Anyone else feeling like an alien after going to the cinema?

[Human Avatar]

I feel like an Alien no matter where I am .Even here on the forum.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I haven't been to a movie theater in many years, and rarely go. Last film was a Star Wars one...I wore really good ear plugs and sat in the middle in back on a weekday...and I still felt disoriented for the rest of the evening after. But, it was Star Wars! I had to go with my brother I mostly just watch movies on my old plasma tv or laptop. I can't do LED screens because it makes me too dizzy.

watched Star War when it first come out the ultimate sleeper just went in to kill a afternoon. same with Alien , really surprised me do not get that anymore.

 

[Judge]

I was once quite an avid moviegoer. Until I got a home theater audio system for my widescreen tv.

I never feel like an alien in my own living room. Besides, unlimited popcorn helps.

Though at times I miss not seeing the most recent films. That much is true...

 

[paloftoon]

Movie theaters can be expensive. There's no shame if you like going or don't like going. If going to a movie theater is a requirement to be friends with someone, find others to be around. There are so many hobbies and interests one can consume their time with. If someone asks you about a movie theater, especially these days, you can say you have other interests you want to focus on more. Then invite them to a board game outing or something else to distract from the movie theater inquiry.

 

[MROSS]

It depends on the theater. Audiences for art house movies tend to be easier for me to deal with than audiences for Hollywood blockbusters that always have people who do not know how to shut the hell up.

Thumbs-up on the indepdendent movie theaters catering to thoughtful audiences!

 

[Aspychata]

@Judge I bet you notice right away if pictures in offices are crooked, or you are like me, and start thinking they could have done three pictures like this, then balance it out with a lamp on either side as long as the lamps aren't over exactly 15 inches, then the area rug has to be the exact size to fit perfectly in the middle. I sit in offices, and start moving pictures around mentally because face it, it just looks nicer.

 

[Judge]

@Judge I bet you notice right away if pictures in offices are crooked, or you are like me, and start thinking they could have done three pictures like this, then balance it out with a lamp on either side as long as the lamps aren't over exactly 15 inches, then the area rug has to be the exact size to fit perfectly in the middle. I sit in offices, and start moving pictures around mentally because face it, it just looks nicer.

Guilty as charged. -"OCD R US"

 

[Cryptid]

Feeling like an alien, for me, is an ongoing condition.

 

[Kalinychta]

And if I'm being honest, I really dont like movies to start with. Like, ANY of them. Generally my memories of any movies has nothing about the movie itself, but is entirely about me checking the clock and wondering how much longer it'd be until it was over and I could go do any other bloody thing.

I type all of this as I sit in the "Hollywood room", so that makes it extra ridiculous.

Really? That’s interesting. Is it an inability to pay attention sort of thing, or do you just not like stories?

And what’s the Hollywood room?

 

[Shillelagh]

Despite being fidgety and having a poor attention span, I've always gotten through theater movies pretty good as far as I know. As I recall I even got through watching Titanic.

 

[MildredHubble]

I don't mind going to the movies once in a while, though the thing that I don't enjoy is that the sound is usually sooooooo loud that it makes my teeth and the walls rattle. I have no idea why people think the sound needs to be soo loud it causes blunt force trauma.

 

[Misery]

Really? That’s interesting. Is it an inability to pay attention sort of thing, or do you just not like stories?

Well, there's a couple of factors to it for me.

First, they're waaaaayyyyyyy too long. I dont watch long things in one go, usually in 30 minute chunks (if that) and movies dont really work so well as a "pause here and come back later" kind of thing. But also, with that length, I often found that they tended to sort of... overstay their welcome? I'm not sure if that's the right phrase. It's like, someone decided that a movie MUST be at least X minutes long, and if the story doesnt actually need that many minutes to be told... which is most of the time... it'll be STRETCHED to be that long. I cant count the number of "can we just get to the next part where stuff happens" moments I had as a kid while watching (or trying to watch) any movie. Yet at the exact same time, some stories clearly have a lot of bits ripped out to fit in there, and THEN get stretched out, which gives me a headache to think about. Anything adapted from a book suffers from this one.

Secondly though, most are just... not interesting. Honestly most things from Hollywood just sort of blend together for me. Like I've SEEN many movies, as a kid and so on (since family often liked to go to theaters, or do movie nights and such), but I cant think of anything that actually stands out in memory. A lot of things are just... predictable, similar. I mean geez look at superhero movies, those all look exactly the same to me. Same with things like slasher films, I love horror themes in general, and I like some of the characters that can be in these (like Freddy or Jason) but the actual movies themselves are just too similar to each other. And all of it often has so much of a focus on pointless spectacle rather than anything else, which doesnt do anything for me.

Also just a general lack of creativity. Just overall. Anything Hollywood has to be approved by some sort of corporation, and that means safe designs/ideas. Often repeated over and over again.

Most of the stuff I actually do watch is on Youtube, creators there can just do whatever weird stuff they want and dont have to worry about pleasing investors or something like that, so there's all sorts of totally bonkers stuff there. Granted, Youtube brings its own issues... like browsing to find new things, or the absolute necessity of ad & sponsor blockers... but that's another topic.

There's a lot more to it than just that, but that's a decent summary.

And what’s the Hollywood room?

'Tis the room I am in right now! It looks like this:

The previous owners of the house were like, really, REALLY into movies, and this room was the focal point of that (though when we toured the house before buying it, they had movie-related stuff just everywhere else as well). This was their little theater room, designed to give a feeling similar to an actual theater, with the deep red walls and black ceiling and the curtain instead of a door. This big projector thing hangs above my PC here, I havent figured out how to use it yet, and you can see the big screen in the back of the room there.

I tell ya, when I am watching Youtube or something while having a meal, tone the lights down, close the curtains, the ambiance is just perfect for watching spooky things.

I've kept this room as is since I've gotten used to it and am comfortable in here. The deep colors in here make it a very good place to be as sensory stuff goes, as opposed to the too-bright rooms that most people seem to prefer.

Honestly the whole house is weird, this is just the start.

 

[Kalinychta]

Well, there's a couple of factors to it for me.

First, they're waaaaayyyyyyy too long. I dont watch long things in one go, usually in 30 minute chunks (if that) and movies dont really work so well as a "pause here and come back later" kind of thing. But also, with that length, I often found that they tended to sort of... overstay their welcome? I'm not sure if that's the right phrase. It's like, someone decided that a movie MUST be at least X minutes long, and if the story doesnt actually need that many minutes to be told... which is most of the time... it'll be STRETCHED to be that long. I cant count the number of "can we just get to the next part where stuff happens" moments I had as a kid while watching (or trying to watch) any movie. Yet at the exact same time, some stories clearly have a lot of bits ripped out to fit in there, and THEN get stretched out, which gives me a headache to think about. Anything adapted from a book suffers from this one.

Secondly though, most are just... not interesting. Honestly most things from Hollywood just sort of blend together for me. Like I've SEEN many movies, as a kid and so on (since family often liked to go to theaters, or do movie nights and such), but I cant think of anything that actually stands out in memory. A lot of things are just... predictable, similar. I mean geez look at superhero movies, those all look exactly the same to me. Same with things like slasher films, I love horror themes in general, and I like some of the characters that can be in these (like Freddy or Jason) but the actual movies themselves are just too similar to each other. And all of it often has so much of a focus on pointless spectacle rather than anything else, which doesnt do anything for me.

Also just a general lack of creativity. Just overall. Anything Hollywood has to be approved by some sort of corporation, and that means safe designs/ideas. Often repeated over and over again.

Most of the stuff I actually do watch is on Youtube, creators there can just do whatever weird stuff they want and dont have to worry about pleasing investors or something like that, so there's all sorts of totally bonkers stuff there. Granted, Youtube brings its own issues... like browsing to find new things, or the absolute necessity of ad & sponsor blockers... but that's another topic.

There's a lot more to it than just that, but that's a decent summary.



'Tis the room I am in right now! It looks like this:

View attachment 120016View attachment 120017

The previous owners of the house were like, really, REALLY into movies, and this room was the focal point of that (though when we toured the house before buying it, they had movie-related stuff just everywhere else as well). This was their little theater room, designed to give a feeling similar to an actual theater, with the deep red walls and black ceiling and the curtain instead of a door. This big projector thing hangs above my PC here, I havent figured out how to use it yet, and you can see the big screen in the back of the room there.

I tell ya, when I am watching Youtube or something while having a meal, tone the lights down, close the curtains, the ambiance is just perfect for watching spooky things.

I've kept this room as is since I've gotten used to it and am comfortable in here. The deep colors in here make it a very good place to be as sensory stuff goes, as opposed to the too-bright rooms that most people seem to prefer.

Honestly the whole house is weird, this is just the start.

Well that was a very specific answer, ha!
I agree about modern films. They’re puerile and unoriginal. Pretty much everything I watch is in black and white, and I especially love silent films. Hollywood didn’t become the way you describe it until about 1929. Before that, filmmakers were more or less free to do what they wanted.

That’s so funny that you kept the Hollywood sign up! You have your own little theater. You should figure out the projector—sounds really cool.

 

[Aspychata]

Last two movies were too long, l was too fidgety. So l pulled out my phone and the second to last movie, l actually found a buyer/dealer for a older luxury car that needed to be sold in a couple of days, and surprisingly l did it, while l was at the movie bored to tears. l amazed myself. It was kinda a accident because l gave the wrong model number. If l had given the correct number, they may have told me no, like two other places did that same day. So now l like movies.

 

[Kavigant]

I took my daughter to her first pop music concerts and, while I had fun with her, I felt like a complete alien at each one. It was so strange.
Years later, I still wonder whether I embarrassed myself by singing along with the artist.

 

[Kavigant]

I am very suspicious of movies and television shows.
I know that our subconscious takes stories very seriously and internalizes their messages. And I know that many of the folks in the entertainment industry are horrible people, so I am hesitant to turn my subconscious over to them for programming.
Whatever we watch in movies becomes normalized for us on a subconscious level, and Hollywood is a very shallow, sick, and unhealthy place focused on sex, selfishness, and greed.
Filmmakers actively work to get us to align our beliefs with their own, and I don't want to be like them.

 

[kenaij]

I do not have it with going to the cinema. But I do experience this when going to a concert, club or festival. The sound on its own does not bother me that much. But the combination of loud talking and chaos coming from people is so much for me that the sound starts to turn into that last little nudge that makes me want to run away from it.
Or better yet. Avoid it completely.
In the cinema everyone is sitting most of the time so it is no problem.

But I do get what you discribe, just from other places.

 

[Judge]

Filmmakers actively work to get us to align our beliefs with their own, and I don't want to be like them.

Just keep in mind, much like the rest of the private sector that they are actually selling products- not values.

Not to enrich customers, but rather to enrich their shareholders.