The Viewing Experience
Happy New Year, everybody!
Today I want to bring up an issue that I’ve been pondering for a while now: do we respond to watching television shows and movies differently when we watch them alone, as opposed to when we watch them with others?
I first started thinking about this phenomenon when talking with friends, and they discussed how they didn’t find The Simpsons as funny as they used to in the past. Then we watched a couple of recent episodes together, and they laughed a lot. They didn’t understand it. I had actually seen the episodes myself earlier, and I didn’t laugh when I first saw them, but I did watching them with my friends. After a bit of questioning, my friends noted that through middle school through college, they watched the show with family or friends, but as they entered adulthood, they generally watched it alone, and enjoyed the experience less.
With The Current Situation going on, a lot of people have been avoiding movie theaters. There’s a line from Sunset Boulevard where the former star Norma Desmond declares “I’m still big. It’s the pictures that got small.” I’ve heard some people finding the movies less enjoyable at home, and wishing they could go back to the theaters. Others prefer being at home in comfortable chairs, avoiding sticky floors, and being pause the movie whenever they like and use a private restroom.
Still, it makes me wonder, how does watching a show by oneself affect the experience compared to watching with friends, or being in a theater with others people reacting to the film? I’d be interested to hear what people think on this subject.
–Chris Chan
Chris Chan’s first novel, Sherlock’s Secretary, was released on November 3rd. His book Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter was published by Level Best Books on September 7th. His first non-fiction book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is available for sale at Amazon.com and the MX Publishing website, as well as at Book Depository (with free worldwide shipping there). It is also available in a Kindle edition.
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