Empathy. A word commonly used throughout the media and society but is not practiced nearly as often as it appears in conversation. Empathy is defined as “the ability to emotionally understand what other people feel, see things from their point of view, and imagine yourself in their place.” And, according to Dr. Brene Brown "empathy moves us to a place of courage and compassion. Through it, we come to realize that our perspective is not the one and only perspective.” 

But where does this concept fit in the world of entertainment?

For one, the power of storytelling allows audience members to identify with media characters in movies and TV shows and can help us to see an issue from another’s person's perspective. Now, the only problem is that we tend to seek out media content that confirms what we already believe in, so how can we step into another person’s shoes and create empathy for an “outgroup” member? That is a person we would not likely to generally identify with, for example, a minority, a person from another religious viewpoint, (mentality) challenged, or a refugee.

Let’s take a look at an example: Harry Potter

The Harry Potter film franchise is estimated to have accumulated $7.7 billion at the box office. A highly successful series, right? Well, research by psychologist Loris Vezzali has found that individuals who identify with characters in Harry Potter have lower levels of prejudice toward people who are different from them compared to people who do not relate to the characters. Another article featured in Business Insider also highlights the positive impact that the wizarding world has had on society through its generation of empathy among fans. 

How did they do it?

Research in media psychology suggests that the development of pseudo relationships (often referred to as parasocial relationships in media studies literature), may be an effective way to promote empathy and identification with outgroup members. We experience parasocial relationships when we feel as though the characters in films, videos, or even on social media accounts feel as though they are people we would like to be friends with in real life. We feel connected to them through perceived similarity, general liking, and feelings of relatedness to the characters on the screen in front of us. Whether it be Harry’s bravery, Hermonie’s whit, or Ron’s eager-to-please attitude, the characters in Harry Potter made us all connect to them in one way or another. 

The relationship developed between viewers and story characters allows audience members to not only be exposed to characters who experience the world in a different way, but also provokes audience members to consider alternative ways of life and generate feelings of empathy. Research has also indicated that audience’s demographic similarity does not necessarily increase perceived similarity to characters, indicating that viewers do not necessarily need to be of the same background to experience empathy with story characters. So, even though we are ‘muggles,’ there are characteristics and story aspects found within the wizarding world that we were able to relate to, making us feel simultaneously entertained and empathetic to our favorites on the big screen. 

So, what does this mean for the rest of the entertainment industry? How can creators generate empathy and be as successful as the Harry Potter franchise?

While we are wired for empathy and compassion, there are certain criteria that need to be met in order for us to experience these feelings. First, viewers need to feel safe when opening up towards others and seeing their perspectives. That is, there is a certain level of preparation needed to create the environment in which individuals feel comfortable opening their mind to new thoughts and experiences. One way to go about this is to create stories and characters that feature diverse casts and deal with complex storylines. This not only increases the opportunity to generate interest among the audience, but increases the likelihood of eliciting empathetic affect from viewers.

Second, there is a need to refrain from the cultural impacts and conditions that constantly take over our brain and tell us what should be the “right” decision in a given moment, rather than considering what really is. A lot of times, a simple reminder that our point of view is as right and as wrong as another person’s point of view would certainly be helpful. Even a little trigger that tells me, 'oh- I am going into an overly self-focused mode here, rather than an empathetic mode', could foster change in the long run. 

Third, working toward a culture of empathy from behind the scenes. With the dramatically increased rates of discrimination and cancel culture in Hollywood over the past several years, it is demonstrated to be increasingly important to have a greater integration of empathy awareness within the work context. 

Although empathy is a ‘buzz word’ we hear all the time, the practice of empathy in the media industry can be greatly improved. Tune in to the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special this New Year’s day to see how its done! What will you do to contribute in 2022?