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Carly Drake, Assistant Professor of Marketing, North Central College

UNBELIEVABLE: The unbearable allure of cringe - The Untold Story

Aparna Sima Taparia Michael Scott Netflix
When someone humiliates themselves on TV, you want to look away, but you can't. Designpics/Getty Images

Why can’t you stop watching TV shows, movies or viral videos that make you cringe?

Cringe is the feeling you get when your boss cracks a joke in a meeting and no one laughs. It’s when your kid shoots a soccer ball and it misses the net by … a lot. It’s when you watch Kendall Roy from “Succession” awkwardly rap on stage at a celebration honoring his dad’s 50 years at the helm of the family company.

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