Oscars

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And the Oscar goes to...

The 2015 Oscar nominees were recently announced, and I’m always struck by how many of these movies I’ve never heard of, let alone seen. That got me thinking about movies and entertainment and human nature. Watching movies is actually a very complicated, subjective process, influenced by a variety of factors.

Location

I know people who love going to the movie theater. For them, it’s an adventure that requires Dolby Surround Sound, a bucket of popcorn drenched in artificial butter, a box of Jujubees and sitting in the dark with 100 strangers.

Then there are the folks who prefer to watch movies in the comfort of their own home, stretched out in their La-Z-Boy, a bucket of popcorn drenched in real butter, an icy glass of Coke soaking the coaster underneath it, occasionally hollering at the kids to keep it down.

Genre

The next classification is movie genre: action-adventure, romantic comedy, sci-fi, musicals, animated films, historical drama, thriller, animated and international films. A person’s genre preference may be influenced by their mood, age, ethnicity, education level and even who they are watching the movie with.

Favorite Actors, Themes, Settings, Plots

Patrick Swayze was one of my favorite actors, primarily for his dance moves. If he headlined a movie, I was likely to watch. Same thing for any movie set during the Regency period. On the flip side, there are some movies I’ll never watch because I dislike the lead actor, story line or some other element.

Reviews and Awards

I’m not sure films which win awards are actually better than movies which do not, but many people rely on reviews, rankings and awards in order to determine what movies to view. Curiously, it seems like even negative reviews, such as the Razzies, can motivate people to shell out money for a movie ticket.

What factors influence your movie viewing habits? Think about it and pass the popcorn!