At Marginal Revolution, Tyler Cowen asks why we usually read books in chunks and rarely do the same with movies. I think the explanation is partially that books are longer, and partially habit - we frequently see people with bookmarks, and rarely see people pause movies for longer than it takes to go to the bathroom.
I’ve found, however, that breaking this habit is quite freeing. I’ve only done so recently, following a conversation about Netflix utilization. I remarked that I used Netflix mostly to watch TV shows on DVD, because an hour-long TV show is exactly the length of time I usually want to spend sitting on the couch watching TV (42-55 minutes without commercial breaks). I find it difficult to sit still for longer than that*, plus I am rarely willing to block out two hours of my evening for media consumption. (When I’d first moved to DC and didn’t know anyone, I watched a lot of movies, but when I have a social network and other stuff to do, I don’t have that kind of time in the evenings.)
The person I was talking to pointed out that there’s nothing stopping me from watching movies in hour-long chunks. I don’t think I’d ever considered this before, but it sounded like a good idea. So far the only movie I’ve watched this way is Kinsey, which was very good. I don’t think it suffered from being split down the middle - it was engaging enough that I remembered what had happened in the first part, but not so much that it was hard to stop watching in the middle. I think I’ll continue doing this with other dramas that aren’t super heavy, as well as comedies and documentaries. Thrillers or psychological dramas probably won’t work. And the movies have to be ones Tim doesn’t want to see, because we share the Netflix subscription.
I’m really glad my friend suggested doing this, because it should let me see many more movies than I would be able to if I stuck to watching them all at once. In particular, movies that I’m not sure I want to devote a whole evening to, but can easily watch 45 minutes of as a study break.
*Actually, I can easily sit and read for longer than an hour. Movies usually make me either squirmy or sleepy, either of which interferes with watching. A good novel can hold my attention for much longer, but even though I’m a fast reader, I still can rarely finish an adult-length book at one sitting.
September 21st, 2006 at 10:26 am
2 posts in 2 days! Keep em coming!
I’ve never really thought about splitting a movie to watch in two sittings. I may have to try that as well, since I am busy enough that I don’t like to sit in one place for 2 hours.
I have to consciously restrain myself when it comes to reading. When I start a book I really enjoy I find it hard to put down at all, and end up staying up way too late or neglecting other important things, until I’m finished reading it.
If I’m in a busy cycle I try not to even pick up a book that I would read for pleasure, for fear that I won’t be able to put it down.
September 29th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
Movies can be very immersive for me, so chunking it kinda ruins that a bit. But I’ll actually watch movies in chunks if it’s one I don’t care too much about (for example, a movie I’m only watching because so-and-so pretty movie star is in it and is otherwise a very crappy movie).