Blog #10

 Question:

This week we talked about 'tragic pleasure'. Why do you think we experience pleasure when watching tragedy? Is this like the pleasure we take on a crazy rollercoaster? Or a horror movie? Why do we find frightening things pleasurable?

Answer:

I think we experience pleasure when watching tragedy because what's bad in a tragedy is not the sensation, but the scene that obtains such commotion. Watching tragedy movies makes some people happy because it brings attention to positive features in their own lives. Therefore, we value tragedy because we derive pleasure from the skill the authors of tragedies reveal. When we get scared, we experience a rush of epinephrine and a release of endorphins.