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"A crowded theater on opening night fills me with a kind of energy I don’t get anywhere else." Wow, I couldn't be more different. I generally wait until the hy

"A crowded theater on opening night fills me with a kind of energy I don’t get anywhere else." Wow, I couldn't be more different. I generally wait until the hype has died down around a movie before seeing it in the theater so that it'll be as empty as possible. To this day my favorite movie experiences have been in deserted theaters.

barrenko 6y ago
Agree. Watched Beach Bum last year with my friend in a small theatre, we were the only ones there minus another couple. It was so magical, almost like a religious experience.
ashtonkem 6y ago
This is basically an introvert vs extrovert thing. My favorite way to tell this is to ask if someone prefers beaches or mountains. Extroverts prefer beaches, introverts mountains, and a lot of the population sits somewhere in between.
- myself248 6y ago
  Partly, but I don't think it's that simple. I'm about as introverted as you're likely to meet, but I enjoy the hell out of MST3K. Making fun of a movie in ways the creators didn't intend, tickles my sense of humor. Doing so in a setting where I don't need to share my physical space with my co-conspirators is just awesome. Going to a crowded theatre sucks. Going to a popular drive-in and knowing that there are hundreds of other cars full of people enjoying the show, and if the weather's nice and the insects are -icided and the windows are down and we can hear each other laughing, is a fun collective experience. There are some movies that prefer to be experienced alone, or with one other. There are books that need to be read from the page, not narrated by Audible.com. There are albums that crave headphones and a comfy chair and a silent room, and there are albums that thrive on the open road with windows down and hair flying. I think that's part of the art, as much as the audience.
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    You’re describing the difference between interacting with other people during an experience, and everyone sharing the experience together without having to interact. I believe that this is still a introvert vs. extrovert thing, although the media in question is certainly part of it.
- fernandotakai 6y ago
  i'm an extrovert, but the older i get the less i want crowded theaters. the problem with crowded theaters is that people, in general, make a lot of noise. and i hate watching movies with other people making noises.
- wingerlang 6y ago
  I'm very introverted and I couldn't care less how many people are in a cinema, there is no (need for) social interaction so why would it matter?
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- crooked-v 6y ago
  As someone who's very much an introvert, I far prefer beaches over mountains, and my top moviegoing experiences have all been with packed cinemas.
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    Most introverts prefer mountains, but not all. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615300027 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00926...
- wallflower 6y ago
  In my opinion, both introverts and extroverts go to movies. The difference is if they are comfortable going alone to a movie (introvert).
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    Well, yeah. But GP was talking about full vs. empty theaters, and so was I. You’re reiterating my point.
- cowboysauce 6y ago
  That's a completely nonsensical test. I grew up in a small mountain town. Are you telling me that all those people who would flood in during winter weekends and holidays to drink, party and go to the packed ski resorts were introverts?
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    > Extending the first three studies to non-students, we found that residents of mountainous U.S. states were more introverted than residents of flat states (Study 4). > The terrain did not make people more introverted, but introverts were happier in the secluded area than in the flat/open area, which is consistent with the person–environment fit hypothesis. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615300027 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00926...
    - cowboysauce 6y ago
      The article is behind a paywall so I'm curious as to how the authors of the paper distinguished between "introverts prefer mountains" vs "introverts prefer solitude and mountainous regions are more likely to be less populated".
- TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
  I'm an introvert and I strongly prefer empty beaches.
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    Not impossible, but statistically less likely than preferring mountains. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615300027 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00926...
- telesilla 6y ago
  It depends on the movie. The latest blockbuster? Not going to really care for the details anyway as they are so over the top, and it's great to get a high energy vibe with a packed house. The latest Haneke or Werzog? I'll pay extra for the biggest, emptiest quietest theatre around to savour each moment.
Broken_Hippo 6y ago
The more empty the theater, the better - I've always loved when I wound up in an empty one. It isn't even that I talk during movies or anything obnoxious. It is just a wonderful experience.
- joshvm 6y ago
  I used to do this in London when I traveled there for lectures as a PhD student; our lab wasn't in the city. So as not to waste two hours of traveling for an hour of class, I'd go and see movies afterwards. It was great - you could get the best cinemas to yourself and I liked trying out the different venues around Leicester Square. My favourite was the underground one near Piccadilly Circus (now Vue I think) - always empty midweek just after lunch and comfortable seats. I'm not a fan of the enormous screens because they tend to echo quite a lot unless the acoustics are good. Perhaps the sound gets damped when the room is full?

barrenko 6y ago

Agree. Watched Beach Bum last year with my friend in a small theatre, we were the only ones there minus another couple. It was so magical, almost like a religious experience.

ashtonkem 6y ago

This is basically an introvert vs extrovert thing. My favorite way to tell this is to ask if someone prefers beaches or mountains. Extroverts prefer beaches, introverts mountains, and a lot of the population sits somewhere in between.

myself248 6y ago
Partly, but I don't think it's that simple. I'm about as introverted as you're likely to meet, but I enjoy the hell out of MST3K. Making fun of a movie in ways the creators didn't intend, tickles my sense of humor. Doing so in a setting where I don't need to share my physical space with my co-conspirators is just awesome. Going to a crowded theatre sucks. Going to a popular drive-in and knowing that there are hundreds of other cars full of people enjoying the show, and if the weather's nice and the insects are -icided and the windows are down and we can hear each other laughing, is a fun collective experience. There are some movies that prefer to be experienced alone, or with one other. There are books that need to be read from the page, not narrated by Audible.com. There are albums that crave headphones and a comfy chair and a silent room, and there are albums that thrive on the open road with windows down and hair flying. I think that's part of the art, as much as the audience.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  You’re describing the difference between interacting with other people during an experience, and everyone sharing the experience together without having to interact. I believe that this is still a introvert vs. extrovert thing, although the media in question is certainly part of it.
fernandotakai 6y ago
i'm an extrovert, but the older i get the less i want crowded theaters. the problem with crowded theaters is that people, in general, make a lot of noise. and i hate watching movies with other people making noises.
wingerlang 6y ago
I'm very introverted and I couldn't care less how many people are in a cinema, there is no (need for) social interaction so why would it matter?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
crooked-v 6y ago
As someone who's very much an introvert, I far prefer beaches over mountains, and my top moviegoing experiences have all been with packed cinemas.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  Most introverts prefer mountains, but not all. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615300027 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00926...
wallflower 6y ago
In my opinion, both introverts and extroverts go to movies. The difference is if they are comfortable going alone to a movie (introvert).
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  Well, yeah. But GP was talking about full vs. empty theaters, and so was I. You’re reiterating my point.
cowboysauce 6y ago
That's a completely nonsensical test. I grew up in a small mountain town. Are you telling me that all those people who would flood in during winter weekends and holidays to drink, party and go to the packed ski resorts were introverts?
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  > Extending the first three studies to non-students, we found that residents of mountainous U.S. states were more introverted than residents of flat states (Study 4). > The terrain did not make people more introverted, but introverts were happier in the secluded area than in the flat/open area, which is consistent with the person–environment fit hypothesis. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615300027 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00926...
  - cowboysauce 6y ago
    The article is behind a paywall so I'm curious as to how the authors of the paper distinguished between "introverts prefer mountains" vs "introverts prefer solitude and mountainous regions are more likely to be less populated".
TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
I'm an introvert and I strongly prefer empty beaches.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  Not impossible, but statistically less likely than preferring mountains. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615300027 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00926...
telesilla 6y ago
It depends on the movie. The latest blockbuster? Not going to really care for the details anyway as they are so over the top, and it's great to get a high energy vibe with a packed house. The latest Haneke or Werzog? I'll pay extra for the biggest, emptiest quietest theatre around to savour each moment.

Broken_Hippo 6y ago

The more empty the theater, the better - I've always loved when I wound up in an empty one. It isn't even that I talk during movies or anything obnoxious. It is just a wonderful experience.

joshvm 6y ago
I used to do this in London when I traveled there for lectures as a PhD student; our lab wasn't in the city. So as not to waste two hours of traveling for an hour of class, I'd go and see movies afterwards. It was great - you could get the best cinemas to yourself and I liked trying out the different venues around Leicester Square. My favourite was the underground one near Piccadilly Circus (now Vue I think) - always empty midweek just after lunch and comfortable seats. I'm not a fan of the enormous screens because they tend to echo quite a lot unless the acoustics are good. Perhaps the sound gets damped when the room is full?