When Meaningful Movies Invite Fear Transcendence: An Extended Terror Management Account of the Function of Death in Movies

Abstract

Meaningful movies can serve as an anxiety buffer against the fear of death, unless death plays a central role in the movie. This invites the question what happens when death is central to a movie storyline. The present research introduces and tests the so-called fear transcendence route, a second terror management route in which meaningful movies about death invite viewers to virtually confront and transcend their fear of death. Two experiments (N = 206; N = 401) tested three preconditions for fear transcendence, that is, (1) death is salient in real life; (2) death is central to the storyline, and (3) the movie projects a specific meaning to death. We assessed effects on fear transcendence, operationalized as decreased fear of death; decreased death avoidance; increased death acceptance. Especially older viewers became less avoidant and more accepting of death when the preconditions for fear transcendence were met. Meaningful movies about death can thus evoke fear transcendence.