I watched two episodes of ANGEL today that got me to thinking about how writers wring emotions out of their readers/viewers. There are lots of books I’ve really enjoyed, ones that have earned a place on my keeper shelf, but I can’t think of one off the top of my head that squeezed my heart so much that I actually cried. I’ve felt for characters, but I can’t recall actual tears. That’s not so of movies and TV shows. Perhaps it’s because I tend to read books that have happy endings. No matter what happens in a romance, you know the couple is going to get a happily ever after. But in movies and TV shows, you don’t know that. Add on top of that the actual ability to see the characters’ expressions, to hear their voices, and soundtracks written with the purpose of eliciting the raw emotions of scenes, and the visual medium seems to be able to draw tears from me much more easily. Think Beaches, Steel Magnolias, Titanic, The Patriot, House of Flying Daggers, Legends of the Fall, Gladitor, Braveheart, Glory, Last of the Mohicans, Sommersby, Serenity. They all have tearjerker moments.
TV series can do the same thing. The back-to-back episodes of ANGEL has to be one of the biggest one-two punch of tearjerkers in TV history. First, in “I Will Remember You”, Angel is made mortal and can have exactly what he wants — a life with Buffy. They share a wonderful, loving day together, but he has to give it up when he realizes that his mortality puts Buffy in danger. He gives up what he wants most in the world, to be able to love and be with Buffy, to save her and countless others. To make matters worse, he will be the only one who’ll remember their day together. As they watch the seconds tick down to the moment when the clock will be turned back and she’ll forget, their tears and kisses and her words that she’ll never forget are absolutely heart-wrenching.
The next episode, “Hero”, was the last for the wonderful character of Doyle. Just as he’s on the verge of getting what he wants, a date with Cordy, he steps up to the plate to save a group of persecuted half-demons like himself. After his one and only kiss with Cordy, he sacrifices himself so Angel won’t.
I’ve loved these movies and TV shows with tearjerker moments, but there’s still that part of me that wishes everyone got their happy ending. I guess that’s why I read and write romance. At least there, I know they’ll get it.
So, how do you think we can wring out the emotions of our readers while still promising them that happy ending? How can we make them feel that maybe, just this once, that happy ending might not be guaranteed and then leave them happy when it is?
June 30th, 2006 at 8:51 am
Beach Music by Pat Conroy. Dropped me to my knees. That has a happy ending. Must, must read. Lyrical, beautifully written. Wow.
Teri
June 30th, 2006 at 11:20 am
I’ll have to check it out.
June 30th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
Wasn’t that great? Joss should run for president lol
I’ve cried during Buffy too. Spikes expressions just get to me.And Angel the same way!
Great for story ideas and wonderful article. We have to get to the readers emotionally. That’s what it’s all about and Joss is the master!
July 2nd, 2006 at 12:26 pm
I LOVE that you’ve now discovered Angel and Buffy *g*
Interestingly, while I mostly cry at the drop of a hat (even at commercials), I usually don’t with books. (Which is SO ironic, because I’m actually giving a workshop about “tearjerkers” and how they can be very similar to funnier books.) I think for me it’s all the extra stuff in movies and TV that puts me over the edge, such as the visuals you mentioned and even the background music. Sometimes, if I feel myself getting too upset in a book, I’ll actually pull away for a moment and collect myself (because, hey, it’s tough to read while I’m crying!). But it’s never occurred to me to hit pause on the DVD if I’m getting choked up. I actively bawled during the Veronica Mars finale but wouldn’t have dreamed of pausing because I needed to get to the end and make sure things ended okay!
There are a few authors who’ve made me cry, however. And Judith McNaught had me sobbing with her historical Kingdom of Dreams. Later in the book, there’s a tragedy that you almost fear WILL tear the hero and heroine apart even though neither of them are to blame. But it’s a really organic thing that stems from the characters and conflict, not something just thrown in for the sake of making readers cry. Although it definitely did that!
Tanya
July 2nd, 2006 at 12:29 pm
Okay, I know I’m being waaay too chatty today and promise to shut up after this *g* but one of the things I’ve found true for me as a reader/viewer and will be mentioning in my workshop is that once the author has brought the emotions close to the surface, they tend to stay there. Like Firefly? Emotional rollercoaster. I was more likely to cry in that movie simply because I was already feeling so much–whether it was fear or even laughing, a sometimes overlooked emotional reaction. Some authors are like that, too. Judith McNaught and Susan Elizabeth Phillips almost always make me laugh, but their books are most likely to make me cry, as well, just because they’re SO emotionally evocative (whether they’re making you angry at the characters or writing something really sensual between them) that my empathy for the characters is amplified.
Tanya
July 3rd, 2006 at 5:28 pm
Great points, Tanya. Veronica Mars is another of those shows I hear a lot about but haven’t watched.
July 9th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Wow all this Buffy and Angel talk brings back memories. I watched it from beginning to end, and I can honestly say that I cried during any and every scene that involved Buffy and Angel (and then Angel and Cordelia). Great shows, I LOVE David Boreanaz, from the moment he first showed up in Buffy…it was love at first sight :). I think he’s a phenomenal actor, and if you thought the chemistry between him and Sarah Michelle Gellar was good, you should see him in Bones. The chemistry between him and Emily Deschanel is out of this world, and the tension (sexual and non sexual) between their characters is great to watch.
July 16th, 2006 at 10:33 am
Thanks for stopping by, Jen. I’m planning to start watching Bones this season and catch up on the first season when it comes out on DVD this fall.