Them: “Oh you saw a movie this weekend, that’s cool. What did you see?”
Me:: “I decided to see ___________.”
Them: Nice. Who’d you go with?
Me: “Umm… I don’t follow… What do you mean?… I didn’t go with anyone.”
Them: “Ohhh… okay… got it…You went by yourself?… I mean…that’s kind of odd…”
To this day I get strange looks almost every single time I tell someone I went to see a movie by myself. I’m not exactly sure why society has ingrained in people that going to see a movie has to be a group activity. Personally I think this plays to a deeper seeded issue that most people are inherently not comfortable with themselves, not as self-confident as they should be and afraid of the social stigma of standing out or being different by being, “that guy” that does a typical group activity, alone.
Occasionally when asked this question, “Who’d you go with?” I’ll joke back, “Oh, I saw it with about 100 other people, I’m not sure all of their names.”
For the life of me I cannot understand this. The premise of a movie experience is always the same:
1) Buy a ticket
2) Sit in a dark room
3) Don’t talk for two hours
4) Leave
The point of the whole experience is sitting in a dark room and not speaking to anyone. Why exactly does it matter if someone I know just happens to be sitting next to me? It really baffles me. I’m not opposed to seeing a movie in groups or with friends. If someone invites me to a movie I want to see, I’ll go. But I’ve never once said to myself, “I really want to see this movie but I don’t have anyone to go with so I’ll skip it.” Umm nope. Off I go to the movies.
I once went to see a movie in the middle of the afternoon where the only other patrons were myself, and three separate couples of mothers and toddlers. I definitely got a strange look or two. But I had my pick of sitting anywhere I wanted, the ticket was half price and Pixar is great.
And yet the amount of people I’ve encountered who won’t go to the movies by themselves is astronomically higher than the people who will. My advice to you? If you want to see a movie, go see it. Don’t be afraid of what someone else thinks. In reality they may just be projecting onto you because they’re not comfortable in the same type of situation. Don’t be afraid to stand out a bit and don’t be worried about what others will think. If you want to see a movie and no one will go with you, go see it!
