I HATE MOVIES AND TELEVISION WITH A RAGING, ANGRY PASSION (and Here’s Why)
The sensation of hating something so universally loved isn’t an easy one to describe.
When I start to watch a movie, the first feeling I get is that of boredom, because I can’t control my intake experience. When you’re reading a book, you can skip through chapters, change the reading order, and go over paragraphs you like. When you’re browsing the web, you can switch between tabs and bookmark links for later reading. It’s similar with conversations: you can always tell a person you’re conversing with to repeat, shut the hell up, or explain.
With a movie, television, and YouTube videos, it’s different. You have no control over what music you want to hear, and you have no choice over how you want to unfold the story. You can’t naturally drift off for a few minutes to let an idea sink in, and there’s no space left to use your own imagination or brain. It’s an attack as far as my head is concerned, and the initial wave of boredom quickly gives way to intense agitation. The agitation is a direct result of the helplessness felt from being unable to control my intake experience. It’s very important for me to feel in control, and with movies, I’m just a passive receiver. I am being mentally violated. I feel like a woman forced to go through an experience that is akin to something raping my brain, my ears, and my eyes, all at once. Sometimes, my agitation is so strong that my heart starts beating faster, and I get the urge to yell, scream, and beat something up.
It isn’t logical, I know, but I really can’t help it. The most recent movie I watched was “The Hobbit”, and being the world’s biggest fan of “The Lord of the Rings”, I did enjoy it. I’m a highly visual person after all, and I love words and music. I can see how movies can be a feat for the senses. Yet, as I sat in the dark theater, that logic did not hold. Between laughing at the jokes, being amused by the graphics and feeling nostalgic about the script, I was suffocating, palpating, and feeling really, really angry. I was just anxious for the experience to finish.
Of course, it’s easier to “watch” a movie at home because I can be on my laptop and partake in the watching only when I want to look up, but I don’t enjoy it. I don’t remember the last time I enjoyed it either. When I was a child, I announced at the age of 10 that I was far too old for cartoons and proceeded to spend all my free time doing other things. When I was a teenager, I would force myself to watch “Charmed” and chick flicks just to fit it with my friends. But when pirated DVDs became the norm, it got much harder to keep up with movie-watching nights and television-show conversations, so I started skimming over plotlines on IMDB or Wikipedia to stay aware of what people are talking about.
Then around 2003, I decided to tell everyone I know that I don’t do movies and television, because life is easier when you announce things. I don’t watch television, and I don’t go to the movies. I don’t like YouTube movies either. It works like a charm, because aside from the stubborn ones who try to take me up as a let’s-make-Roba-see-what-this-stuff-is-all-about “project”, most people don’t ask me to see movies with them anymore, and don’t tell me to come over when there is a movie night. The only time movies don’t agitate me is when I’m depressed or really nervous. Somehow, that combination works.
So there. I hate movies. I hate television. I hate YouTube. I hate things that move on a screen. I hate the intersection of storytelling, music, and visuals. I hate how confused I get trying to keep up with too many stimulants for too many of my senses. I hate how I feel like a guinea pig in the hands of some director. I hate how absurd it is to spend two or three hours of your life watching something you can read in five minutes. I hate movies. I hate television. I hate YouTube.
I hate them.
-
Photo Credit: Sameli via Compfight cc
Rula
January 17, 2013 @ 5:55 pm
:)
Roba
January 17, 2013 @ 5:57 pm
Mama, kteer qaweyeh your comment, hehe. I love you.
Chris
January 18, 2013 @ 7:59 am
Best to be honest, right? Yes, so: you’re being highly illogical between things you’ve written/thought in the post. And I say that knowing you take pride in your logic, and I can’t quibble much with it because it’s pretty solid. It is the nature of illogicality, so. Now, I guess I feel sorry for you, in the sense that you’re missing out on something that can be so lovely. A mix of “storytelling, music, and visuals (etc)?” Yes, please. You can handle it! But if you truly can’t, you simply breakdown as stated, that’s extremely unfortunate. With its mix, its sensation as a whole simply can’t be delivered through another specific art medium (duh<–pretty much for me). Look at it as something new to learn. New is nice. Ok, with that stated, I can't shake this feeling: you think it's beneath you. "My time is beyond precious, you silly thing. I mean, my things are way cooler than you, thank you very much" (ohhhh, went/tried/channeled her, what a sensation, nice). You do straight "hate" on things a lot, it says something, so it's hard not to really take into account. But it's cool, man, I could be off on many thing in many ways, and even if not, I still like you either way :D
bashbash
January 18, 2013 @ 11:37 am
I wholeheartedly disagree with you. I love film (movies) because it is my refuge. I think you’re watching bad films and TV. No one should watch the Hobbit! It is well known fact that the book is Tolkien’s weakest effort.
You need to seek out great films. I can recommend a top 100 list if you wish!
Great films can be a form of mindless escapism from the monotony of reality. Imagine in an instance, you can take a Sicilian vacation with Monica Vitti, or run through the Louvre with Anna Karina.
But more importantly a great film is truthful. A great film could ask and answer questions that reality seems far too reluctant to divulge or ever show.
MiLL
January 18, 2013 @ 1:03 pm
i can agree that many movies out there are just Hollywood Bollywood and it can be concluded in a 5 minute script, in fact Hollywood ran out of ideas that they are re-making movies of 60′s & 70′s.
but directing is no different than any other art, you know.. when i watched Dexter TV Series, though many people didn’t like it, am convinced that parts of it was art, and how characters fit exactly in their place.. the music, the visuals ..
while movies and TV shows can brain wash people and helps producing a low IQ nation; it can also unlock things in us or help us understand things in our selves that we didn’t know it or didn’t know it existed.
Craig
January 19, 2013 @ 11:59 am
When you’re reading a book, you can skip through chapters, change the reading order, and go over paragraphs you like.
Do you actually do that? OK, I can see rereading paragraphs. I do that myself a lot. Sometimes I realize I’ve lost track of what’s going on, and flip back a few pages or even a few chapters and start over… but skipping forward? Change the reading order? Why would you want to do that to yourself?
Anyway, I think I can relate at least a little. I actually read quite slowly, which nobody who has seen my garage full of books and heard the stories of how many books I left behind at my dad’s house from when I was a teenager believes, but it’s true. I like to make sure I’ve absorbed everything, and I build the imagery in my mind as I go. I can’t do that with movies and my attempts to slow things down on TV using the remote to rewind constantly annoy even me, let alone anyone watching TV with me. And I hardly watched any TV at all in the 1990s. Of course, that’s because I was sitting in front of a PC for the bulk of my waking hours, but I didn’t really miss it.
I have to say, though, I think you’re doing movies a disservice! Star Wars (the original) came out when I was in 8th grade I think, and it really changed my life. Blade Runner, too, when I was in High School. And I think I’ve seen you describe movies as similar “events”, too :)
PS-The Hobbit was much too long. It’s not a lengthy book in the first place, and he decided to make 1/3 of it into a 3 hour movie? I enjoyed it but I was also waiting for it to be over. I think I would have liked a punchier and shorter version better.
PS2-You don’t like Game of Thrones?
Roba
January 20, 2013 @ 12:14 pm
Chris, I do wish that was the case, but it isn’t :) It’s a physical reaction I cannot control. You’re right though, I do tend to look at things as black and white, which can get annoying.
Bashbash, you’re also trying to turn me into a project :P Whether a film is good or not isn’t the issue, the issue is that I get a very strong physical/emotional reaction against movies/shows/things that move.
MiLL, that’s very true. I have nothing against movies, I actually like it that some movies like you mentioned make people smarter. It’s just a personal issue :)
Craig, yup. I always do that, though it’s harder to do with the iPad. I guess the Internet had to do a huge part for the both of us in not being movie/TV people. The instant release of the Internet is addictive. I didn’t watch those movies you mentioned, but I did of course read the books, and they are important to me as “Events” because of that.
P.S. Agreed about The Hobbit.
P.S2. I liked the books, I hated the show.
Chris
January 21, 2013 @ 1:04 am
Ok :) Some rambling extras for your reading pleasure (hopefully): your main focus is on “I hate *them*” vs “I hate how *I* can’t handle them.” Different territory. Now: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch – things you likely experience when, let’s say, dining with others or simply yourself. Just a scenario, countless more, and many are more simple than it. I don’t recall visiting here and being hit with a “Dining: too much input, I f’n hate it” post :D There’s much more to add to all of that but I’m sure you catch my drift. You love control, I understand, and I can relate. There’s also relaxation, patience and relationships between things involved in it all. Like how you read a book (Roba!). Or how you hate sleeping. Yes, many wonderful things we partake in while awake, but they’re not as pleasant without it. Its (or other) unpleasantness is actually a true friend. Ok, enough Dr Phil’n, and the football game is back on and we just scored. Woohoo, go Niners! Plus, good, bad, all this says as much about me as it does you anyway :P Oh, I like your latest post about the Sun. I love it so. But I hate cloudy weather, and cloudy people. Or do I? ;)
Beti
January 22, 2013 @ 4:09 pm
Actually, if my memory does not fail me, you were quite the fan of Lost…
I suppose there are always exceptions…
Laina
January 28, 2013 @ 7:16 am
Didn’t you blog about re-watching all of Boy Meets World?
Em
March 11, 2013 @ 6:41 am
Well I’m writing to tell you I love this post. I’ve finally found a kindred spirit in how much I hate video media. I dislike the over stimulation, the lack of interaction and the excruciating dullness of it all. I have a new boyfriend and we watched four movies this weekend. He just doesn’t get how much I hate them and It almost killed me I swear, it might be a deal breaker.
Theresa
April 13, 2013 @ 7:39 pm
Wow I agree fully. I can think of a million other fun, exciting, challenging things I’d much rather do than watch a movie or watch TV. I bet I watch a total of 5 hours of TV every month – if that. I have way better things to do with my time than to watch some fictitious story. It is escapism when people become lost in watching every season, and episode of every popular mainstream
tV show or movie. Not for me at all. I’d rather live in real life. Or meditate! When was the last time
Any movie or TV buff actually worked out hard and / or meditated?