For many, theater is more than entertainment; it is a vital way to build psychological skills-especially empathy, or our ability to share, understand and care about others’ emotions.

Research found that after watching theater, audience expressed more empathy for the characters onstage. The plays also changed behavior. Researchers gave audience members the option to donate some of their payment to charity. After seeing the plays, audience members donated more money to charity-whether or not the charity was related to the topics in the plays.

Why does live theater have these effects? Sitting in the dark watching a play can make us forget our own worries and transport us into the life and mind of a different person. We found that the more people reported feeling “immersed” or “lost” in the play, the more their beliefs and behaviors were changed by it.

A classic finding in social psychology is that repeated, positive encounters with people unlike ourselves can build empathy. Many of us have too few experiences-or too little interest-in creating such encounters. Theaters provide the chance to see the experiences of people who differ from us in environments unlike our own.

The arts are essential to human flourishing(繁荣).As we move beyond the pandemic, we will need to focus on healing collectively and connecting better. Providing greater access to the arts-and using them to share stories across cultural and social difference-will be an important part of this path to recovery.

Disney will release a second “Frozen” movie on November 22. Now, we know a bit more about how it will look. On September 23, a brand-new, two-minute trailer (预告片) was released. The love between sisters is going to be tested again in “Frozen 2.” Queen Elsa and Princess Anna will take a journey. Together, they hope to save the kingdom of Arendelle. We also get to meet some new characters.

The clip (片段) opens with a narrator (讲述者) speaking. “Far away, as north as we can go, once stood an enchanted forest,” he says. The scene flashes back to a young Elsa and Anna. They are talking with their parents. In the first movie, the parents died in a terrible accident. “You see an enchanted forest?” Anna asks her dad, King Agnarr. “Yes. It was a magical place, but something went wrong. Since then, no one can get in or out,” the narrator continues. Scenes show characters battling with swords and shields. The forest soon gets covered in purple flames and smoke.

Next, you see the sisters talking in a caring moment. “What would I do without you?” Elsa asks her sister. “You’ll always have me,” Anna promises. Then the adventure begins. The people of Arendelle are shown running out of the kingdom. Of course, Anna is not going to let her sister go into the forest alone. “Excuse me? I climbed the north mountain, survived a frozen heart and saved you from my ex-boyfriend, so you know I’m coming,” Anna says.

The final clips show the whole group going into the enchanted forest. The crew is led by Elsa, Anna and Kristoff. Olaf the snowman is there, too. Sven, Kristoff’s pet reindeer, joins them. During their journey, there are some new faces. One is the fierce female leader of the roaming Northuldra group, Yelana. Another is the free-spirited member of the Northuldra, Honeymaren. She is joined by her cheery brother, Ryder, and the curious and cute salamander, Bruni.

It looks like we will finally learn why Elsa was born with magical powers. We will also continue to see that Anna will do anything for her sister. “You can’t just follow me into fire!” Elsa shouts at Anna. “Then don’t run into fire!” Anna fires back. At the end, we learn that Arendelle must be protected at all costs.

When Malaika Vaz was a kid, living in Goa, India, she was constantly surrounded by nature. Among her childhood experiences, she recalls journeys to the Arctic and Antarctic, climbing mountains, diving, and windsurfing.

At some point in her late teens, Vaz realized adventure didn’t really mean anything if there wasn’t an intention to protect the natural spaces we were exploring in. Motivated by her passion for filmmaking, she began to seek a way that would both satisfy her appetite for adventure and allow her to advocate the protection of the species and ecosystems she interacted with.

Today Vaz wears many hats in the filmmaking world, as a documentary director, producer, and presenter. After falling in love with manta rays (蝠鲼), she discovered they were being hunted illegally and started to dress herself as a seafood trader to get as close as possible to the issue. She traced sellers to figure out why the threatened species were being killed. She shared the shocking details in Peng Yu Sai, her Green Oscar-nominated film on the matter.

The subjects that grab her attention, Vaz admits, run the gamut. When she was asked to define her focus, she replied that she preferred variety. She always argues that the issues she looks into are more interrelated than they may initially appear. “I think that it’s exciting to dive into the different aspects of environmental stories,” she says.

Her work doesn’t stop at recording important stories; she also ensures the message is heard. From Vaz’s viewpoint, real improvement in planetary protection lies in the hands of each of us rather than just those of several environmentalists. “If you’re an engineer and you care about the natural world, you can change the kind of construction materials you use. If you’re a teacher loving nature, you can bring that into the learning for your class.” she says.

As a filmmaker, Vaz believes it’s important to figure out ways that attract the audience who can push for the protection of the natural world.