A friend of mine recently made the comment that he would have probably enjoyed a movie more if he had seen it with me. That got me to thinking: Does our experience of watching a movie change depending on who is watching with us? What if we watch alone? Does watching a movie with another person make a difference? I think it depends on the moviegoer.
I usually go to movies alone. Some people have tried to convince me that this is socially unacceptable, but I think viewing movies can be an intensely personal experience. (Same goes for other forms of art.) If the movie I'm watching is a good one, it seems to make less of a difference whether or not someone is with me. I'll find myself pulled into the story, emotionally involved, and the world around me no longer holds my attention. The only thing that can break my concentration is the rudeness of other people in the theater, but that's an entirely different subject.
If the movie I'm watching is bad, the experience is completely different―I want someone to be there with me so we can both make "clever" comments about what we're watching. This can make watching a bad movie a little more bearable because you can still have a bit of fun. But if the movie is bad and you're alone, the suffering is yours to bear and can't be alleviated with playful banter. Should you walk out? I never have. Not only do I want to know the complete story, but I also hold on to the hope that the film will get better and somehow redeem itself.
Something I've learned to do while watching movies is to laugh freely when I find something funny, whether or not I'm alone. But if I'm with someone and don't find the film amusing, I won't laugh just for the sake of it, no matter how much the other person is enjoying the show. "To thine own self be true..."
There have been a couple of times when I got the feeling that I was laughing harder than anyone else in the room. It didn't cause me to feel self-conscious, but to feel that it was too bad nobody was enjoying what they were watching as much as I was. Different kinds of stories reach people on different levels, I guess.
Having someone with me during a good movie would enhance the experience, I think, in only one way: after the movie, I would have someone with which to discuss what we just watched. Sometimes that makes the memory of the movie even more stimulating, especially if you're able to talk to someone who is an observant moviegoer.
Talking about movies we like is easy, and so is talking about movies we don't, but what's harder is breaking down the "why." This is where conversations can deepen, and a person's true thoughts and feelings can be revealed. When a person says they don’t like a particular film, usually they haven’t thought it through enough to know why. It’s just a gut feeling for most people. But having to actually explain your reasons for disliking something forces you to focus your thoughts. The process can help clarify what it is you enjoy and steer you away from what you won’t.
One of the unique qualities of a movie (or a play/musical, or a concert) is the chance to have a collective experience. Not every single person in the audience will react the same way, but there is power in shared experiences. It can give very different people common ground on which they can connect. These shared experiences can spark conversations between unlikely friends, and reveal how people think, what their tastes are, and where they stand on any given social issue.
So, as a moviegoer, does having a viewing companion make the experience better? Maybe.
