To be completely honest, I have not watched movies of late. I am more into watching Netflix and Amazon Prime series. Yes, they do show movies there as well, but I do not remember watching any movie recently.
Let me correct that. I have not watched new movies of late. What I watch are reruns of old movies that I already know all about.
The series I watch on the small screen are more action-oriented. But then there are some that have reduced me to tears. The ones that are bad do bring tears to my eyes, but more than the waterworks, it is the anger at how much of my time was wasted that hurts.
Then there are some exceptions. Recently I have been watching a lot of Japanese manga. Naruto and then Boruto were just finished a few days back. I even teared up in some of the episodes when Naruto or his kid Boruto dish out heart-rending dialogues.
Maybe as you grow old you tend to become more emotional. The initial and final years of your life are full of tears. The middle years are when you are heartless. I guess it is facing the realities of life that makes you lose your ability to sentimentalize.
I have to be careful when I tear up to ensure that no one is watching me. My wife does not feel much emotion, but then she does not ‘watch’ such scenes or listen to soul-rending dialogues. She asks me to fast-forward those scenes!
Showing emotions while watching cartoons or children’s movies looks funny when done by an adult. It is just that some scenes tug at your emotional chords when they remind you of passages from your own life. Something you have personally experienced in a slightly different way and can identify with makes you tear up.
Am I ashamed of that? Well, not exactly. It just reminds me that I am still human and have not become an emotionless caricature of humanity.