I was watching batman at the movies the other day, and i found myself with tears coming down which suprised the hell out of me. So i started thinking about how when i was younger, very little on tv or movies affected me, blood, guts, horror, love, it all bounced off. Now i get affected by these things. And it posed the question, why? why now and not then?
One theory was that as we get older, we experience more and therefore can relate more to the situations that characters find themselves. There is more of an understanding of love, and leaving someone, and hate and fear and happiness.
The other theory, posed by the man, was that holliwood is getting better at their methods of relaying emotions. Better shock tactics, better effects, better script, better actors.
Any ideas?

perhaps a bit of both.

I don't know, I think there are alot of factors. I think life experience would be a better term then age for what your getting at. I also think self confidence has alot to do with it. I'm much more able to accept, and admit what im feeling then when I was 15 or so. I still belive however there is a time and a place. If your watching a movie, or relaxing then it is fine. If you are doing something important, it can be put off till later, letting you deal with the situation at hand, and deal with the emotions later.

I don't really think improved scripts or effects really change anything. There are some moving movies, with great special effects, but there are many with no/little effects as well.

One theory was that as we get older,... There is more of an understanding of love, and leaving someone, and hate and fear and happiness.

Oh, I don't think there's more understanding ...perhaps only used to the disappointments of it all thru experience. Perhaps the "understanding" is that as we get older, we realize it don't make any freakin' difference whether we understand it or not ...shit happens and it's gonna' keep on happening 'til we die!

The crying? Perhaps realizing that you ain't gonna' experience the blissful fairy tales that are in movies?

Baron Max

Perhaps when we grow older we see things differently and understand things better for we are wiser and more educated. Oft times we watch movies for entertainment not for what the movie is trying to tell us.

I don't know what you consider "younger", but at least I can say that in adolescence kids always rebel and block their emotions. It probably just means that you're growing up and becoming a mature adult, along with life experience.