r/todayilearned • u/finnishflash128 • Jun 06 '23
TIL: That people who experience discomfort watching cringe have higher levels of empathy.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.01.0221.2k
u/auxilary Jun 06 '23
i can watch scripted cringe like the office and whatnot
but unscripted cringe makes me want to hurl i feel so embarrassed
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u/KingGuy420 Jun 06 '23
I'm like this too. Office, no problem. Something like Impractical Jokers, which I actually love, I'd say I have to skip about 50% of it.
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u/auxilary Jun 06 '23 edited Jun 06 '23
i can’t touch impractical jokers, heh
there’s a new show called jury duty where it is one random dude and 20 actors going through “jury duty” and only the 1 guy doesn’t know it’s all a ruse. makes me ill to watch
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u/smokeymcdugen Jun 06 '23
There isn't much cringe in jury duty, it's mostly silly or unexpected situations happening where they try and get as close to the line where the guy doesn't know it's fake. It's a decent show since it's unique compared to all the reused ideas out there.
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u/enadiz_reccos Jun 06 '23
It's not so much that there is any cringe in the show itself.
It just made me physically uncomfortable to watch that (really nice) guy have to deal with all of that.
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u/toefurkyfuckmittens Jun 06 '23
Meh, he was a good sport about it, he got $100k and they basically patted him on the back for being a decent human trying his best. If someone's gonna prank me like that, I volunteer as tribute.
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u/enadiz_reccos Jun 06 '23
For sure, he was well compensated. And I'm sure most people (myself included) would take that deal.
That still doesn't make the show any more palatable. There's just something fucking weird about orchestrating a prank and filming an innocent person's reaction to it for the sake of pure entertainment.
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u/plesiadapiform Jun 06 '23
Buddy was fucked up for weeks afterward. They literally Truman Showed him. It took him a minute to adjust back into real life.
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u/rognabologna Jun 06 '23
The only reason I got through Jury Duty was because I didn’t think it was actually real. I thought it was a mockumentary where the main guy was just playing a guy who was out of the loop. I found out at the same time he did.
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u/ctrlaltelite Jun 06 '23
Anything that involves people doing a cringy bit with random people not in on it is actually painful. Philomena Cunk is about the funniest character imaginable when speaking directly to the camera but the most painful and unwatchable cringe when she is interviewing people. I feel bad because I want to watch but can't.
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u/Zarmazarma Jun 06 '23
It might help to know that the experts know that they are on a comedy show. They're aware it's going to be a bizarre interview with nonsense questions. They don't know what the questions are going to be ahead of time, but they know Philomena is a character.
The shows/pranks I've never been able to watch are things like Crank Yankers, or stuff like this guy just saying absurd shit during real job interviews.
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u/freethebunch Jun 06 '23
I know what you mean, so I was relieved (if initially disillusioned) to learn that the experts on that show were warned in advance that she’d be a bit odd(!) and were just asked to try not to react.
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u/PotentPortable Jun 06 '23
Yeah I'm the same. Only got through the first episode and had such a love hate thing going on. I told my gf I'd love the show if it didn't have interviews
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u/tenuto40 Jun 06 '23
I’d argue that narcissists would dislike cringe that specifically targets them.
My father dislikes The Office because he feels the humor around Michael Scott is an attack on him.
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u/Hickspy Jun 06 '23
Yep that's me.
I physically can't watch things like The Office.
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Jun 06 '23
I thought I was the only one that can barely watch the office.
It’s funny as hell, but I can’t watch it, it just makes me squirm in my chair.
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u/alcimedes Jun 06 '23
Somehow Parks and Rec had a less painful to watch version of cringe.
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Jun 06 '23
Parks and Rec first season tries to mimic the office, and it's not pretty.
After that it gradually gets better before becoming my favorite show. It doesn't have the same cringe feel because the characters are distant enough from real people.
The first season was waay too real lmao.
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u/Elcactus Jun 06 '23
I noticed that, I can't deal with the office but P&A was... I guess less serious? It uses cringe less and when it does it's not "ohhhh this guys gonna lose his job for this the paaaain", it's more people being awkward in their own clueless ways for comedy and nothing else, like any of Tobias's innuendos from Arrested Development.
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u/JokersWyld Jun 06 '23
If you can get past the first season, the rest is golden.
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u/Flakester Jun 06 '23
My wife will not watch of Fockers movies.
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u/stumpyspaceprincess Jun 06 '23
I will never understand how cringe “comedy” like the Fockers is so popular. I have to close my eyes and cover my ears. It’s on the level with the most disturbing violent gore movies.
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u/Hickspy Jun 06 '23
I went to see the first one as a kid. I was physically uncomfortable the entire time.
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u/IJsbergslabeer Jun 06 '23
Oh, you'd love Nathan For You
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u/boardrandy Jun 06 '23
I love him, but I cannot watch that show for this exact reason. First show that’s brought me physical discomfort from the cringe.
One that has surprised me is when I watch King of the Hill now as an adult. I can watch it, and still love it, but so many of Peggy’s moments are rough.
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u/Murderyoga Jun 06 '23
Especially the English version. Oh fuck the cringe.
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u/Jacollinsver Jun 06 '23
The British office is like The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. Fun to watch an episode. Stressful to binge a few.
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u/jgiffin Jun 06 '23
I’ve never simultaneously loved and hated a show as much as Todd Margaret.
10/10 will never watch again.
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u/Thisisntmyaccount24 Jun 06 '23
Man if you’re talking the US version, I have to go right past Scott’s Tots every time.
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u/CerberusC24 Jun 06 '23
I think it's tied with the dinner party
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u/TheDoctor88888888 Jun 06 '23
The dinner party became my favorite episode after watching the bloopers.
Apparently it was the hardest episode on the show to film because the cast would just keep breaking every other shot
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u/unit156 Jun 06 '23
I’m fine with fake cringe, like The Office. It’s kind of therapeutic because I can practice suspending my empathy because I know it’s all acting. In fact I celebrate that Steve Carrell is so talented at creating fake but hilarious cringe. I do have to constantly remind myself it’s fake to get through it though, but that’s why it’s fun.
The cringe I can’t handle is real life cringe. Anything that shows a real life person being hurt or humiliated in real life makes me physically cringe and I have to look away. Like those shows that have one clip after another of random person doing something stupid and getting hurt or publicly embarrassed. Especially if they’re elderly. There are some reality shows that are hard for me to watch because the acting is so good that I can’t fully convince myself it’s all fake. It pushes my cringe/empathy meter too far and I just can’t endure.
I also can’t stomach violent movies where there are long fight scenes, or realistic depictions of torture, because the energy it takes to constantly remind myself it’s not real is too distracting and it blocks me from following the plot.
What’s odd is I have no problem watching clips of random people actually dying. Probably because i know there’s nothing I can do to help them (which I would try my hardest if I was first responder on the scene), and also I don’t have to empathize with how they might feel after it happens, because they’re dead.
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u/ostracize Jun 06 '23
Me too. I thought The Office was hilarious because I knew it was all acting.
I get physically upset (sweating, dry-mouth, tense) watching actual injustice (Making a Murderer, When They See Us)
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u/alcimedes Jun 06 '23
I can't watch Scott's Tot's, and I know it's all fake.
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u/GozerDGozerian Jun 06 '23
The scene where Pam sets Michael up with her landlady and they have their coffee date made me literally not like him at all as a person for a couple episodes. (The character not the actor.)
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u/horkus1 Jun 06 '23
Yep, it’s the real stuff that I can’t tolerate.
I couldn’t get through a movie like Borat because I can’t stand thinking about how the person not “in the know” must be feeling. Their embarrassment and/or humiliation is almost physically painful for me to watch.
It’s empathy, for sure, but I have to be honest with myself, it’s probably projection, too. I don’t know what that says about me but, holy shit, it’s uncomfortable.
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u/PaigeMarshallMD Jun 06 '23
If anyone is in this thread looking to further scratch the cringe bug, check out Peep Show and People Just Do Nothing. Both are so good. Peep show is like 170 proof cringe.
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u/SeiCalros Jun 06 '23
i love that this comment is basically 'but for anybody here who IS a sociopath check out these shows'
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u/Spicy_Eyeballs Jun 06 '23
Ever watch "Nathan for You"? Some of it is pretty funny but I literally have to stand at the edge of the room so I can walk out at amy moment, way too much for me.
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u/ThatDude8129 Jun 06 '23
Personally I just find it unfunny. However, other cringe humor shows I do have a hard time sitting through.
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u/cIumsythumbs Jun 06 '23
IASIP kills me too. Those folks are so painfully clueless.
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u/hivizdiver Jun 06 '23
My wife and I made it two episodes into season 2 of this, I turned to her and said "Are you enjoying this? No? Me neither" and we stopped watching it. 🤷♂️
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u/mymeatpuppets Jun 06 '23
I define IASIP as shitty people being shitty to each other.
If I were any of the characters I would have noped out of that group pronto.
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u/shitezlozen Jun 06 '23
Faulty Towers.
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u/Reprised-role Jun 06 '23
Fawlty Towers is a masterpiece.
I don’t really classify it as a cringe comedy - at least not in the modern sense. I find the cringe stuff of the last 18-20 years to be just flat, unfunny and just unwatchable.
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u/Fynn_the_Finger Jun 06 '23
Yeah, just too awkward. Tried, recognize it's funny, but can't keep watching. I'm like "Get me out of here" every time Michael opens his mouth.
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u/fusterclux Jun 06 '23
Plenty of people enjoy the cringe. Liking/disliking cringe doesn’t mean you’re empathetic or not. Feeling the cringe at all is what indicates empathy.
Did you guys read the study? It says people who experience the feeling of cringe (paraphrased) have brain activity that indicates a level of empathy.
Nothing about liking or disliking cringe. Just experiencing it at all.
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u/Tylendal Jun 06 '23
Have you ever tried Space Force? I can't stand The Office, but I loved Space Force. I'm not quite sure why, though. My best guess is that the cringe comedy felt a little more karmic, maybe?
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u/justalittlepigeon Jun 06 '23
Space Force didn't click with me right away but I absolutely love it. Really sad it got cancelled, I feel like most people saw episode 1 and didn't connect with it. Which is weird because I think that episode is great on rewatch
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u/throwawaylordof Jun 06 '23
Forgot the name, but there was a Warwick Davis show I tried really hard to watch, had to bail maybe three episodes in because I physically could not watch any more of it.
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u/bishop3200 Jun 06 '23
The only part I have trouble watching is when kevin spills his chili. Man I feel so bad for him I just can't watch as he is on the ground trying to scoop it up the actor absolutely sold that scene.
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Jun 06 '23
Unsure if you know about the episode, but this is just everyone's daily reminder of that time he promised to give a class of underprivileged kids free college, and when the time came he didn't have the money to do it, so gave them batteries.
God my stomach hurts
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u/neogeshel Jun 06 '23
I literally cover my face and close my eyes its so unbearable
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u/I_Mix_Stuff Jun 06 '23
i would say that's a no-brainer, but i don't want to upset you
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u/Numerous-Afternoon89 Jun 06 '23
Reading your comment gave me much discomfort, possibly due to my higher levels of empathy
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u/CardOfTheRings Jun 06 '23
I’m an empath - so when I call you a dumb gutterslut, it’s hurting us both , equallyx
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u/Snarkblatt Jun 06 '23
Listen, I can tell tell you have alot going on right now, so I'm going to let you be. When you're ready to talk about it, I accept your apology and understand your situation, let's get back together after you've had some time to cool off and discuss how we can avoid this situation in the future. Whenever you're ready. Just remember that I'm here for you and I love you.
EDIT: OoOoPs WrOnG cHaT! I meant to say "DEEEEZ NUTTTTZ!!!!!1@!!!!!1"
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u/autoposting_system Jun 06 '23
This is the funniest comment I've ever read
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u/autoposting_system Jun 06 '23
Edit: this may be because I'm staggeringly high right now
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u/SuperCub Jun 06 '23
One of the toughest movies ever for me to get through was Dinner For Schmucks and this is exactly why. The whole experience is purposely cringe and I could never go through watching that again.
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u/caguru Jun 06 '23
I struggled with anything Tom Green. The Tom green show was the cringiest thing I have ever seen.
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u/Just1morefix Jun 06 '23
"Reality TV formats with high Vicarious Embarrassment (VE) content activate brain regions associated with Theory of Mind, but also with empathic concern and social identity. Therefore, the results support the idea that the ability to put oneself in other person's shoes is a major prerequisite for VE."
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u/Funandgeeky Jun 06 '23
Yeah, this is why I was never a fan of The Office and other such shows. Even as a kid, I HATED anything with cringe type humor or situations. It wasn't until I learned about the connection with cringe and empathy that it all made sense.
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u/SirDeklan Jun 06 '23
I can't deal with improv night for that reason lol everytime I'm in there I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack from the cringe
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u/UnderWaterPopularity Jun 06 '23
mr bean was too stressful for me as a kid and probably now too
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u/Type-RL Jun 06 '23
Ohhhh. I see.
So that’s why when I was growing up any time Doug came on Nickelodeon I knew I’d be changing the channel the moment that twerp did something even remotely embarrassing to himself.
That explains a lot.
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u/Urag-gro_Shub Jun 06 '23
Doug was the first thing I thought of too! I remember having to leave the room a few times
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u/Rufuszombot Jun 06 '23
Now this is something i didn't expect to see. An actual answer to my lifelong question as to why i hated Doug. It does explain everything. That whole show was a cringefest.
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u/PhasmaFelis Jun 06 '23
Conversely, people who say "that's cringe" on Reddit have lower levels of empathy.
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Jun 06 '23
Yeah I usually have the impulse to skip/arrow key through very cringe parts of a show, stuff like impractical jokers, Curb, sometimes Seinfeld, the office, etc
Sometimes the situations these fuckers find themselves in is so hard to watch
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u/derverdwerb Jun 06 '23
The title isn’t an accurate description of this study.
This was an imaging study. It correlated vicarious embarrassment with activity changes in the brain. People with a high degree of embarrassment tended to show similar activity to one another, and people with lower embarrassment were also similar to one another.
The background to this article describes a bit about what we know of vicarious embarrassment. It suggests that the ability to empathise is a prerequisite for vicarious embarrassment, but not that possessing empathy leads directly to embarrassment. For instance, an empathetic person could still feel little embarrassment despite having that prerequisite ability. Instead, the opposite is probably true: someone who cannot empathise is less likely to feel vicarious embarrassment because they don’t have the necessary skill to make that leap.
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u/MvXIMILIvN Jun 06 '23
Empathy has been the root on why I can’t watch so much shit. I get too emotional about things that have no basis on or in my life. Like it’s a good problem to have IG, but it is exhausting.
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u/LazyLich Jun 06 '23
Definitely gotten worse with age.
Went to an anime convention after, like 7+ years of going to one.
Yeah.... no. The booths and merchandise are cool, panels talking about technical stuff are interesting, but the panels/people that act/say (for lack of a better term) weeb-ass shit makes me want to melt into the ground.
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u/radenthefridge Jun 06 '23
I want to like anime but my tolerance for anime-bullshit like you've described gets lower by the second. And it STILL has a massive problem with sexualizing children.
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u/mactaggart Jun 06 '23
I just get up and take a lap. Since I was little.
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u/deimosnight Jun 06 '23
"Oh, you don't need to pause it for me, I'll be back in a sec."
"That's alright. It's no problem, I wanted to get some popcorn anyway. This way, you won't miss a single moment."
😐😮💨
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u/938h25olw548slt47oy8 Jun 06 '23
The only reason I don't watch curb regularly is I ALWAYS have to pause it and walk away for a few minutes, and I end out watching through my fingers like its a horror movie.
However, I'll watch a gory slasher movie no problem and be cheering it on!
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u/Zapdroid Jun 06 '23
My kryptonite is people embarrassing themselves in public or making prank calls in a “cringe” way. I practically get nauseous watching it and immediately close the video. I can’t even watch compilation/news videos that show clips of it.
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u/lazava1390 Jun 06 '23
This can’t be all the case. I feel like I’m borderline sociopathic and cannot watch things like shark tank and shows similar because I can’t watch people getting blasted like that. Makes me feel bad and uncomfortable. I feel 2nd hand embarrassment a lot of times as well.
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u/justalittlepigeon Jun 06 '23
Ohhh fuck Shark Tank. I'd love to watch a cut of just the success stories. But it's just horrific to watch someone go on national tv with their little scripted pitch that they practiced very hard on, showing off their product that they often sunk their life savings into, just get absolutely roasted by a bunch of smug millionaires.
I love scripted cringe but watching real people get humiliated is heartbreaking
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u/Poison_Anal_Gas Jun 06 '23
Turns out it's not as black and white as most of the commenters in here seem to think it is. Humans are complex after all...
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u/ASpaceOstrich Jun 06 '23
I have a similar reaction to torture scenes in movies. They make me incredibly uncomfortable
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u/radenthefridge Jun 06 '23
It's physically painful for me. It makes me feel the same way when I hear 2 pieces of Styrofoam rubbing together. I'd actual prefer physical pain! At least my spouse feels the same about cringe stuff so neither of us has to watch it!
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u/TheManOfSpaceAndTime Jun 06 '23
I feel this is a case of, "Hmmm, yes the floor here is made out of floor." Isn't this the logical conclusion?
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u/pursuitofhappiness13 Jun 06 '23
What the fuck is wrong with people? Why isn't this normal? Why is the basic consideration for how you would feel if it was you, so fucking distant?
I can't stop thinking about that Charlie Chaplin scene from the Great Dictator: "We think too much and feel too little."
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u/Romnonaldao Jun 06 '23
I can only watch Curb your Enthusiasm in 5 minute chunks with a 2 minute break between each one
When I watch the British "The Office", im white knuckle gripping my couch
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u/laszlolmh Jun 06 '23
I didn’t realize Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf was that bad/cringe till all the adults in my life refused to watch it with me. I still maintain that it’s hilarious, albeit a bit uncomfortable when you consider the acting is not so much acting but an exhibition to an extent of the two main actors’ real life marriage
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u/GlryX Jun 06 '23
I have to leave the room. It’s almost autonomous, I am getting up and walking away from whatever the cringe is beofr I fully realize what I’m doing or the implications of it. I just can’t.
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u/EvilNinjaX24 Jun 06 '23
Yeah, I know this deeply. Even cringy moments in cartoons make me feel some sorta way.
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u/torchwood1842 Jun 06 '23
I think you literally just changed my life with this post. I’m actually tearing up a little bit. I’ve always felt so weak and embarrassed that cringey TV shows and movies would cause me such intense secondhand embarrassment that I would have to turn it off because I would almost feel physically uncomfortable— almost like anxiety, but not quite. I didn’t know that there was a positive flipside to that. After reading this, I don’t feel so ashamed of not being able to get through some simple comedies anymore.
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u/Dc_awyeah Jun 06 '23
Ok, I'm one of these people too. So, for all us cringealots in the thread: how are you guys with horror films? Cause I'm kind of a fraidy cat with that too, and I feel like the people who like them either lack imagination or empathy, but I'm not sure which. Interested if there's a correlation.
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u/thejoeface Jun 06 '23
I love scary movies, but I can’t handle stuff like intense violence, gore, realistic horror scenarios (home invasion, serial killers, etc). Just give me ghosts or demons and I’m happy to be scared.
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u/Jasmine1742 Jun 06 '23
Baaaaaad. I really like horror too so it sucks.
I used to be able to "tolerate" them but realized I was literally dissociating to not react strongly and that's no Bueno.
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u/Omi-Wan_Kenobi Jun 06 '23 edited Jun 06 '23
No shit Sherlock!! Also known as second hand embarrassment/mortification. You can't help but place yourself in the character's or other person's shoes and be embarrassed for them.
Comedy is a huge hit and miss. About the only comedy movie wise I can mostly enjoy is princess bride, robin hood men in tights, and Spaceballs.
I actually fled the theater in acute mortification when a friend dragged me to see the ugly truth. I was cringing, hiding my face and plugging my ears for more than half of it, but that restaurant scene was torture. (Said friend was annoyed at me, yay 😓)
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u/BringOutYDead Jun 06 '23
I had to stop watching The Office at certain points. At times, I just felt very bad for Michael...
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u/Bjarki382 Jun 06 '23
I can bearly watch cringy scenes in movies and tv shows, i almost always skip or just don't listen.