Stop Doomscrolling! These 7 Movies Will Change Your Life

Why are you here? Were you actively doomscolling, just seconds away from clicking on a headline about how the penguins are dying, when you saw our headline? Did you realize, “Omg I am doomscrolling, and now I feel seen?” If you answered “yes” to either of those questions, then you’re in the right place.

We understand how easy it is to fall into doomscolling patterns, and we’re here to help. You don’t need to stay stressed to stay informed. Remember to set that bad news aside from time to time. Treat yo’self with these healing movies.

1. Soul (2020)

Silly adult, Pixar isn’t just for kids! Perhaps you already knew that, but it bears reminding, especially when there are movies like Soul in the world. This movie came out during Covid-19 lockdowns but still made a splash, thanks to its story about Joe, a jazz musician who dies at a crucial moment in his life. Soul has a simple message: The purpose of life isn’t to create or accomplish great things, or earn recognition, or fix everyone’s problems. It’s to experience little joys: a sunny day, an excellent meal. If you’re fully in nervous breakdown mode thinking about the penguins, then Soul will remind you that life is still worth it.

2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Before the MCU gave Taika Waititi carte blanche on Love and Thunder to just f*ck it up, Waititi made a name for himself by directing tight comedies and dramedies like Hunt for the Wilderpeople. In this unexpectedly moving buddy dramedy, a sassy foster kid and a misanthropic survivalist escape into the New Zealand bush and set off a nationwide manhunt. The quirky movie ultimately morphs into a lovely story about resilience and finding one’s chosen family. It will remind you that people can find connection no matter how different they are, and will inspire you to talk to your MAGA uncle again — well, for a few seconds, at least. 

3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

This classic literary adaptation is bursting with anti-authoritarian energy, which sounds appealing right now for some reason. Jack Nicholson is R.P. McMurphy, a grumpy man who fakes mental illness to escape prison duty, only to be forced into a dehumanizing mental institution. The horrors he witnesses threaten to change him forever. However, McMurphy gradually becomes an inspirational force within the institution, despite the place’s attempts to destroy his soul. If you’re feeling powerless, this movie will remind you to keep fighting.

4.  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)

This movie could have been depressing. It tells the real-life story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the former editor of Elle magazine who suffers a debilitating stroke and loses the ability to move his entire body. However, he can still move one of his eyelids, and with the help of an assistant, he manages to write an entire memoir by blinking. If you need a dose of inspiration today, then this visually stunning movie will remind you that the human spirit is inherently unbreakable. Oh, your barista didn’t have almond milk today? Like dust, you will rise.

5. Pride (2014)

If a group of roughneck miners in Thatcher-era Britain can team up with LGBTQ+ activists to create social change, then anyone can. That’s the idea of this warm, witty movie that follows the two aforementioned groups as their political union becomes a transformative bond. If you’re thinking that the world is irretrievably divided, then Pride will remind you that a shared struggle can bridge even the whitest of gaps. Er, widest. (Almost everyone in this movie is white.)

6. Into the Wild (2007)

Anyone who was forced to read this book in high school knows about the ending. That said, Sean Penn’s movie adaptation of Into the Wild manages to capture the idealistic and anti-capitalist spirit of its protagonist, Christopher McCandless, making viewers forget what’s going to happen. McCandless’s anti-consumer mindset will inspire you to stop relying on existing social structures in order to be happy. Construct your own freedom. Work at McDonalds. 

7. Spirited Away (2001)

If you’re constantly doomscrolling, then it’s entirely possible that you’ve lost your sense of wonder. The world might feel like a ceaseless stream of depressing news and disappointments. However, Spirited Away will remind you that there’s still magic to be found all around you. It won’t be on your phone (unless you’re reading Thought Catalog), but you might just find it in a loveable pet or an exquisite abandoned warehouse. You’re more capable of creating joy than you think.