REQUIEM FOR A DREAM is on tv again. I’m watching it again. But why?
The first time I watched this film it was like somebody kicked me in the stomach. I was with the characters the entire movie and had problems talking with other people for the next few hours.
Yet I will watch it again and again trying to recapture that feeling.
I don’t buy the catharsis opinion, that I choose to experience abject misery as a purging mechanism for these feelings. It never makes me feel better in the long run. In fact, if it wasn’t for these movies, I would never experience it at all.
My opinion is that movies like these serve as sort of a big misery blanket. Misery can be fairly comforting, in its own way.
So what does it mean to chase abject misery, one of the oldest drama tropes in the book? How does it affect you? Do you seek out troubles in your entertainment?
Why is A BOY CALLED IT one of the most popular books ever?