Why People Enjoying Angst?
Angst is defined as anxiety that is mixed with frustration and negativity. It is not only about sadness but something deeper. In a fictional story, angst puts the characters through the wringer emotionally, mentally, or even the physically. This can make the readers fall for a character, because angst often triggers feelings of sympathy for whoever is being hurt. When a character has something angsty happen to them, readers are interested in how they deal with it.
The more angst stories published, of course it is proof that many people enjoy them. Then why do people like to read or watch stories that they certainly do not expect to happen in their lives?
Connect to real life emotions
When we consume a fictional story, although we know that it is not real, we will automatically experience the emotions. We feel connected with the story, put our position as the character and it makes us feel truthful. Interestingly, in a journal entitled Sad Movies Don’t Always Make Me Cry”: The cognitive and affective processes underpinning enjoyment of tragedy, found that this feeling helps explain our enjoyment of sad story. Readers feel more involved in the story.
Learn the plight of others
Angst can raise issues of discrimination, social issues, race, gender, broken homes, etc. Not everyone experiences that, so they may not understand how big these issues are in someone’s life. By consuming stories where the characters experience those things, people can learn more about the issues and realise that it is not a trivial thing in the life of someone who actually experienced it.
Be more grateful
After going through the various emotions the characters go through, we might wonder how one could possibly have such a miserable life. This will make us realise that it could have happened to someone out there and make us more grateful for our life which turned out to be much better.
Being realistic about life
When we were kids, we often came across stories where good things will always come to good people and bad things will happen to bad people. Unfortunately, no matter how much we try to be good, bad things can still happen. Till finally we realise that is how life is. Life can exactly be hard and unfair.
Even though it is painful, the story with angst nuance experienced by the main character in the story is still a favourite for many people. Because for some people, enjoying a story is not just being a reader or spectator of the character’s stories but they will be more satisfied if they are successfully invited to explore and feel part of the story.
-Northern Ingo-
