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Moving images are more and more in the centre of culture, providing individuals with stories by which reality is maintained and by which humans construct ordered micro-universes for themselves. There is a growing field of research evolving around the idea that culture and art could act as a catalyst for experiences of deeper meaning. In this article, a case study is described and analysed. A contemplative short art film was presented to a group of women as a possible asset for processing fundamental existential life issues. The women did not respond in line with expectations and their impressions of the short film were essentially negative, with expressions of impatience, irritation and even hostility towards the film’s appeal. Two problematic aspects of the film Night are outlined: (1) the meaning of the imagery used was too open and (2) as a piece of art, the film was not in tune with participants’ grieving processes.

The outcome of an audience study supports theories stating that stories are a primary means by which we make sense of our experiences over time. Empirical examples of narrative impact are presented in which specific fiction film scenes condense spectators' lives, identities, and beliefs. One conclusion is that spectators test the emotional realism of the narrative for greater significance, connecting diegetic fiction experiences with their extra-diegetic world in their quest for meaning, self and identity. The 'banal' notion of the mediatization of religion theory is questioned as unsatisfactory in the theoretical context of individualized meaning-making processes. As a semantically negatively charged concept, it is problematic when analyzing empirical examples of spectators' use of fictional narratives, especially when trying to characterize the idiosyncratic and complex interplay between spectators' fiction emotions and their testing of mediated narratives in an exercise to find moral significance in extra-filmic life. Instead, vernacular meaning-making is proposed.

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