Television, movies, and your mind

[AKM]

I'm curious if when people watch television shows or movies, they get pulled into them. I don't mean just in a "what happens next?" or "Oh! Glad that didn't happen to me!" kind of way. I mean like you feel like you are IN the show, and when you aren't watching you are still thinking of the characters...wondering how they're feeling about whatever situation they were in during the show...feeling like the people in the show ARE your friends (even though you know they aren't real.) How do you feel when watching tv or movies?

edit: Also, do you like that they make you feel the way they do, or not? What do you do to encourage or avoid that feeling?

 

[#@&5&49]

I love movies. I'm just a spectator but I can get emotionally involved with the characters and imagine myself in their place. I love to get lost in movies. Some movies have such a powerful effect on me that I will think about them for days, sometimes weeks afterwards, especially if they are inspiring and uplifting.

I like being inspired and uplifted. I wish they would come out with more movies that were like that. I avoid scarey movies and movies with a lot of violence. That's just not my thing.

 

[Gaze]

yep, one of my fatal weaknesses is television and films. I almost feel as if I know them personally when I watch a good, engrossing film. My entire consciousness is caught up in the movie's world.

 

[AKM]

@Amy & [MENTION=5224]Sadie[/MENTION] - Please see the questions I've added in the OP. Thanks for responding

 

[Vilku]

can i?
yes, i love it, although...

although...

only when i flip my personality to infp -.- .... in my normal self, im more likely to do something entirely else than "watch" the movie/tv show, etc, like half of my brains processing something interesting like a new psychological observation, while only my extroverted side is watching it. or, more liek keeping track of it than actually watching.

i would explain why some people can do this, is, explained by Pe having dominance over your Pi like how infp's and istj's have it. which creates a sense of immersion. while when Pi dominates Pe in data flow order, then.. lets just say, it doesnt matter what you see outside if something more interesting is in your mind.

EDIT: and that, is something i will always envy types who have Pe > Pi flow direction for.

 

[AKM]

[MENTION=5160]Vilku[/MENTION] - so is getting lost IN the movie or tv show something you enjoy when you let it happen? And if you let it happen, do you still enjoy it after the fact?

 

[Vict]

I'm really into this Sherlock show from BBC. The way he explains his observations and the visualization of the clues draws the audience into the process so that it's not just about watching a weird guy do his detective thing.

They also captured the Sherlock Holmes from the books surprisingly well. Or at least the Sherlock I picture when I read them.

 

[barbad0s]

I guess I always do feel involved and excited by things I watch. It has to seem realistic and believable to me, though. If it isn't realistic, then I will take on a very detached point of view in watching it, and I will let my detached self commentate on it and process it.

I like that they make me feel that way, unless they are sad feelings and I carry them around with me and make me feel worse about my life, or undeservedly add illogical negativity to how I see things, or somehow skew my perception of reality when I watch things at a vulnerable time. I try not to let that stuff happen.

 

[Zebraf301]

I miss that feeling. Most TV shows I've watched lately, have made me feel skeptical about the characters, the chemistry they don't have, or the flow of the story. It's annoying. I can identify with what you say, but I can't remember when I felt that way last. Maybe Batlestar GaCractica. I'll watch Fringe, and masterpiece theatre, and Game of thrones, but more out of interest, not because I am sucked in and completely compelled. I feel ripped. Any suggestions? Any very talented method actors on TV?

 

[AKM]

People do seem to get caught up in the story or characters, and they don't mind it...or even enjoy and crave it. I HATE having my feelings manipulated. When I watch super happy, fluffy, funny tv shows or movies, I get down afterwards because life isn't like that, and I want it to be. When I watch sad, scary, or stressful shows or movies, that feeling stays with me amplified for quite a while. I don't like it at all, and so try to avoid watching television. Unfortunately once I start watching it becomes hypnotic and I don't want to stop, even as I'm beating myself up to go do something constructive. I'd be perfectly content if our television broke and our internet was too slow to stream videos (yet somehow still loaded "normal" pages quickly.)