Before you ask, no, I don't hate movies themselves. I have tons of favorite movies, whether it's your feel-good Disney-Pixar cartoon or it's an intense Lionsgate drama.
Don't get me wrong: movies themselves are enjoyable when they have well-written plots and talented actors. I just hate sitting down and actually watching them.
For as long as I can remember, I have never really been able to sit for two hours straight and watch a movie. I used to think I was the only one my whole life but in college I met a few people who are the same way, and suddenly I felt a lot more validated.
In a world of everyday references to pop culture and the latest movies playing in theaters, let me just say, this is truly a pain in the ass. I don't know how you all do it. I cannot, for the life of me, sit at home on Netflix watching a 1.5 or longer movie. At least, not without breaks.
You see, when I watch any form of show or movie, I become completely enamored and absorbed into it. I will cry with the characters, I will feel their pain, I will laugh at their terribly written jokes, and it will all feel so real. While it's fun, it also means that I get both sensory and emotional overload. It's fun but it is quite literally exhausting.
That's why I prefer TV shows over movies, to be honest. With TV shows, you generally have plots designed to capture your attention for an hour max. I can live the emotions of the episode for that 45 minutes plus commercial breaks, then I can reset my clock and continue onward. In other words, I can binge-watch an entire season of OITNB in a day because my brain is constantly stimulated by different episodic plots.
But turn that into a feature length film, and my brain loses interest. That, or it becomes overloaded, such as with intensely emotional movies. Yes, I watch movies, but it generally takes more than one setting, with hourly breaks every now and then. Sometimes, it even takes me two days just to be able to stomach one two-hour film.
Where do I stand with movie theaters, you ask? Well, I'll go because I have a deep-rooted love for kettle corn. But honestly, it's overkill actually watching the movie. Sure, I'll go for social purposes. But halfway through my attention span will wander and I'll secretly wish I didn't spend $13 to watch a movie that I probably tune out after a while.
So, to my fellow people who hate watching movies, don't worry. You're not the only one. Whether it's sensory overload, sensitive emotions, attention span, or countless other reasons, it's okay. We can always read the IMDB plot summary instead.
