show more than I should ever admit. So that's a lot of times.

I need to make a clarification here, though - when I say cry, I mostly mean my eyes bubbled with water and maybe one tear slipped down my cheek.

Then this morning, I watched last night's Secret Life of the American Teenager (Warning: Spoilers will follow). This show is my guilty pleasure. I only admit I watch it to my closest of friends (and now all of you!). The thing is, the writing isn't that great. The acting, not so great. But I watched the first episode and I was hooked, because I needed to know what happened. The story intrigued me. And so, I've kept watching. Sometimes I cringed, but mostly it was forty minutes of enjoyment, and then I moved on.

Something started happening this season though. I noticed the acting was better. There were fewer lines that were ridiculously cheesy. The storyline that I had always been interested by had become infused with emotion that was more intense. Then, in the newest episode, one of the characters thought she was going into labor, and instead lost her baby. It's not like this twist is incredibly original, or never been done. I even knew it was coming thanks to the previews. But I'll admit - I cried for the last ten minutes of the episode. I mean, blowing my nose, mascara down my cheek, crying.

The acting was excellent, portraying the heartbreak through their actions and faces without many words. And as a result, I was heartbroken. When the episode ended, I needed something funny, something to make me less upset. Whatever anyone thinks about the decision the show made to have this happen, I think most people would agree this was a very emotional episode.

And here's the thing. My ultimate point. That's the incredible thing about art. I haven't even gotten into the books that have brought about tears, but all forms of art can do many things. They can teach, amuse, enlighten, and they can make you feel. I felt incredibly upset this morning after watching that show, not because I thought those characters were real but because what they went through, other people have too. And when a show or a book makes me feel something I probably otherwise wouldn't have that day, I consider that a job well done. Feeling - whether it's elation or sorrow - is what makes me human. And I wouldn't want to feel any less.