Annoying Movie Friend. Why?
I just watched a comedy skit by Ryan George titled "Your Friend Who Sucks at Watching Movies." It's about the infuriating experience of watching a movie with a friend who just constantly talks and doesn't seem to be paying attention. This got me pondering about what makes people behave this way. In situations like this, you and your friend have different interpretations what activity it is that you are doing. Watching a film is an inherently asocial experience. Experiencing the film itself requires your full attention. For the duration of it you need to be looking at it, listening to it, or you'll miss something and your engagement with the film is broken. When you invite a friend like this to watch a film with you, your intent is to share a piece of art with them, to experience it simultaneously with them, and to discuss and compare your thoughts only after the film has ended. In your perspective, the activity you two are doing is "watching a movie". W...