Adam Kotsko highlights that “We watch awkward situations in everyday life as though we’re gaping at a car accident” and that “when we all come at home at night exhausted from a long day of awkwardness, what do we do but watch yet another cavalcade of awkwardness?”[1] Just like the negative connotation of Kotsko’s car crash analogy, we often negatively describe second-hand embarrassment when watching films. We say that we almost couldn’t watch or skipped the scene entirely, which is undoubtedly negative as it contradicts the whole point of visual media, which revolves around finding something useful or entertaining in the process of watching. Yet, people still watch despite the discomfort, which is intriguing.
One answer for the impulse to watch cringe-worthy films is that we feel better about ourselves when we see awkward situations reflected on screen. This is the case in fictional films as movie characters are often the antithesis of awkwardness: they are refined, attractive and deliver smooth one-liners that would never sound cool in reality. Seeing awkwardness represented on screen normalises it and reassures audiences that it happens to everyone, especially as it is often much more exaggerated than the small social blunders of everyday life: whatever awkwardness the audience have experienced, film reminds them that it could be much worse.
I think that this is exemplified even more, though unintentionally, through this viral clip.
Singing our ice cream orders! 🍦 #ISingToo #SingPartner @Sing | TikTok
Singing to people in a public place against their will, though it has harmless and wholesome intentions, undermines social norms – I can’t stand watching videos like this and I find them more cringe-worthy than fictional film, as the perpetrators of the awkwardness are genuine and don’t realise (or care) how awkward a situation they are creating. It seems that the less self-aware an awkward person is, the harder it becomes to watch, but perhaps the better the audience feels about themselves (which accounts for the popularity of such clips). The audience, in recognising the ‘cringe’ of this moment, is more socially fluent than the awkward person, again making them feel better about their own social mistakes – at least they would never sing to a retail worker just trying to get through their shift.
[1] Adam Kotsko, ‘A Brief Introduction to the Study of Awkwardness’ in Awkwardness: An Essay (Winchester: O Books, 2010), 2-3.
I agree completely with being unable to watch cringey films and viral videos that many people find funny! Moments in films like “She’s the Man” or “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging” are hilarious to my friends but I simply begin to reasses my own comments or awkward behaviours! It is interesting to think about this in relation to self-awareness!
It is interesting to think about such cringe singing videos in lieu of the musical. As you say, “movie characters are often the antithesis of awkwardness”, so when they sing in a large scale production (be it Hollywood, Bollywood, etc,) it doesn’t cause the awkwardness we would often associate with a similar thing happening in real life. Simply thinking to this video https://youtu.be/o5XUZSFHfQU, it was meant to promote the latest Cinderella film by dancing like how they might be expected to dance and sing in a musical depicted on film, but which in real life is the epitome of cringe.
I like the idea of second-hand embarrassment in cringy videos like this, but I think the same logic applies for when someone is intentionally being cringy on TikTok. There are many examples of creators who make a persona of themselves as an extremely awkward person soley for comedic ends and I agree that one pull for those videos is that it makes us feel better about ourselves. I wonder though if we find these videos less awkward than people who are not intentionally trying to be cringy because they are purposefully being awkward, or if the awkwardness is being carried over to the same degree.
I think what makes us “cringe” when we watch this type of videos is the fact that we feel embarrassed for both the person who looks cringey and awkward but also for the people who have to go through these situations: if someone started singing in front of me I would feel extremely embarrassed for them.
I think you make great points about the possible reasons people watch cringeworthy content. Kotsko argues that when watching something awkward, you too feel awkward, which makes me wonder do people watch these clips in search of a form of catharsis? Perhaps the sense of detachment they experience by watching these awkward situations through a screen allows them to feel that awkwardness and then feel a sense of relief that it wasn’t actually them involved in the awkward moment.
I particularly like the idea that the less self-aware a person is the less the harder it is to watch. Through the safety of the screen however I believe these are the people it’s easier to laugh at without feeling sorry for them. However, if i was in the shop when a family started singing their order i would have been mortified.