Photo Essay: People Watching
A look at how people watch movies.
Photo Essay by Gaia Crans
My family has always loved snuggling up for movie nights. It’s a defining feature of my childhood, and film is still a big part of my life today– when I force new friends to watch my favorites, when I experience new ones with my partner, and when my whole family cries together as we watch “Legends of the Fall.” Watching movies is a culturally shared practice, and I find it fascinating because every individual does it differently, so I asked people to show me how they watch movies.
Cameron Evans and Lauren Schillberg watch “Forrest Gump” in Evans’ living room while sorting coins. “My favorite movie is probably ‘Parasite.’ I like it because it got a Western audience into watching movies that aren’t necessarily in English, and I think it’s really funny how people think it’s about the fall of Socialism when really it’s about the opposite; I think it’s pretty ironic.”
Jacob Hitt watches “The Reader” in his room on his desktop computer. Hitt’s favorite movie is “The Reader” — “The relatability I found in it at the time that I watched it has followed me through my life. It has an excellent story as well as excellent acting. This movie will stay with me forever.”
Evan Johnson sits in his dorm room at Buchanan Towers watching “Soul.” — “I really enjoy [Soul] because of its animation styles and very colorful atmosphere and worldbuilding, and it also has the mixture of jazz in it as well, so the all-around creativity is just very amusing to me. It’s something I would aspire to help create.”
Victoria Corkum watches “Edward Scissorhands” on the top bunk in her room in the house she shares with 12 other girls. “My favorite movie is ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ because I think it’s an all-around just perfect movie. I think it has heart; it has action; it has romance. The technical side of it is just beautiful — it’s visually enchanting. It just puts you in a trance, and you can’t help but sit down and soak in this movie … It’s also the movie that inspired me to become a photojournalist, so every time I watch that movie it gives me a lot of hope and excitement for life.”
The Pickford Film Center is a community-based favorite for an intimate movie-viewing space. This is why the Pickford team likes coming to the cinema– “From the community learning that happens during Doctober, to late night Third Eye Cinema shenanigans, we believe film to be an inherently social experience that’s always better with friends!”
Joshua Solórzano rests on his bed watching “Forrest Gump.” — “You know, this is probably the answer for a lot of people, but my favorite movie is ‘Pulp Fiction’ because I can watch it over and over again. It always amuses me, and I love showing it to people who haven’t seen it yet because it just amazes them.”
Tim Harding watches “The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station” in his room on his desktop computer. “TT3D: Closer to the Edge” is one of Harding’s favorite movies — “It always feels exciting, even after rewatching several times. Guy Martin is quite a character.”
Frances Bridwell, Sara Johnson and their cat watch “The Batman” in the living room of their shared apartment. Bridwell — “My favorite movie is ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.’ I love the soundtrack and the cinematography.” Johnson — “My favorite movie is ‘Labyrinth’ because it’s very magical, and I like the fantasy, and I watched it a lot when I was little.”
Garrett Rahn snuggles into a blanket-burrito on their couch while watching “Bo Burnham: Inside.” Rahn’s two favorite movies are “Cloud Atlas” and “Mr. Nobody” — “I like overcomplicated movies. I really liked ‘Cloud Atlas’ because Tom Hanks is like, every other character, and it’s all about the way we interact with people through different iterations of ourselves in time — it’s very cool! I also really liked ‘Mr. Nobody’ [because] it’s another overcomplicated movie where the more you watch it, the more you notice little things, and I appreciate that in the art form.”
Colleen Sawyer lays in her bed watching “Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart” on her tablet with her roommate’s dog. “‘Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart’ is my favorite movie because of the surreal and sometimes uncanny aspects of the animation. You can really see how it was made from the concept album of the French-Swedish metal band Dionysos. The poetry and the art and the animation are beautiful.”
Gabriel Martin watches “Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone” in his room on a desktop computer while snacking on Starbursts and drinking Dr. Pepper Zero. “Evangelion is one of my favorite movie series because of its great animation, it’s great character development and it describes how I would feel as a 14-year-old boy needing to operate a giant robot because my dad says so.”
Heather and Joshua Crans cuddle in their living room while watching “Casablanca.” Heather’s favorite movie is “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” — “It was the first movie that I had ever seen in theaters when I was only three years old. It has all the elements: action, suspense, comedy, drama and romance — it even incorporates some actual history in it. It fueled my desire to see the world and go on adventures.” Joshua’s favorite movie is “Forrest Gump” because of, “…its ability to examine the most serious cultural issues through the lens of an “other” or “less than” person who is more human and more hero than any other typical protagonist. It tests my entire range of emotions every time I see it.”
I’m watching the signature edition DVD of my favorite movie, “The Iron Giant,” in my living room while enjoying popcorn and a La Croix. I love “The Iron Giant” because it’s a sweet and exciting story with important, powerful messages. It makes me happy, but it also makes me cry every time I watch it.
Click here to read the story that pairs with this photo essay