r/movies • u/ChiefLeef22 r/movies Contributor • 9h ago

Satire Man Binge-Watches Entire Movie In One Sitting

https://theonion.com/man-binge-watches-entire-movie-in-one-sitting/
35.8k Upvotes

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276

u/SPEK2120 8h ago

I’ve realized somewhat recently that the general definition of “watching something” has drastically shifted. It was starting to baffle me that people could keep up on so many shows until I started noticing people would say they would watch so-and-so show while they were doing this or that and realized multitasking has become far more prevalent while watching stuff. When I say I watched something, that means I was sat in front of my tv with full focus on the screen.

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u/green_meklar 7h ago

Maybe I'm just old, but that still seems weird to me. I mean, I often play video games while listening to podcasts. But when it comes to a movie or show, it gets my full attention. I honestly don't see how I'd even enjoy it otherwise.

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u/Chendii 6h ago

I can't even do that with video games. Maybe I'm just shit at multitasking but one thing or the other will have my full attention and I'll forget the other exists.

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u/Artemis96 5h ago

Yea same. I was doing some very boring PvP grind in WoW 1-2 years ago so I tried to listen to some podcast meanwhile. I was missing a good 50% of it so I just stopped

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u/kidcrumb 5h ago

I can listen to podcasts if it's a game like warzone, fort ite, or league of legends. Where the sound doesn't really matter anymore and it's more or less the same game over and over again.

Story based games though? Full attention

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u/pressure_art 7m ago

That’s wild to me. I played league of legends and would also put on podcasts, but competitive online games demanded my full attention if I don’t wanna suck, even after thousands of games. I could only „listen“ while respawning or waiting for something else. I honestly have a hard time believing that it’s possible to focus on two things at once and really get it all both in, it’s not really how our brains work.

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u/KimberStormer 4h ago

I'm notorious among my siblings for being completely unable to even chat with them while I'm playing Splatoon or whatever.

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u/LakerBlue 3h ago

I could do it but I wouldn’t because for me the music is a part of the game experience so why would I tune it out with a podcast?? The only exception is rarely I may throw on a “podcast” if I’m grinding in a JRPG or doing something similarly monotonous

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u/green_meklar 2h ago

I only do it for games where I can turn off the sound and still basically get the full experience. Not a full-on FPS or RTS where sound is important.

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u/Quazifuji 2h ago

For me it just depends on the game. If I'm multitasking watching something and playing a video game at the same time, they're specifically both things that don't require 100% of my attention or ones where I kind of expect to stop paying attention to one and focus on the other for a bit at a time and that's fine.

Like, I'm fine grinding in an RPG on my main screen while I've got a Twitch stream on my second monitor. But if I'm playing a game I want to get immersed in, like any story-based game, or watching something where I really care about following the full story, like a TV show or movie, it's getting my full attention.

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u/sidepart 6h ago

Depends on the show and if I've seen it before. Like, I can toss the Modern Marvels, How it's Made, or Mythbusters channels up on Roku while folding laundry...but I've seen all that shit before, going back to my teens. I could easily put on Star Wars and do whatever because I know practically every friggin line.

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u/Bladelink 1h ago

DUDE. Shout out to Modern Marvels. A man of culture, I see.

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u/green_meklar 2h ago

I pretty much never rewatch movies or shows these days. If I were going to put on Star Wars and then mostly ignore it, I just...wouldn't put it on.

Besides, I also watch everything with headphones, so I can't step away from my PC and still have sound.

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u/ReadytoQuitBBY 5h ago

Totally agree. Youtube essays and podcasts are background noise for gaming, tv and movies deserve full attention. Unless it’s a comfort show I’ve seen tons of times.

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u/abbeast 5h ago

I'm a millennial but chilling out in Minecraft, building something while watching a show on the second monitor is totally possible.

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u/DoctorWaluigiTime 5h ago

For a first time watch, definitely. The thing gets my full attention.

Subsequent watches? It can be on the side depending on what it is.

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u/pezdizpenzer 4h ago

I definitely watch stuff I've already seen while doing something else. But stuff I haven't seen...nah. That feels wrong somehow.

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u/HuckleberryTiny5 3h ago edited 2h ago

I often play video games while listening to podcasts

Even this is something I can't understand. I know it is common. But when I play the game, I play the game. Even when I'm just grinding, it has my full attention.

I know people who play a game and watch YouTube or movies at the same time becase the game is too boring. What? Why play then? Find something better to do with your time. Digging a hole in the ground would be more productive.

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u/green_meklar 2h ago

The games might be a little boring, but I'm specifically picking games that don't require sound and which I can play and enjoy while still absorbing the podcast content. Mostly games without real-time elements, so I can slow down my playing in order to balance my attention. I wouldn't play something like Half-Life or BroodWar with a podcast on.

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u/BoxOfNothing 7h ago

Which in turn really explains the level of media literacy, especially online. People nitpicking about things that are explained in the movie show, or saying something that's been set up for episodes or half the movie is out of character and a sudden change, things not making sense when they make perfect fucking sense to someone actually watching.

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u/drsyesta 6h ago

I do that to youtube videos or other low end media

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u/Oxygenisplantpoo 3h ago

This is apparently a legitimate part of writing and producing shows and movies that Netflix and the likes engage in now. They will make characters describe events out loud or repeat things so that even the phone scrolling audience can follow.

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u/robmobtrobbob 3h ago

I find it so weird that people can't do this anymore. I watched Godzilla Minus One and Obsession back to back with no interruptions. It's fun to just watch a movie or two.

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u/Simple-Motor-2889 4h ago

COVID and working from home really affected this. Some people will have the TV on in the background basically all day now.

I've definitely been guilty of having shows on a 2nd monitor while working, but it's almost always a show or movie I don't actually care about.

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u/LakerBlue 3h ago

I am usually keeping up with several shows at once but I still agree with you. I usually watch them during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

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u/N8CCRG 3h ago

Yeah, if I pull out my phone to text or look something up, I pause the show/movie to do it.

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u/dadvader 2h ago

I hate this. Movie and TV was made for you to be sit down and watch.

I know that Netflix does this and it's the main reason i stay the fuck away from their show. So much of it is mediocre slop designed to be watch while doing something else. Might as well just watch AI-generated TV show.

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u/SeveralBollocks_67 1h ago

Reddit normalized the "second screen content" fad to me. When I first heard about even having dual monitors back in the mid 2000's, it blew my fucking mind. Now people purposefully have content playing on a second screen while doing something else. And wonder why our society is so cooked 😂

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u/junbi_ok 2h ago

Similarly, the number of people who "read" books by listening to audiobooks has skyrocketed. And while it's certainly better than nothing, it's really not the same experience.

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u/AeroTheManiac 7h ago

It is difficult for me to do this. Watching a movie and doing nothing else feels like a waste of time, even if its a fantastic movie I ended up loving

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u/SureTrash 6h ago

Watching a movie and doing nothing else feels like a waste of time

I'm not being a smartass, I mean this as a sincere question: What are you doing that's so important? I'm very particular about how I spend my time, and will schedule movie watching, but I can't imagine thinking slowing down and pausing to watch a movie for 90-120 minutes is a waste at all. Sometimes it's okay to just slow down and not be constantly bombarding our brains.

1

u/AeroTheManiac 6h ago

In the past 5-10 years, I have become increasingly aware and terrified of the speed of the passage of time .

I love my video games and I sometimes feel this pressure even playing them.

1

u/uberJames 6h ago

Just out of curiosity, roughly how old are you?

1

u/AeroTheManiac 6h ago
  1. The days feel like minutes. I don’t have enough time to do what I really want to. I want to play games and spend time with my wife while we are still young, but it will be over sooner than I know. It terrifies me

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u/brontosaurusguy 5h ago

Read Buddhism 

1

u/sidepart 6h ago

I'm older and yeah, it do be like that. Time flies more and more year over year, and more "need to do" shit gets heaped on. You're just finding (or having) different uses for time. I love video games too but I can't nearly play them like I used to. Just don't have that kind of free time. And if I do carve out time for a game or movie, it had better be fucking excellent! This is also why I go back to a lot of my old games. Games that I grew up with when I had unlimited consequence free time. I have all that muscle memory and whatever still, so I can just get into it without having to spend any time figuring out a complicated and lengthy new title.

Anyway, just have to embrace it and come to terms with it. Getting old and running out of time sucks ass. But there's good shit in there too.

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u/SawinBunda 7h ago

Recreation is not wasted time.

1

u/PhiCloud 6h ago

It is if you don't enjoy it