The Wright Brothers would surely be proud to know that their pioneering efforts have eventually resulted in the most important advancement in aviation history.
To what are we referring? Virgin Atlantic Airways’ latest gimmick (some might say), which is an illustrated “weep warning” that will be flashed up on screen at the start of movies that might be considered moving. The first two films to get the treatment are Water for Elephants, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson and the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston vehicle, Just Go With It, which, when you think about, works as a motto for any unconvinced passengers.
“Our flight crews are used to making sure everyone is comfortable,” Greg Dawson, Virgin Atlantic’s director of corporate communications, said in a release. “I’m not forecasting a torrent of tears on the next flight. But if we need to stock up on tissues, we will.”
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Dawson goes on to claim that market research led to the airline receiving the feedback “that a lot of the guys were getting quite emotional at some of the films.” Virgin subsequently commissioned a survey of some 3,000 U.K. residents and discovered that over half of them (55%) said they experienced heightened emotions while flying (no indication that an actual fear of flying contributed to these “heightened emotions”). Of the men, no fewer than 41% admitting to snuggling up under their blankets to hide their tears, with plenty of women getting around the sensitive subject by using the age-old trick of pretending to have something in their eye.
Virgin Atlantic’s film critic Jason Solomons told Skyport, “Flying and films is a heady cocktail, the images and feelings so close to your eyeballs, so intimate. It’s the modern-day drive-in and they always seemed to me the most romantic of dates. And if you’re tempted to hug the stranger next to you, just point to the screen blubbing and I’m sure they’ll understand.”
Facebook wanted in on the act too by putting together a top 10 list of movies that make passengers cry while up in the air. Toy Story 3, The Blind Side and Eat Pray Love came out ahead of the rest in their survey with the likes of Brokeback Mountain and Gran Torino also bringing tears to travelers’ eyes. So if you find yourself on the verge of welling up the next time you find yourself at an altitude of 36,000 feet, whiling away the hours with an in-flight film, just bear this one piece of advice in mind: don’t even think about walking out. (via MSNBC)
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Glen Levy is an Executive Producer at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @glenjl. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.