This idea is not new. It belongs to the ancient Greeks, who created the forerunner to cinema: the theater. You would be surprised, but they didn't use theater simply as a pleasant pastime and entertainment. They believed that the purpose of the theatrical production should be therapy. Theater was seen as a resource for development, for shaping a better, wiser and more mature person. On a par with philosophy and religion, theater was seen as a factor in the spiritual formation of the individual. Aristotle believed that watching tragedies was very useful in ridding a person of excessive self-confidence. Seeing how easily a hero can make a minor mistake and how he pays a huge price for it gives us pity and fear. This makes us more capable of forgiving others' mistakes and contributes to our self-knowledge.
