My friend and I are currently having a heated discussion about the way that we take in and observe various entertainment, specifically story-based. I prefer to observe it from an analytical standpoint, while he thinks you should turn off your brain in order to be able to get the full effect. I disagree. You can get the full effect without turning your brain off, but he thinks that in order to get the full intended effect, you must turn off your brain or else you will see nothing but flaws, or rather your opinion will be bogged down with "useless" facts, but if something has flaws it's better to understand them, know why they're flaws, and how they could be corrected, rather than not even realize that something is a flaw, and not have a full understand of something. I understand that some people prefer to see movies or read stories that don't require any thinking, but this is not that. We just watched a movie and at the end I was pointing out why I thought that a character arc was left slightly unresolved, and how certain events were a commentary on how we can ignore things that shouldn't be ignored, even if what we are ignoring them for, is not harmful in itself. The point is, he thinks that analyzing a story is superfluous, or at the very least irrelevant to the experience, while I completely disagree. Also, he says that despite the fact that he thinks analyzing is unnecessary, that he is able to understand a story on the level of what I said above, which is just laughable. His level of pretentiousness is at a ridiculous height. The sad thing is is that I can't even argue this because he constantly talks over me, and won't let me finish a sentence without repeating a point that he's been trying to establish for the past hour. So, what do you think is the better way to observe entertainment?
How can he say he understands the story completely if he ignores the errors you mentioned? They're part of the story too, and want or not, they're there, if he thought about it or not, now he knows it, he can't ignore it unless he's ignoring the story as a whole, which he isn't. Either way, I think your friend is wrong, at least to a certain degree. I think failing to analyze the errors is fine, after all that's just not paying enough attention or not thinking good enough, you can't blame someone for not noticing X detail. I also think that ignoring it as a whole is fine, you might be just there for the scenary, or action, or whatever floats your boat. But watching something for the story and purposely not paying attention to it is just wrong, you're just fooling yourself and having a fake experience, and that's just too delusional for my tastes.
What you described has a name : cognitive dissonance. Give your friend a home-made cookie, one with a ginormously obvious cockroach in the middle. Tell him if he turns his brain off he won' t mind the bug and enjoy the cookie to its fullest. I bet he wouldn' t eat it but who knows, maybe he' ll find a way to dissone his cognition out of that one ... ^^
maybe he phrased it wrong and means to suspend your disbelief rather than not think at all? that's what it seems like to me.
I prefer to turn my brain off while watching a movie, enjoy it as an experience, and then later start to analyze it. That said, if a movie does make me think while watching it, especially if it stays a few steps ahead of my thinking, I'm not gonna complain.
Depends on the film/show/etc. Not every good film is one that necessarily calls for analysis, just as there are many truly films that are considered worthwhile study.
Oh wow. I had this discussion with a friend of mine a few days ago. He prefers to know every single little detail about the music he listens to, and I prefer to just sit there and listen. My logic? Analysing the hell out of a song just ruins it for me. While I prefer to just enjoy a song, he likes to analyse every single part of it and figure out why. This is mainly just for music though. Sometimes when I watch films I analyse them, looking at which one has used film techniques better, and the effect it creates on the audience. I do this with art as well. Most art is so weird that it calls for analysis. There are a lot of artworks I appreciate a lot more because I can analyse them and form my own interpretation of them. Taking the analytical approach works for some mediums and not for others. Art has to be analysed, while music has to be something you just take in IMO.
It all depends on how you answer these questions: What is art/entertainment? What is its intended purpose? I've been told that films were first created to simply make money at the box office. But lately, as we go through social movements and other changes into today, movies' existence has become ambiguous and vague, from teaching morals, to praising values, as well as give a different perspective on certain beliefs. Thus, the "definition" of art can change, along with its intention. In my opinion, whatever you like, you like. Whatever you hate, you hate. If a movie makes me think, then so be it. If I just sit there enjoying the graphics over the story, then so be it. If a movie makes me "turned off" or if I fall asleep during it, then so be it. For me, entertainment applies to many aspects of my life. It can be used to inspire me; it can be used to bring people together; it can be used to send a political message; the list goes on and on. So, how do I view it? Sometimes, I would have to analyze the crap out of movie/piece of music/or other art form to justify my reactions. Sometimes, I just have to leave my mind blank and fill it in with whatever the art form feeds me also to justify my reactions. It's a pretty philosophical approach, I admit, but that's how I come to enjoy it and/or at least try to accept the piece of art for what it is, even if the world deems it as "crap" or "the best thing ever."
I think that pointing out flaws in a film is fun. Or guessing what's going to happen, notice small details. True when I am watching certain things(like anime) I just want complete silence so that I can just go with the flow.
I really find it difficult to enjoy a movie if it's illogical or whatever. I get that there are plotholes and that happens, but when the whole movie runs on it being illogical and absurd for the sake of absurdity, I just can't enjoy it. I can't turn off my brain and watch crap. It's crap. Stupid comedies can be smart, like South Park. But I feel like I need to be active. I can't watch something without being invested in it. It's totally pointless.
I like to be able to understand the story. As such, I can't stand any shows/movies/etc with plot holes. I like things to click together. I like to be able to see how every moment up until the end came together to create it as a whole. I'll use Doctor Who as a reference. Anyone who turns their brain off while watching Doctor Who, more than likely won't understand why almost everything that happens, happens for a reason. They wouldn't be able to piece together the situations and understand why all the past events help mold the current situation. As for "turning your brain off", there's a natural time for that. It's called sleeping. Your brain is meant to be on until you go to sleep. Ever wonder why sometimes it is hard to wake up and do something right away? Your brain is waking up, so you're not thinking clearly, and you might do certain things you didn't mean to. It's my opinion that your brain should "be turned on" throughout the duration of your day. Otherwise, you are likely to miss key points in any given situation. Of course, like I said, this is just my opinion.
As an avid movie watcher, this is a topic that frequently pops up in my head from time to time. Personally, I find my case similar to yours, below61. I write, so I'm always looking for what may be intended symbols or old references in places others may not think to look. For instance, a modern filmmaker may use a cliche of several years ago as a joke, because then it was a standard, and now it's fresh. No good movie is made without little Easter Eggs or clever symbols thrown in. But at the core of thinking during a movie is: what is this programming? Some say movies are just tentacles of the media to draw us in and believe what they want us to. Well, in some cases, this is more true than most would care to realize, I'm sure, but not just in movies. But movies are not purely evil propaganda; not even close. You could spend days talking about the details of "The Matrix" from several points of view. Programmers, Readers, Action-lovers will all talk about different things, but still talk about the same thing, because the particular film appeals to them all. I confess, the movie I watched before reading Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and "The Matrix" I watched afterward were two different plots, even though they were, in fact, the same movie. At the same time, sometimes the truth can be found in the middle. I love Disney movies, and sometimes, you can over think something and over complicate it, making it harder to find the subtle visual notes kids love. Shut off your brain for a little while during a movie you treasured as a kid, and you find that same blissful abectivity that allowed you to enjoy it the first time. We don't want to attach heavy thinking with absolute dominion over thought, because in doing this, we miss out on some of the more simple things that allow us to enjoy the flow of the story for what it is, and other such qualities as how a character looks in a certain pose. In short, the trick to enjoying movies is both. You can't understand a movie without enjoying it, and sometimes, you just need to kick back and enjoy the ride. This also adheres, I've noticed, to many other forms of media, as the same process occurs in scripting and producing for the most part.
I don't think there is a better way to observe as much as a preference. I used to do the "Turn your brain off" thing when I was younger but now I tend to pay good attention while looking for little bits of information and possibly little goofs (small flaws) if there are any. I don't like to go overboard with analyzing things but I do tend to do analyze often.
It depends on the series... I guess I am more of a "suspend your disbelief" kind of guy... but it depends: 1) If you are watching a comedy, there are some continuty problems that should be overlooked, compared to a investigation movie or such. 2) I like some non-sense things where the humor is at the bizzareness of it, so you have to embrace the "mistakes". But if you're going to see a "cerebral" movie like INCEPTION, "turn off" your brain is the last thing you should/want to do, because all focus , and all things have some meaning. Overanalasying something that is made only for your fun, might spoil it though! "Sometimes a cigar is only a ciggar, not a penis" You don't have to "witch hunt every frame of the movie", though is difficult to not do it, when it is in your personality to do it. There are some movies that EARN your "suspend of disbelief", Like AVENGERS, you could spend ALL day discussing "Why does the Captain america's Shield, when hits something doesn't fall off? As if it reppels 'inercia' and all energy is dispelled from it, when it hit something it shouldn't be redirected, it should just not move, as when THOR hit with his hammer Captain didn't move, so no energy was passed down" YOU COULD/CAN lose all day analysing why "it is impossible" or you can accept some conceits, the first one being "It's a separeted fantastic world, and not all our rules apply" IF the movie is good enough you can overlook this things.. if the movie SUCKS like Resident Evil, you just don't care.
I personally prefer to analyse things as it makes them far more exciting. I like to see in the writers mind and even the characters because I think we all have a basic understanding of psychology even without knowing it e.g. when you are writing a story or creating characters in your head you may create them with certain defects which automatically makes you write them in a certain way- like perhaps one character lost his parents and so is very distant. To me I like to be able to see the psychological reasoning behind the events in the story and it's repercussions. There are some films that I don't really do this with, like comedies and rom coms (I may do a bit to some extent but not as much as I would with something else) because they are more simpler in my opinion. I do think that some people would rather not see these aspects of the story as they can enjoy it for it's face value but to each their own. Of course if you are ignoring the analysing simply to gloss over the flaws as you refuse to acknowledge them then that is a bit bad as you get a sugar coated version of the tale. Things in life aren't like that and I personally like to analyse the flaws and think about improvements to not only boost my self esteem but also to add that experience into my own life and learn from the techniques. If you refuse to acknowledge flaws in real life then you can't improve and I think it's impossible to find the perfect film/game/story so why pretend? I also believe analysing something to improve my experience but it also doesn't mean I can't enjoy it without the analytical ideas swimming around in my mind. Portal is my prime example. I first played it many years ago, before I got into English literature and analysing books so I didn't really have a mind set up for digging deeper and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I recently started playing it again and, after lots of english lessons and analysing novels and poems to the punctuation, I started to see the game differently (GLaDOS changing old, broken panels for new ones could link to her trying to keep up appearances and hide the fact that Aperture Science is in chaos- that kind of thing). Of course, I also wanted my brain to shut up so I could just play but really I enjoy the new look as I can just replay it while searching for things to analyse.
