The variety of entertainment we have at our earlobes at 40,000ft is remarkable. What’s even more remarkable though, is this: despite having our own headsets (and an abundance of choice of entertainment, from documentaries and soaps to all sorts of critically acclaimed films) many people prefer to watch the latest action flick on someone else’s screen, rather than pick a movie of their own…
People whinge something chronic about flying. But when you stop to think about it, long haul travel is one of life’s greatest pleasures. No-one can contact you, no one expects anything of you and you have your every basic need attended to on a tray.
But when it comes to in-flight entertainment, there is one strange habit many travellers are fessing up to: watching movies on someone else’s screen. Despite being impractical, voyeuristic and unnecessary, it’s very much a ~thing~.
A quick browse of Twitter shows I am not alone in getting emotionally invested in the fates of The Rock and Kevin Hart in their latest action flick, over someone else’s shoulder and without the aid of sound. As a Twitter user called Will wrote in July: “There’s something about watching a movie on a plane on someone else’s screen, thirty seconds at a time, no audio only subtitles, just checking in every now and then and getting maybe 30% of it.”
I be doing this and become more invested in the movie than the person actually watching it lmao
— Jose | Ciggy (@JAP2898) July 16, 2022
He’s far from the only person to make this observation. Twitter user Maya Baccei loves a crane of her neck, too, writing: “I cannot focus on a movie on an airplane unless it is on someone else’s screen and I am also watching a movie and listening to music and reading a book.”
Hear, hear.
Then there’s Twitter user Tyler, who asks, “Why is their movie so much more interesting than the one I hand picked for me?” An important question indeed…
why is their movie so much more interesting than the one I hand picked for me
— tyler (@replylord) August 14, 2022
Others have even admitted to shedding a tear over someone else’s movie, as well as neglecting their own academic work to follow the plot of a film someone else has put on, and to ultimately coming to view movie watching on a plane as pointless unless it’s someone else’s choice.
on airplane watching west side story on mute on a tiny screen two rows ahead of me … gently shedding a tear
— Michael Breslin (@mischabreslin) March 14, 2022
Not just you! I do not miss, in any way, the experience of being on an airplane. But one highlight was always watching the movie on the screen of the person one row ahead on the opposite side of the aisle, and trying to imagine what’s going on.
— Rev. Dr. Everett Howe (@howe) January 17, 2022
what’s the point of watching a movie on a flight if it isn’t on someone else’s screen and not yours
— z (@spideysabers) December 30, 2021
I don’t put on a movie – instead I end up watching a movie on someone else’s screen – obviously with no sound . So no papers read and an awful movie experience
— Gordon Love (@gordon_love) January 3, 2022https://t.co/yCMpSeGUXW
There are even heartwarming stories of people on planes realising their seatmate was watching their movie, and turning their screens so that they could see it better. One Twitter user claimed: “A dude did that to me on the plane while I was watching JAWS and I just turned my computer towards him so he had a better view” while a Reddit user claimed in July: “I turn closed captions on when I’m watching a movie while travelling, in case someone else is watching my screen.”
There is even a Reddit thread where people share the “best movie you’ve watched for the first time on someone else’s plane screen,” with one commenter claiming: “I think I’ve seen the entire Harry Potter franchise without trying during a dozen or so international flights over the last few years.”
So, why do we enjoy watching movies on other people’s screens? Though some people say there is an element of people-watching to it (one friend told me they once had a great time predicting what a businessman in his late 40s, wearing a crisp suit would watch, only for him to put on Twilight), I think the biggest two reasons we like watching other people’s movies on planes are the simplicity and the element of danger.
What do I mean by this? In terms of simplicity, much like we often struggle to commit to a movie on Netflix at home thanks to our phone, it’s nice to watch a movie on someone else’s screen on a plane because there is no pressure to continue watching it. You can zone out (and tune back in) at any time, you don’t have to fiddle with your screen and fast-forward advertisements, and it’s satisfying to guess at what’s happening, despite being unable to hear what’s being said.
the voyeurism of watching a movie on someone else’s screen just adds to the experience
— Eli (@K2_deli_news) July 25, 2022
As for danger, I think we often play it too safe with our movie choices. I’ll for instance, often watch movies I’ve already seen on a plane, rather than pick something new because I worry I might not like it. But other people who have different taste in movies might pick something new, fresh and interesting, that you would not have chosen yourself.
RELATED: Flight Attendant Reveals Secret To Getting Special Treatment As A PassengerConversely, some people (wrongly) assume action flicks like Jungle Cruise are beneath them, either misjudging their own haughty taughty sense of taste or fearing their seatmate will judge them as ‘basic,’ denying themselves the pleasure of watching an action movie on a plane. But when stealing a glance at someone else’s screen, you have no such pressure, responsibility or qualms.
There you have it: that’s why I think movies ‘hit different’ when you watch them on someone else’s screen on a plane.
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