Movies matter

Have you ever been super excited to go see a movie, get there, watch it and then leave the theater with a feeling of disappointment because it wasn’t all it was hyped up to be? There could be a way to fix this.

According to Michael Benton, the speaker at this year’s Willson-Gross lecture, you could have that feeling of disappointment not from the movie itself, but from the reactions you had to the movie based on when and where you viewed it.

It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. According to Benton, instructor of humanities at Bluegrass Community and Technical College in Lexington, Ky., the way you view a movie (where you are, who you’re with and what your mind-set may be) will affect the reaction you have to that movie.

Benton demonstrated this idea by comparing three different experiences he had, all while viewing the movie “Schindler’s List.” He said that through each viewing, his perception of the film changed, and he was able to draw three different experiences from one movie, all very unique in how they affected Benton and his conceptualization of what the film meant. But why did that conceptualization change?

Benton said that with each viewing of the movie, he was watching it in completely different settings, with completely different reasons for watching it. The first time was for entertainment in a crowded theater, the second time was for discussion and learning purposes at a friend’s house, and the third time was to demonstrate a concept he was teaching in a classroom.

Benton said that while all three of these experiences left him with completely different feelings, they were all important in forming one single conceptualization of the film.

“I find that watching a movie at home is much more voyeuristic in that one can simply watch without thoughts of others impeding on your experience,” Benton said. “On the other hand, a public theater involves one in a communal experience in which you interact with the narrative on the screen while experiencing the reactions of your fellow filmgoers.”

So the next time you watch a movie and say to yourself, “I was hoping for more,” maybe you should take Benton’s word, and watch the movie in a different setting. You could see the movie in a completely different light.