When I was very young I used to get so worked up over films or TV that I almost freaked out. It started with Bambi, yes the Disney cartoon. When baby Bambi was separated from his mother and orphaned in a fire I caused such a fuss that I had to be taken out of the cinema. As a teenager I had a hard time over War of the Worlds and the Quatermass Experiment. As far as I remember I actually fainted at the latter and then proceeded to throw up. I suspect that I have too literal a frame of mind and am inclined to have difficulty in separating fact from fiction. I also used to hide behind a cushion regularly at Doctor Who. And as far as I know, nobody takes Doctor Who seriously.
The reason all this comes to mind is that I have some of my boxed set of NCIS marked according to whether I can watch it or not. Yes, even after half a dozen times of watching a scary episode. And even though I know there is a satisfactory conclusion I have to resort to leaving the room and asking HBTW to recount the story afterwards.
It seems that immersion therapy doesn’t work for me – I shall just have to stick to my own health warnings. Anyone else find films too scary?
Oh yes, you are not alone Freda.
Bambi had exactly the same affect on me and i drove my parents barmy for months with the “it isn’t really true is it”? question. As for the wicked queen/witch in Snow White – nightmares for weeks.
Worst of all, when I was much older i went to the cinema alone to see Pschyco, Oh what a mistake to make.
I sat up all that night, didn’t dare sleep and for about a year had flashback thingies, so now i never watch anything even mildly scary and haven’t set foot in a cinema for nearly forty years.
I can find that films linger sadly in images in my brain after watching them…more so when I was younger and I did cry at Bambi. BUT, thank goodness I do not get so scared or sad that I cannot watch them. I guess you just internalize them too much. Makes you a very empathetic person, so hopefully you have a career that can utilize that.
My pet hate is old Westerns – I could not get it into my head that the horses were actors too. All that mass destruction of Indians and horses was too much for me, I used to close my eyes and put my fingers in my ears – and that was in the days when the current boyfriend paid to take you to the cinema and it was always his choice! Today in the house I either use the off button or walk out the room if himself is enjoying some blood and guts film. Walked out on Lethal Weapon and couple of nights ago. I don’t remember seeing Bambi as a child – my parents tended to be anti cinema so came to it when I was older and supposedly harder and was able to get off with just a sniff or too.
The animal abuse in older films was awful, at least when judged by our modern sensitivities. I am particularly aware of bird abuse. Birds have feelings too, and they are very intelligent. I still see animal abuse in some films made in Europe. For example, a recent Wallender episode, where the killer lured a flock of swans to himself by offering them food, and then dumped gasoline on the ground, which spread to them. he then set them on fire.
My Mom loved foreign films and took me with her to see them. The violence against children and animals was awful, far worse than Bambi, which was terrible.