My Media Habits
I watch films frequently and repeatedly. I do not usually use any kind of portable media player to watch movies or TV shows. I like to have peace and quiet when I am watching something, so I generally watch films at home either alone or with a small group of people. The movies I watch are usually a mixture of 'Hollywood' feature films and independent films. I have not really seen many short films that I like, although I did see a few at Flaming Film Fest in Minneapolis in 2006. I would like to go to more film festivals in Minneapolis, but I do not really receive news about those kinds of events. I would never have known that Flaming Film Fest exists had I not gone to Amazon Bookstore to see Michelle Tea speak.
Movie theaters? I really wish I had more time and money to go. My boyfriend and I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum (my choice, not his) for my birthday this year, but we do not go to the theater often. Maybe the price of movie viewings on the U campus will help us with that.
I think that who I am as a person and the experiences that I bring with me to any film viewing affect my understanding of any reading or movie. I am very easily swayed by environment, so I think that where I watch something makes a huge difference too. There have been movies that I did not enjoy in the movie theater that I do enjoy in my own home – especially long stuff like the LOTR series.
Also, the courses I take in school really help to determine what I watch. I have a hard time just watching clips of movies, or just reading about movies in a textbook, so I watch a lot of movies mentioned in my courses. I will probably be watching a lot of Russian films in the upcoming months as well because watching movies really helps me understand the rhythm and sound of a language better than flashcards.