Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

And as soon as you start to understand his motivations, assuming the movie is well-written and well-portrayed, you start to feel the emotions.

And that's because you're using your body as a computational landscape to mimic the state of being that characterizes the protagonist.

And then you split yourself into all sorts of people while watching the movie,

One person per actor.

And you experience all those emotions.

And you absorb all those stories.

And why do you do that?

Well, maybe the protagonist is an anti-hero, like the Joker in Batman, like Heath Ledger's Joker.

Why would you watch the Joker?

To learn how not to let the world burn pointlessly.

How about that?

And why would you watch a superhero movie?

Well, maybe to ally yourself with the central tenants of heroism per se.

I mean, if you have a better explanation, what's the general explanation?

It's entertaining.

I enjoy it.

Don't make too much of it.

It's like, no, sorry, you're gripped by an instinct.

That's how a biologist looks at it or a psychologist.

What else is dragging you to the movie theater?