Poll: Going to the movies alone

In My Humble Opinion
41
  1. Yes.
  2. All the time.
  3. Great idea.
  4. I think how it’s viewed depends on how many movies you go to. No doubt people who go 2 to 5 movies a year view it very differently than people who go to 2 to 5 movies a month.

I’m a movie buff. I go to more movies than most of my friends (and way more movies than my friends with kids.) It makes far more sense for me to go alone than try to drag my pals to movies that, deep down, they have no interest in seeing.

Hanging out with friends and seeing movies are two different activities. If they happen to overlap, great! If not, no problem.

(It’s a very odd stigma when you think about it. Do people freak out when they see someone bicycling alone? Reading a book alone? Shopping alone?)

42

1. Have you ever gone to the movies alone?
once
2. If so, how often do you do so?
It was when MST3k the movie was playing, I happened to be in Dallas and passed the theater it was playing at and decided, what the heck.
3. What is your personal opinion on the social acceptability of going to the movies alone (e.g., great idea, acceptable idea, somewhat lame, totally pathetic)?
Somewhat lame. I like to go out to eat or maybe a bar after, and just find it more pleasant to be with someone.
4. What is your perception of society in general’s opinion of going to the movies alone (in other words, how do you think most people feel about it?)
I thought most people thought of it as pathetic, but I have met more people who go alone, and now this thread, so perhaps I have been wrong.

43

I don’t go to the movies a lot but when I do it’s almost always alone. Maybe once or twice a year. My friends wouldn’t want to see the movies I care about seeing on the big screen.

I think it’s a great idea. Why would you need someone to see a movie with?

I thing a good percentage of people probably see it as lame but who cares? I also go to concerts alone. That felt weird the first couple of times but I always run into other people who’ve gone alone and meeting new people is usually fun.

44

Good grief. I go to the movies alone, I eat out alone, I drink alone, I go to the mall alone, I go to the bathroom alone, and yes I’ve even gone to an amusement park alone (which was actually more fun than going with other people since you didn’t have to take a vote every 10 minutes on what to do next.)

45

So many loners here… We should all be anti-social together! :stuck_out_tongue:

That said,
1. Have you ever gone to the movies alone?
Ever? Since I left college, I almost always go alone.

2. If so, how often do you do so?
Nearly all the time. Once I realized movies were terrible date ideas, I stopped that. As everyone else has said, I’m not there to talk. I went to see The Two Towers alone and with friends and the only thing that was different was getting to talk about the movie afterwards.

3. What is your personal opinion on the social acceptability of going to the movies alone (e.g., great idea, acceptable idea, somewhat lame, totally pathetic)?
“Society” is a pretty nebulous concept, but since we’re painting with a floor mop, I think that “single-ness” is starting to become more socially acceptable. Going to movies alone is just an extension of that. Doesn’t mean I don’t notice the number of couples that always seem to be around me… :rolleyes:

4. What is your perception of society in general’s opinion of going to the movies alone (in other words, how do you think most people feel about it?)
I’m not sure I understand the question, but even so, I still couldn’t care less.

46
  1. Yes
  2. A handful of times.
  3. It’s great!
  4. I think most people think it’s lame, but I think that most people that are alone choose to be alone.
47

I have never gone to a movie theater alone. But I have traveled thousands of miles alone by air, train, bike and hiking (cumulative, not separately!). I have also attended concerts alone. I would have no problems going to a movie alone if I really wanted to see a particular movie. But I guess when a new, good movie is about to appear, such as Two Towers, someone calls in advance to see if I want to join them.

48

Please tell me they did away with that awful soundtrack that was imposed upon it in the 80’s. Please.

Yes, I go to movies by myself.
Not very often because I can’t afford to attend movies very often.
Obviously I think it’s fine.
Ditto on the indifference.

49

I’ve gone by myself to two movies, simply because I really wanted to see them, and didn’t feel like going with someone who could potentially distract me. The first movie was “Titanic”. I had gotten a large soda, and found a seat in the middle of the row. I didn’t consider that probably 2/3 of the movie would involve rushing water when I made the decision to 1) purchase a LARGE soda, and 2) attend alone, denying myself the “what did I miss” option. I learned my lesson for “Saving Private Ryan”. I don’t think anyone spoke, blinked, or breathed during the landing scene…

50

Mission accomplished. I went to see Die Another Day by myself last night. The film itself was decent, but that’s not the point. The point is that it was nice not to have to make that always awkward attempt at conversation about the movie afterward. I noticed at least one other guy in the theater who was there alone.

No teenage girls kissed me, though. :eek:

51

I consider going out to a movie alone no less strange than watching a videotape or DVD alone in the privacy of my home.

I don’t do it often, as time and expenses prohibit it, but I have done it more than once before, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if I felt like it.

My pipe-dream is to have my own private screening room, with a large screen, a projectionist’s booth, real popcorn and other snackies, and about a dozen or so seats, for me and selected friends and family. Be nice to me or I won’t invite you over for movies.

52

I go alone and because of it, Mr. Bean talked to me after the credits of “Bean”. Who else would he have been talking to? Everyone else had left the theater and I was there alone. I swear he was talking to me, only to me…

53

My friends only like big budget, mainstream films, so I have to catch the stuff that I like on my own. If I only went ‘with the gang’, I could cut my filmgoing budget by 80%!

54

It depends on the movie. I’ve seen Jackie Chan, James Bond, Star Trek, and others alone… but I just couldn’t bring myself to see About A Boy or Powerpuff Girls alone, both of which I wanted to see.

On the other hand, I once walked an hour and a half to see High Fidelity by myself, because I couldn’t find anyone else who wanted to go, and there wasn’t bus service to the only theater showing it. (I have no car.)

55

I usually wind up going to the movies alone. In fact, I’ve been to two movies totally alone, I was the only person in the theater.

But I think I would see more movies if I had someone to go with. I wind up missing a lot of interesting movies because those are the ones I would most want to talk about afterwards.

Logistically it’s kind of tricky. You can’t send one person to save the seats while the other gets snacks. So if I want popcorn and a drink I have my hands full (ticket between two fingers for the ticket taker) and there’s no one to hold the snackage while I take my coat off, stuff like that. But sometimes you can find a better seat if the theater’s filling up.

  1. Yes.
  2. Once every two or three months.
  3. Perfectly acceptable.
  4. No one’s ever given me any guff for going alone, I haven’t the faintest idea if there are still people who look down on it.
56

If I am anticipating a particularly good movie, I usually try to see it by myself. It’s easier to enjoy a movie if there’s no chance of any distraction.

If it’s really good, I might see it again with someone else.

I can’t comprehend why anyone might think it’s only “proper” to see films in company, unless they’re the sort of idiot who thinks that a theatre is a sort of salon, and use it as place to demonstrate their celebrated conversational genius.

57

1. Have you ever gone to the movies alone?

Never, not once. Ok, once. Maybe twice. Ok, three or four hundred times.

2. If so, how often do you do so?

When I was single, twice a week. I lived within walking distance of a $2.00 discount general admission theater (pay to enter once, then you get to see as many movies as you like until the theater closes) and would sometimes see double or triple features by myself. More than a few times, it was literally by myself–I’d be the only one in the theater.

Now, when I want to see a movie that my wife doesn’t, I go alone. Saw Star Trek: Nemesis by myself today. She doesn’t like kiddie movies, so I say the Wild Thornberries movie last week by myself. She also doesn’t like art-house stuff or foreign dramas, so I go to those alone. Probably about once a week.

3. What is your personal opinion on the social acceptability of going to the movies alone (e.g., great idea, acceptable idea, somewhat lame, totally pathetic)?

Until I read the linked thread over in Cafe society, it had never occurred to me that going to a movie alone was something that anyone would have a problem with. I see it as a socially neutral act–it’s neither good nor bad, it’s outside of such categorization.

Seeing a movie is something that you do alone even if you go with someone. Going alone makes it easy to find a good seat, it’s easier to pick a time that’s convenient, pick a movie you want to see, go on the spur of the moment, etc.

4. What is your perception of society in general’s opinion of going to the movies alone (in other words, how do you think most people feel about it?)

Like I give a flying fig what society thinks of what I do with my time when I’m alone.

What’s next, looking down on people who go to restaurants or amusement parks or bowling alone? Do these people expect all singles to remain cooped up in their houses whenever they’re not at work?

58

I figure society probably looks down on it, but I could be projecting.

59

1. Have you ever gone to the movies alone?
Of course.
2. If so, how often do you do so?
Couple times a year, I guess. For the sake of perspective, I go to movies other than alone a couple times a year also.
3. What is your personal opinion on the social acceptability of going to the movies alone (e.g., great idea, acceptable idea, somewhat lame, totally pathetic)?
Why in the world would anyone *care * about what I think of them going to the movies alone??
4. What is your perception of society in general’s opinion of going to the movies alone (in other words, how do you think most people feel about it?)
Again, why in the world would I care about society’s opinions of going to the movies alone? Until and unless they make it illegal or something, it would not occur to me to so much as wonder about it in a moment of idle curiosity.

60

i always go alone and see nothing wrong with it…i actually prefer going alone so i do not have to talk about the movie or explain something while viewing the film…
i hate talking during films, and quite frankly i don’t have a problem asking someone to shut up…i also cannot stand people eating and playing with paper and what not…the smell of popcorn and perfume just makes me want to get up and spray the entire theater with semi-automatic gunfire…
anyway, i like to pretend i own the theater and love it when i’m the only one there…
also, keep your kids at home…when vanilla sky was out, some peopel actually took their young kids to see it…very tacky…i have two kids and would never take them to see a movie that is just not sutible for children under 13…