Television Psychology

There are probably many, many, many reasons why we love to watch television, but here's one possible factor from a psychological point of view.

We love to watch the raw display of emotions, readily garnered from the actors' (usually much exaggerated) expressions and actions.

Deep down inside, most of us probably secretly, or sub-consciously, wish that we could express our delicate emotions and feelings better; that a change of mood, or a sudden offense taken, or slight jump of heart, would be readily interpreted and understood, even if we consciously strive to conceal these feelings.

Not only from our own perspectives, but we would also like to interpret the people around us better, and faithfully to their own emotions. All of us have been accustomed to putting on masks around other people, that it is no longer a mere suspicion that others are doing the exact same thing. Expecially for those we are close to, we long to penetrate their masks, and access their inner feelings directly, to communicate heart-to-heart with them. Friendship is not so much as exposing your inner feelings by taking off your masks, but rather being read despite your masks.

And there is no better avenue for watching your secret desires enacted out: on television. The TV media is an excellent pool of raw emotions, where a slight slip of the mood is readily expressed as a frown, or a leap of heart by a laughing twinkle in the eye of a veteran actor. Expressions are exaggerated, and outwardly displayed; there are no hidden emotions that the co-actors cannot see, or even if they could not, we as audience would be able to. The actors have a deep "inner voice" that is worn on their faces and bodies. They are all you see, they are everything you can read from them, and they are the "true feelings" that the director wants to convey.

Watching television is the ultimate fantasy for people who sought to penetrate other people's inner self. As well as for people who always feel misunderstood, misinterpreted, or treated as too superficial. We watch television to get the sense of achievement of successfully interpreting other people's emotions, even hopefully to learn something from it. We watch television as a catharsis, observing actors display raw emotions which we didnt dare show, as a secret fulfillment to the desire to be successfully, and faithfully interpreted.

This is probably why good/bad acting is so important for the success of a drama/movie. It is even more crucial then a good storyline. Well, maybe the storyline is just as crucial anyway; without good acting, any movie is doomed to fail, just as a movie with good acting but bad plot is likely to flop as well.