can you tell what type of person someone is by the movies they watch?

[freakandgeek]

ok, since this is discussed a lot, i decided to actually start a thread.

you know what i think? i think that sometimes you can sorta tell what type of person someone is by the movies they watch, but sometimes you can't.

or atleast you can somewhat tell what they like. but sometimes people like a variety of movies. i know someone who loves tim burton movies, and she is sorta dark herself. she calls herself "goth" and sometimes i think you can tell by the books she reads and the movies she loves. then there are people who like movies like remains of the day and romantic comedies like that movie with michelle pfieffer and george clooney (i forget the name) when they are both parents...and she is not a violent person and she is calm and somewhat romantic in her ways. but then there are the people that like scarface, magnolia, bubble boy, happy gilmore, remains of the day, edward scissorhands...

so sometimes, i think you can geta view of what someone is like, but sometimes i think you can't.

i hope i don't get too bashed for this:(

[Kastman]

well i think people get the impression that im kinda weird for liking horror movies.

My dad called me weird, then knew he might have hurt my feelings so he changed it to crazy.

So i don't think you can tell someones personality by the movies they watch. But you can tell thir taste in movies quite easily.

[BubbaStrangelove]

Well, I always felt Roger Ebert was a bit of a perv because he was always into steamy movies. Then years later I learned about him writing Beyond The Valley of The Dolls. So, in that case, I was able to nail a personality trait.

Even saying something like, "Oh you like action movies." - Well, liking action movies is part of a personality.

I think you can learn pieces of some peoples personality, but not enough to write a psychosocial on or anything.

Except, I'm sure there are some cases where people build their entire personality off of movies. In those cases you could probably learn much more about the person based only on movies.

[freakandgeek]

Originally posted by BubbaStrangelove
Well, I always felt Roger Ebert was a bit of a perv because he was always into steamy movies. Then years later I learned about him writing Beyond The Valley of The Dolls. So, in that case, I was able to nail a personality trait.

Even saying something like, "Oh you like action movies." - Well, liking action movies is part of a personality.

I think you can learn pieces of some peoples personality, but not enough to write a psychosocial on or anything.

Except, I'm sure there are some cases where people build their entire personality off of movies. In those cases you could probably learn much more about the person based only on movies.

i agree

[James Logan]

Originally posted by BubbaStrangelove


I think you can learn pieces of some peoples personality, but not enough to write a psychosocial on or anything.


Yeah, that's what I think too. You can piece up some of the character traits of someone according to the movies he watches, books he reads, and so on, but it can't give you the full picture.

[freakandgeek]

Originally posted by James Logan
Yeah, that's what I think too. You can piece up some of the character traits of someone according to the movies he watches, books he reads, and so on, but it can't give you the full picture.
yeah...and also, sometimes you can't...sometimes people really suprise you....you know what i mean?

[vastlynne]

hey guys, nice topic.

One example i'd like to point out is myself.

I enjoy war movies like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Apocalypse Now..and etc., I DESPISE romantic comedies, a huge fan of Kevin Smith's films, and yet have been known to love films like The Secret Garden and most classic Disney films such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. So I surprise a lot of people.

I really cannot say to anyone what kind of movies I like simply because my taste is not distinct in one genre alone..and I'm pretty sure many of you schmoes out there can agree with me.
I think it goes the same with music also.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by freakandgeek
yeah...and also, sometimes you can't...sometimes people really suprise you....you know what i mean?

Yeah, I know...that's what I mean: it can be a key to some aspects of someone's personality, but it can also lead you waaay off-track. So don't rely on it too much.

[freakandgeek]

Originally posted by James Logan
Yeah, I know...that's what I mean: it can be a key to some aspects of someone's personality, but it can also lead you waaay off-track. So don't rely on it too much.

i definately don't rely on it. and besides, when you learn a lot of movies people like, you mostly already know what type of person they are. you just add it...but i definately don't rely on it....cause you never freakin know....:)

[Razorblade Smile]

I don't think its so much what movies a person watches, but rather their overall impressions of certain movies.

A person who willingly spends money to buy a ticket for xXx may just be someone who is in the mood for some good ole fashioned brainless blow-em-up time. Hell, we ALL enjoy a good mindless action movie once in a while.

Now...if that SAME person leaves the theater claiming that xXx is the best most enriching movie they ever saw...and Vin Diesel is a master thespian...well, I think that goes a bit further towards exemplyfing what type of person they are.

[neco82]

Some people sometimes consider me a potential psychopath. Only because I get excited by violent films (So long as said violence doesn't become too real or involves characters I like).

[rushmore beauty]

No, not at all. I watch all types of movies (A Clockwork Orange, Mallrats, The Shining) and I don't think anyone can tell who I am by the movies I watch.

[Dude]

Can you tell what type of person someone is by the movies they watch?

Not really... you'd pretty much be generalizing.... unless you know someone who only watches ONE and ONE only type of genre...however, I DO think it's easier to "nail" what kind of a person someone is by what type of films they REFUSE to watch... for instance: When someone tells me they will not watch ANYTHING that is in B&W, made between the 20's -50's (No matter WHAT the subject is) I pretty much rank them as narrow minded. When someone tells me they wont view ANYTHING that is ambiguous, psychological... in other words a film that CHALLENGES one to THINK, (such as Vanilla Sky, Donnie Darko, Memento, Mullholland Drive) and come to their own conclusions sometimes..... I pretty much rank that type of person as shallow in thought. NOt willing to watch a Foreign film cause of subtitles or dubbing? again, closed minded in thinking. This method though not fool proof is a little easier than the other way around.. for instance, you may say I am an utter moron cause I found humor in Freddy Got Fingered... but how would that jive with the fact that I am moved by a film such as Mullholland Drive? Or cried like an emotional BEEYATCH that was slapped all around after viewing the sappy Pay it Forward? If someone is willing to give all types of film a chance, then I'd rank them as "generally" well rounded.... no matter if their opinion of said film is the same as mine or not... but NOT willing to open yourself up to new experiences in film? Well, there's always a Rob Schneider, Adam Sandler, Vin Deisel and The Rock type flick ready to open up somewhere :p

[Dumb-Fokker-**]

...no. I don't think you can understand someone, on any kind of a personal level, based on the movies that they watch. Maybe we can, but we also have the benefit of getting to see how others interperet the movies, and we get to discuss them. If I were, simply, to name a movie, and add nothing else, you wouldnt be able to tell anything about my personality.

[Jerk Shapiro]

My friend is an avid hunter. You could tell by the movies he watches, and loves. Fast and Furious, xXx...terrible taste, I know.

But you can definetly tell how he is by the movies he enjoys.

BTW, he hated Fight Club. Called it stupid.

[SLAW]

With me you can. By the movies I watch you can tell that I'm really suave, good looking, intellectual, intuitive, friendly, generous, and everything else. Just look at the movies I watch.

[Asokan]

You probably can't tell what type of person someone is by the movies he or she watches, but you can point out their attitude to life and their degree of sophistication based on their top ten favourite movies.

[PorcheRacer]

Well 'm a teenager and I got lots of friends and I like cars, just becuase I like cars doesn't mean I loved Fast & The Furious and Gone In 60 Seconds even if my friends did. They were both good movies but I didn't love them. I nearly hated XxX but I love snowboarding and I like the Tony Hawk games and I watch extreme sports on T.V. and I love James Bond movies. So what I'm trying to say is......no.

[bowieee]

To an extent.

I hate typecasting though.

I love horror movies which is a genre labels as a taboo. people who like horror have somethign wrong with them. People are usually really suprised when they find out I'm a horror fan. I've been everything from a preschool teacher to the job I have now working at a center for abused children. People usually say "You like those movies??? when I meet a new uptight person.

But I'm also a hypocrite. I find myself typecasting people all the time. Like the guy with the hat backwards listening to disturbed in his f150 truck I would take as a XXX fan. Even though I don't know him and his favorite director could be Fellini. I guess thats just the way of the world. :)

[Michael_myers]

Sure you can. My favorite movies are: The Elephant Man, Schindler's List, History of the World part 1, Grease, theGreat Mouse detective, Jurassic Park and Silence of the Lambs. From most of these, you can tell I'm interested in history.

But with one of my friends:

His favorites are T:2, Sword in the Stone, Galxy Express 999, The Elephant Man, Pulp Fiction and the Exorcist part 3.

[the movie guy]

If they watch kiddie porn, beastiality porn, gay porn, or just too much porn in general, I know they're sickos that I don't want to meet.

If they're into watching nothing but splatter films, and seem to get aroused by what they think is "the coolest death ever!", they too have issues and I know I don't want to meet them. (Of the Horror Schmoes I know of though, you all seem to be decent fellows/gals, so I don't mean YOU.)

If their favorite movies are any of the following: How High, Friday, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Reefer Madness, Half Baked, etc. ... then they're potheads who enjoy their "high life" a little too much and - you guessed right - I know I don't want to meet them.

If they complain that "the only good movies are old movies", then they're in denial. And I've already met people who think this, so it's more a matter of me just thinking they're idiots.

(The same goes for the "vise versa people" on that last paragraph; Anyone who thinks "only movies from the 90's and today are good".)