National identity changes individuals' perception of reality, making them experience events related to their nation as if those events directly happened to them. This is illustrated by the example of the movie "Rocky IV," where viewers' self-esteem was influenced by the outcome of a fictional sports match involving national identities.

rephrase as a 9th grader shorten

National identity can influence how people see and feel about events related to their country, making them feel as though those events happened to them personally. For example, in the movie "Rocky IV," the outcome of a fictional sports match involving national identities affected how viewers felt about themselves.