The Motivational Power of Movies

Photo by De'Andre Bush on Unsplash

Last week I was in Los Angeles and had the opportunity to tour Warner Bros. Studios. I’m a big movie lover so this was awesome! The tour did a great job of showing just how many different people are involved in making the magic of movies happen. Writers, directors, actors, producers, people who design and build sets, people who do special effects, people who handle video and sound mixing and editing, people who make the costumes, and so on. Movies are a massive collaborative effort involving countless dedicated professionals working together to create something that moves us.

And that’s exactly what movies do. Of course some movies are just entertainment. And that is fine. As I discussed in a previous newsletter, positive emotions are not only good for our own wellbeing, they make us more inclined to be friendly to others and inspired to make a difference in the world. So even movies that merely brighten our mood offer psychological and social benefits.

But movies can also move us more deeply through inspirational storytelling. They showcase acts of personal sacrifice and heroism that remind us of humanity’s capacity for courage. They depict triumph over adversity that demonstrates the power of persistence and resilience. They portray redemption that illuminates our ability to grow and change. And they display love, kindness, and deep connection that affirm our fundamental need for meaningful relationships

This is not a new phenomenon. From ancient storytelling traditions to the novels that captivated readers in the centuries before film, humans have always turned to stories for inspiration and guidance. What has changed is the medium, not the function.

This is also not a rare phenomenon. In a survey of over 3,000 Americans, researchers including my colleague Dr. Sophie Janicke-Bowles, a positive media psychologist and fellow with our Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute, found that the vast majority of Americans indicate they have been touched, moved, or inspired by watching movies (87 percent) or television shows (80 percent). Importantly, the researchers found that the more of this kind of inspiring media people consume, the more inclined they are to engage in prosocial behavior. This is consistent with laboratory research showing that after people watched an inspiring video clip, they were more willing to volunteer to help the experimenter with tasks and spend more time doing so.

This brings to mind a few related ideas I have discussed in previous newsletters. In discussing the uplifting power of pop culture, I highlighted how entertainment helps us regulate our emotions and navigate difficult times, and how feeling better can motivate us to do better for others. The research on inspirational media reveals that films work through another mechanism as well. Beyond mood regulation, movies can inspire us directly through their portrayal of moral beauty and human goodness.

When I wrote about the forward-looking power of nostalgic movies, I emphasized how nostalgia is not about retreating to the past but rather using meaningful memories as fuel for future growth and creativity. The same principle applies here. Inspiring films do not just make us feel momentarily uplifted. They can provide psychological resources, models of behavior, and emotional experiences that we carry forward into our own lives and use to motivate our goals and actions.

And this research on how movies inspire us speaks directly to my ongoing emphasis on the importance of hope and hopeful stories. We live in an era often dominated by pessimism and cynical narratives about human nature and our shared future. We desperately need more stories that remind us of human potential, that showcase our capacity for goodness, that demonstrate how people can overcome challenges and make meaningful progress. Research shows that these are not just nice sentiments. Hopeful, inspiring stories actually broaden people’s sense of what is possible and motivate them to take action to create positive change.

However, even movies with terrifying, apocalyptic, or dystopian plots can inspire us. In writing about scary fun and apocalyptic thinking, I have explored how engaging with difficult or unsettling narratives in safe contexts can help us build psychological resilience and prepare for real-world challenges. But there is another side to this. Many of the most inspiring films include moments of darkness, adversity, or moral struggle. It is precisely because characters face and overcome these challenges that their stories move us. When we see a character display courage in the face of fear, kindness in the midst of cruelty, or hope despite despair, we are not just entertained. We are encouraged to believe that we too can rise to meet our own challenges with grace and determination.

The movies that truly move us do more than entertain. They remind us of what it means to be human and of our capacity for courage, compassion, and growth. In a world that often feels cynical and dispiriting, we need more of these stories.

Have a great weekend (and maybe watch a movie or two)!

Clay

Interested in more insights on the cultural, spiritual, and existential power of stories? Check out my colleague Paul Anleitner's newsletter, Reading the Zeitgeist. Paul is Religion & Culture Fellow with our Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute.