<p>One of the characteristics of film viewing since the beginning is the reaction film causes in the audience. This emotional reaction puzzles me. The aim of this study is to discover how film conveys emotions to the viewer and how these emotions are triggered. Film viewing has an emotional response often expressed by the viewer whether the film was good or not. What is it that makes it so appealing to our emotions?</p><p>In order to find an answer I have looked through the theories of Greg M. Smith, Annette Kuhn, Allan Casebier and Colin McGinn, among others, to unveil how this emotions emerge. These theories approach the emotions in different ways giving a wider view of how emotions emerge during the film viewing. Personally, I am emotionally attracted to black and white Mexican films from the 40’s and 50’s and based the analysis on some of this films.</p><p>After analysing Mexican films from the 40’s and 50’s I have come to the conclusion that the emotional reaction can be analysed by filmic tools such as the mood-cue system or the reading of thresholds and boarders, among others. The sum of visual, aural, narrative, movement among other elements together trigger emotions expressed depending of one’s own beliefs. Films have developed a wide range of ways to cue the viewer to a certain response and enhance determined emotions. The emotional response is however strongly linked to the individual background of the viewer and its beliefs. This makes a general reading not always easy to predict.</p>

One of the characteristics of film viewing since the beginning is the reaction film causes in the audience. This emotional reaction puzzles me. The aim of this study is to discover how film conveys emotions to the viewer and how these emotions are triggered. Film viewing has an emotional response often expressed by the viewer whether the film was good or not. What is it that makes it so appealing to our emotions? In order to find an answer I have looked through the theories of Greg M. Smith, Annette Kuhn, Allan Casebier and Colin McGinn, among others, to unveil how this emotions emerge. These theories approach the emotions in different ways giving a wider view of how emotions emerge during the film viewing. Personally, I am emotionally attracted to black and white Mexican films from the 40’s and 50’s and based the analysis on some of this films. After analysing Mexican films from the 40’s and 50’s I have come to the conclusion that the emotional reaction can be analysed by filmic tools such as the mood-cue system or the reading of thresholds and boarders, among others. The sum of visual, aural, narrative, movement among other elements together trigger emotions expressed depending of one’s own beliefs. Films have developed a wide range of ways to cue the viewer to a certain response and enhance determined emotions. The emotional response is however strongly linked to the individual background of the viewer and its beliefs. This makes a general reading not always easy to predict.