# What makes you cry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147 "2006-08-17T22:09:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/1 "2006-08-17T22:09:46Z")
Even the most stoic among us have something, be it a song, a movie, a tv commercial, whatever. Something snags our emotions and gets us crying. Much as I hate to admit that this applies to me too, I can think of two. 1. E.T. When ET dies, I sob. Everytime I see it, even though I know it’s coming, I’ve seen it a million times…it still gets me everytime. 2. Mariah Carey’s song, Whenever You Call. It always gets me thinking about my SO and how that song totally describes how I feel about him and such. I’ll sit there and cry like a little girl. (I know, I’m pathetic) So, what gets to you, turns on your waterworks and shows that you too are only human? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/2 "2006-08-17T22:13:53Z")
The final song from “Rent” + Cheffie = BAWWWWWWLLLLL. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/3 "2006-08-17T22:15:26Z")
A swift kick to the nuts will usually do it. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/4 "2006-08-17T22:20:50Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A swift kick to the nuts will usually do it. Brat. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/5 "2006-08-17T22:25:31Z")
I get weepy over storylines that involve abandoned or neglected animals. Last night my husband and I were watching an old episode of _Futurama_ in which Fry’s dog Seymour grows old and dies while waiting in vain for Fry to return to the pizzeria. I wept for the sad plight of a cartoon dog in a sci-fi comedy. In real life, I’m fairly stoic, but show me a fictional doggie in a sad situation, and I am a big boohoo baby. ---
**Author:** ![Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b782af/32.png) [@Clockwork\_And\_Candy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clockwork_And_Candy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/6 "2006-08-17T22:27:47Z")
Eh, when I cry at something it’s more because of what’s going on in my life at the moment than what I’m watching/reading. But, uh… the last time I cried was when I was re-reading **Lioness Rampant** for, like, the umpteenth time at the part where Josaine kills Faithful and, later on, Alanna receives Liam’s farewell letter from the Shang Wildcat. For some reason I just couldn’t stop blubbing at those parts. What’s more is that I didn’t even _like_ Liam. :-\ Oh, and the ending part in the film version of **A Series of Unfortunate Events** , where Violet and Klaus read the letter from their parents. That had me bawling. Huh. What is it with me and letters from the deceased? I just think it’s sad, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/7 "2006-08-17T22:29:40Z")
Well, the fact that the Sequential Thread after this is “Chicken Fried Steak” had me giggling, but not exactly crying. 😃 A good chicken fried steak is pretty inspiring, though. I don’t cry much at entertainment. Not at the usual Relationship Issues or Heartstring Tuggers. For me, it’s uptopia. Any sort of utopic scene - perfection in place, a perfect moment in a relationship, a nostalgic perfection - really gets my throat choked up as my psyche processes how impossible such a thing is, and how fucked we really are. When I’m near my period, this extends even unto Walgreen’s commercials. :smack: Also (and similarly), the views just about everywhere I went in Ireland. I soon realized that the reason there are so many picture postcards of Ireland is that every frickin’ place in Ireland looks like a damn postcard. It’s all so beautiful in this way that makes me want to lay down and die, because such beauty is so much bigger than I, and I can never hope to have that kind of beauty in my grasp. I can’t expain it, either of them. It’s the stuff of poets and dreamers, and I, alas, am neither. Oh, gawd, **Chef Troy**! The final scene \*and \*“La Vie Boheme” both get me sobbing (see above re: utopic relationships. The “perfect night” with “perfect friends” and “perfect happiness”.) AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!! _sniff_ I was a mess at the end of _A.I.: The Movie Everyone but Me Hates_. _Moulin Rouge_. I cry at the _next_-to-last scene - the “Come What May” reprise and finale. The death doesn’t do a thing for me. (I’ve seen it dozens of times. I still cry, every time.) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/8 "2006-08-17T22:40:04Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > I get weepy over storylines that involve abandoned or neglected animals. Last night my husband and I were watching an old episode of _Futurama_ in which Fry’s dog Seymour grows old and dies while waiting in vain for Fry to return to the pizzeria. I wept for the sad plight of a cartoon dog in a sci-fi comedy. In real life, I’m fairly stoic, but show me a fictional doggie in a sad situation, and I am a big boohoo baby. Bingo. I get a little teary eyed at the end of this episode. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/9 "2006-08-17T22:41:23Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > 1. E.T. When ET dies, I sob. Everytime I see it, even though I know it’s coming, I’ve seen it a million times…it still gets me everytime. ET dies!!! OMFG! Next thing you know you will tell me that Rhett dumps Scarlett. /i keed. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/10 "2006-08-17T22:43:43Z")
I cried at the end of _Bend it Like Beckham_ this last weekend. It was so sweet! Also, I was pretty drunk. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/11 "2006-08-17T23:22:00Z")
The “universal hook” as I like to call it, the somewhat bluesy, angsty series of notes that speak directly a sense of immense sadness but still holding out hope. I get this sense from the theme from The Wall, Messages by OMD, and Somewhere Only We Know by Keane. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/12 "2006-08-17T23:30:56Z")
Ever since my father died, father/son plots can get me pretty emotional. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/13 "2006-08-17T23:34:28Z")
I cry like a little girl at _Lilo & Stitch_: “This is my family. I found it all by myself. It’s little, and broken, but still good. Yeah. Still good.” Also Elphaba in “Defying Gravity” from _Wicked_: "So if you care to find me, look to the western sky; as someone told me lately, everyone deserves a chance to fly. And if I’m flying solo, at least I’m flying free. To those who ground me, take a message back for me: Tell them how I’m defying gravity . . . " It helps that Elphaba on the cast recording is sung by Idina Menzel, who just _belts_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/14 "2006-08-17T23:35:13Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > I get weepy over storylines that involve abandoned or neglected animals. Last night my husband and I were watching an old episode of _Futurama_ in which Fry’s dog Seymour grows old and dies while waiting in vain for Fry to return to the pizzeria. I wept for the sad plight of a cartoon dog in a sci-fi comedy. In real life, I’m fairly stoic, but show me a fictional doggie in a sad situation, and I am a big boohoo baby. _Jurassic Bark_. I cried when Farmer Hogget sang his song to Babe to make Babe start eating. No, this is not on my Résumé. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/15 "2006-08-17T23:45:16Z")
– Anything with sad animals –Anything that relates to the father/daughter dynamic, no matter how trite or overplayed or stupid – I have no idea why this is, my own dad is alive and well and frequently works my last nerve, but I am a blubbering mess at anything that even hints about a father and daughter and the slightest sad situation. If there was a Lifetime Movie Of the Week called “OMG, My Dad Has A Hangnail!” I’d be reaching for the Kleenex. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2006, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/16 "2006-08-17T23:50:54Z")
Discovering that the definition of [classic old films](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384430) is pre-1968 is enough to make me cry. Why don’t you make me feel old, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Cherry\_Garcia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71c47a/32.png) [@Cherry\_Garcia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cherry_Garcia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/17 "2006-08-18T00:30:54Z")
I dunno, songs can get me tearing up at times. “Never Without You,” Ringo Starr’s tribute to George Harrison. Especially with Eric Clapton’s presence on the song. I teared up the first few times I listened to it. And since my father died, “The Living Years” by Mike & The Mechanics can make my eyes a little wet. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/18 "2006-08-18T00:54:59Z")
What makes me cry is seeing people grieve, seeing people ache for someone who no longer exists anywhere in the world. **Ordinary People** kills me every time I watch it, and it’s one of my favorite movies. (I also cry at the end when Conrad and his father hug – how much they love each other is so touching.) > [@Clockwork And Candy](#): > > What is it with me and letters from the deceased? I just think it’s sad, I guess. This reminded me of a moment in the Danish film **Celebration** that had me bawling. I mean, the whole movie is sad, but there’s a moment when a letter from a dead woman is read in front of her entire family and the camera lingers on the face of her twin brother. You’re hearing the words of a woman who no longer exists, you’re hearing her talk about how she suffered, and you’re looking at the person who loved her the most and whose grief for her is erupting violently in a public setting…and all his grief is concentrated in his face at that moment. I also cried at the part in **V for Vendetta** when we hear Valerie’s letter/story, knowing she’s dead – especially at the last line. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/19 "2006-08-18T01:04:39Z")
The manga/anime [Full Moon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Moon_%28manga%29) makes me want to blow my brains out, and I’ve never even _seen_ it. But it doesn’t really make me want to _cry_, so I guess it doesn’t count. On the other hand, I’ve never seen the book/cartoon [The Plague Dogs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plague_Dogs_%28film%29) either, and that one makes me want to cry, THEN blow my brains out. So, that’s in. Ditto for “Jurassic Bark,” and the [“Valse Triste” sequence of _Allegro Non Troppo_,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegro_non_troppo) which I _have_ seen. Did I ever mention I take SSRIs? On the other side of the sentimental field, I’ve always had a hard time watching footage of “boneyard” aircraft being scrapped, with a guillotine-like demolition machine, and left in the desert so that spy sats could confirm that they were no longer airworthy. And I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch that _Nova_ documentary where they tried to salvage a B-29 from a Greenland ice sheet, and [almost succeeded. Almost.](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2303b29.html) ::shudder:: And I still get a few chills at the flashback/dream sequence from _Porco Rosso_. You know the one. Heh. And this from a guy who plays “Postal,” and watches _Trinity and Beyond_ to help get to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147/20 "2006-08-18T01:05:11Z")
Grave of Fireflies (if you’ve seen it you know when) The Last Five Years – right off the bat, The Story of Schmuel, The Wedding, The second time Kathy sings “Miles and Miles of You” God that show makes me such a girl. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-you-cry/369147.md?page=2)