Off To the Movies By Yourself

[Ash]

I was thinking that this topic had been brought up before but I can't remember.

I'm sure it has but it's probably been a year or more since then so I thought, "What the hell" and decided to bring it up.  
Besides, I've been a ghost around here for the last month or so and I need to catch up on my B-movie gossip.

I first went to a movie by myself in 1994 to see "Pulp Fiction".
I still remember saying, "One for Pulp Fiction please" to the lady at the box office.

I thought it looked like a kickass film but none of my friends wanted to go.
They all said, "No way dude, that movie looks stupid!"
I bit the bullet and went by myself and I actually enjoyed it!  
I mean that I enjoyed the movie AND my time alone watching it.

I have since gone to numerous films shown at the local theaters by myself and have found most of those experiences good if not better than having to lug a friend or date along.
It can be a great way to kill a couple of hours during the day when you don't have to work.

I went to see "Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban" (I'm a HUGE Potter junkie...I've read ALL the books) by myself last weekend when it opened and I also went to see "The Chronicles of Riddick" yesterday (6-11-04) by myself as well.
They were both badass films and I had a good time watching them!

Society has some unwritten rule that a person MUST go to a movie with a buddy or a female friend/date.

I find that insulting!

I tell my friends that I go to movies alone and they all look at me like I'm some gigantic loser.
WTF?
I say to them, "When you're at home and you want to watch a movie on DVD or VHS, you pop the tape/disc in and sit down to watch it regardless of who's there with you.  I am simply doing the same...the only difference is that I sit down in a theater by myself and not on my living room couch!"

They still think I'm a loser for doing so.

In my opinion I think that people who refuse to attend a film by themselves have self confidence issues that they do not recognize (or maybe they do) and would rather not face them.
It's easy to poke fun at others for going to films by themselves than to do it yourself if your self esteem is running on empty.

I do admit that I sometimes feel a bit awkward if a couple of fine hotties sit near me and I see them looking over at me before the lights go down.
I wonder if they think I'm a loser for being there by myself but then I think, "f**k it.  I'm here to enjoy a movie and who gives a s**t what anyone thinks." and quickly brush aside such negative thoughts.

I'm secure enough with myself to attend a movie alone.
More people should be.

Go to any film and count the single heads there without a buddy/date sitting next to them.
There are a lot.

What's your take on this topic?
Do you go to or have you ever gone to films by yourself and did you wonder if others in the audience thought you were a loser for doing so?
Do your friends chastise you for going it alone?



Post Edited (06-13-04 05:36)

[odinn7]

I have seen movies alone before but the most recent one In my memory is Dawn of the Dead as I couldn't get anyone to agree to see it with me. I figured it was all well and good and I wanted to see it so off I went. Sure I felt somewhat odd being the "loser" in the theater by myself but then I also am one who, for the most part, doesn't care too much what others think. The only person I care about the way they think of me is my daughter, others, especially people I don't know, their opinions mean very little. So it was that I sat there in the theater watching a movie that I could find nobdy that I know who wanted to see it...and guess what?...I enjoyed every second of it. Ash, I say more power to ya, keep going if that's what you like to do.

[AndyC]

I used to go by myself quite a lot. I prefer to go with other people, but few of my friends have the same appetite for movies that I do. Once I got past the taboo (or the perception of one), it was no big deal. It helps that I prefer to go at the quiet times anyway. I saw a lot more movies that way, and a lot more movies my friends wouldn't have liked.

These days, my wife always seems up for a trip to the movies, and that's fine with me. I also like the shared experience, and the conversation on the way home. Mind you, there are still a few types of movies she simply won't see.

[Susan]

I go alone and LOVE IT. in fact i prefer going alone than dragging some chatterbox with me.  i never feel uncomfortable or akward, however I have noticed alot of men in particular seem somehow uncomfortable themself with the fact that I am at the theater alone. I've had many a comment. in fact one movie some guy offered to sit by me, of course that was a comeon which is annoying when I'm not going to a movie to find an insta-date.

I think the main reason I like going alone is that I don't really have any friends who like movies as much as I do, not in the *way* that I do anyhow. they'll go to mindless films like Jersey Girl and think it's the best film they've ever seen.

I usually see more loner guys at a movie than girls. When I used to have a freelance job i'd go on a weekday, that's when i'd notice more women going alone. Retired ladies, stay at home moms or housewives without a job I guess. Friends at work are somehow stunned I go alone, what's the big deal? I guess some people have to surround themself with others because maybe they are uncomfortable with themself. My best friend is that way, she can't go ANYWHERE alone, not even shopping, she has to constantly have someone with her because she has low self esteem even tho she acts like the most confident person.

I learned at a young age to be a solitary person being a military brat I guess. Even when I was with someone for 10 years he worked out of town all the time so I had to do stuff alone anyways. Why be housebound. Of course I would love to be married to someone who loved movies as much as me and talk about then like I enjoy doing. When i was poking fun at "Day after tomorrow" pointing out it's cheesiness and unscientific theories with a friend, he said "You didn't like? You're too critical, you need to just enjoy a movie".

I never said I didn't like it. But why does everyone think you go to a movie to turn your brain off? The minute you start picking a movie apart everyone thinks you're a weirdo - that's the whole fun of seeing a movie. But i digress

[Fearless Freep]

Society has some unwritten rule that a person MUST go to a movie with a buddy or a female friend/date.

It's nt just movies.  You'll notice the same thing at restaurants, clubs, etc...you'll rarely see someone sitting alone at a restaurant, for example.

A lot of out-of-the-house events are assumed to be social events. The experience is not just the event itself but the social surrounding of the events (friends, coworkers, spouses, dates, whatever)  

While there is nothing wrong with going to such an event by yourself, it's not common so I wouldn't be surprised if people look askance at you.

It's not really about movies or even about your taste in movies, don't take it personally :)

[mr. henry]

i go by myself frequently too. the only sucky part is any time i go to the movies i either have to turn around and tell people to shut up or stop kicking seats, etc.

safety in numbers is nice in some instances.

[Flangepart]

Hummm...last film i saw by my self....
Regin of Fire? I think so.
I do prefer DvD, as i can be compleatly comfortable. Still, the pic/sound is greater in a cimema.

On my delivery route, i eat alone in resteraunts. I bring a book or magazine. This week it was  the NWTF's"Turkey Call" , or "North American white tail." I keep expecting some PETA type to say something, and i'll reply "Oh? And i care about your reading choices? First amendment , baby."

[trekgeezer]

I used to go to the movie by myself a lot  when I was younger.  I got my first job  in computers in 1979 and moved to the DFW area.  When you first start out away from home like that  you  seem to end up with a lot of Saturday afternoons  by yourself .  I did eventually date a few ladies there, but then the company moved me to Louisiana.

Same thing there, but I was closer to home and basically on worked there durnig the week and made the 3 hour trip to my home town every weekend.  A lot of times during the week and run around with my friends.  I would catch a movie by myself  during the week.  Then I got married and I think my wife and I went to the movie every weekend.  

The kids came and  we were always doing things together and a lot of the movies I like the wife didn't care for and the kids were too small .  So I still went by myself  to quite a few. I also had to travel out of town quite a bit  and going to a movie is better than staring a motel walls.

Going to the movie by myself  never made me too self conscious, but I have never gotten over the weird feeling from eating by yourself  in a restaurant.  I always  feel  strange doing it , so I  usually try avoid it.

I can rattle off a giant list of movies I've seen by myself and ones I 've seen with other folks.  I 'll just give you a few examples.

The Elephant Man
An American Werewolf in London
Dune
The Last Starfighter
Greystoke, the Legend of Tarzan
Robocop
Predator

[Chopper]

Ash, i agree it's lame how society puts a stigma on people who see films by themselves. some people, like the posters here, just like to see movies alone. my issue is not one of imcompetency, i just like the fun group effort that comes with watching a movie together. the fact that when it's over you can dicuss how it was with your friends and such. which is why my friends p**s me off because the concept of good films combined with comradery has yet to enter their pea-sized brains. oh oops, did i say that out loud?

[Writer]

Can't say as how society ever stigmatized me for going solo, but I dropped out of society a long time ago anyway. Doesn't matter to me whether people go alone or together with others, but if you're going to go, for heaven's sakes don't switch off your brains! Movies are a kind of propaganda, even if a lot of them do handle serious matters rather lightly.

In fact, this is what makes movies such fun to watch -- they can make serious subjects entertaining. Take "6th Day" with Arnold Schwartzenegger: the science was dubious at best, but the way the writers managed to milk so much humor out of such a serious topic was great! It may not have been a big hit, but I'd recommend this flick to anyone.

If your friends and associates don't like the movies you go to, I say just screw'em all and go by yourself. The only time you should ever make absolutely certain to bring someone with you is when you're going to see a kids' movie; adults who go to kids' movies by themselves are generally assumed to be pedophiles, and anything you do that can be misinterpreted in the least generally will be. For those movies, therefore, you should always take a child or two along just to be on the safe side legally. (Ironically, of course, the pedos generally know this rule and usually bring children along for this very reason, which means that society is ignoring the very people it should be keeping an eye on!)

[Mofo Rising]

I take the bus most places.  It happens that inbetween my school and my work is a movie theater.  If I have about two or three hours between the two and there is a movie I want to see I will stop and see it.

I really have no problem with it.  In almost all social situations, I think people's perceptions of how other people perceive them is overblown.  The truth is, most people never even notice the other people around them.  Seriously, when is the last time you walked into a movie theater and looked at the people around you?  You don't.  And it matters even less when the movie starts.

Going to the theater by myself is oftentimes the only way I will see some movies.  Almost all of my friends are movie philistines.  That is, they want to see are entertainment films.  I usually have to recruit other people to see the films I want to see, because the arthouse theaters are about twenty miles away from me.  There are very few people I can recruit into seeing a film like AMERICAN SPLENDOR with me.

So I go to a lot of movies by myself, and if I had a car that's about all I'd ever do.

The only person who cares if you see movies by yourself is yourself.  Once you get over that hurdle the movie-watching world is your oyster.  Now if I could only get somebody to share the cost of popcorn with me. . .

[maria paula]

whenever i was going to the cinema with my friends and i saw somebody alone at the cinema i used to ask myself the reason why this person ,wich i didnt know, was it  there, without company, it was impossible imagine  myself going to the cinema all alone, but then last year i had  to work at hospital at nights, All my friends go to the cinema at nights, and for me it wasnt possible to go, so one morning i decided to go alone, and it was a great experience, no people whispering at my ear, no heands on my popcorn, and it was easier to see films that u wouldnt see if i would  had gone  with a bunch of people, like some iranians, russian, swedish and other countries films. so as i found a fantastic experinece going alone to the cinema now i just say that theres some film i want to see, if somebody wants to come with me its ok, and if im going by myself its ok too, no problems.

[dean]

The only movie i went to by myself was a few years back when i had a free ticket, was out shopping, and decided that i might as well use the ticket.  I go in, feeling a bit odd, but it was perfectly fine: the only reason why i felt odd was because it was the first time, but that quickly faded.

I think its perfectly fine to go to the movies by yourself: although i do like looking around the cinema before the lights dim to check out the crowd, and i see people by themselves and think of why they are here.

But I go with groups simply because i'm blessed with a cool movie-loving group of friends and it makes the atmosphere much better.

We once waited in line to see Return of the king and whilst waiting we were crapping on about stupid things in the movie [innuendo towards the 'longbottom leaf' that merry and pippin were smoking, amongst others] and we were cracking ourselves up.  And the people around us were actually laughing and getting involved as well.  I can't imagine doing that sorta thing by myself.  That and we tend to crap on about movies and tv alot.

Ah fun stuff.

[Bmeansgood]

One good thing about going to a movie by yourself is that it is easy to get up and move.  If an annoying group of kids sits down by you (or Marge Simpson sits in front of you) than you can casually get up and move to another part of the theatre.  

The last movie I went to by myself was the Hulk.  By the end of the Movie I felt a little embarassed, but that was just because I had spent money to go watch this movie.  The movie before that was Reign of Fire.  It was just difficult to convince my wife or friends to go to this movie after I explained the plot concept.  That one was another huge disappointment.  

Then there are some movies I have to see multiple times.  Spiderman and the Star Wars movies fall into that category.  If I want to see a movie 3 or 4 times I will have to catch some by myself.

[TheEvilDoctor]

I've been to 1 movie alone, it was dawn of the dead and mainly because I was almost broke, my friends were going out and it was gonna be a looooong evening so I though what the heck. I don't mind sitting in a theatre by myself, why should I? People who think you are 'socially impended' or something because you go to a movie alone aren't really the brightest anyway, nobody knows your situation so forming an opinion on someone purely because he's at the movies on his own is kind of stupid.
Actually I'm going to the day after tomorrow by myself now. My younger brother is having a birthdayparty and I'm just sitting here doing nothing (well typing this out doesn't count) so it's a nice coincidence to see a topic like this pop up :)