On Cinematic Experience and How to Have a Better One
Sometimes we believe in movie ratings, sometimes we mock the critics for being insensitive, sometimes we follow what the crowd is saying, and sometimes, we don’t feel anything even after the end credits done rolling. Why do we experience cinema differently? And is there any way to enhance it?
Before we start, let’s have a quick exercise. I’m going to mention three movie titles and let your mind wander for 5 seconds around how you feel about the movie. You could think about any particular scene, but focus on how it makes you feel. Let’s start:
- Star Wars saga (1977–2019)
- Joker (2019)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Now, how Star Wars made you feel? Did it suddenly bring you to your younger self — eyes hooked on the screen, sparkled at all the cosmic spectacles you had never seen before: of the power of the Force, of seeing hyperspace inside the Millennium Falcon, and of whoosh, vroom sound lightsabers make?
Or nothing at all — it didn’t fascinate you at all because the visual effects are lousy and the story just doesn’t make sense. Like seriously people, why are we still talking about Star Wars when we have Avengers: Endgame, the best action movie ever made? You know, that part when Capt heard a friendly voice saying, “on your left,” and the portals just open or….that ending!
Joker…well, I don’t know… it sure is good to have a standalone movie of a villain’s backstory but it’s pretty slow, isn’t it? No boom-bang action like Nolan did in his The Dark Knight trilogy — which I like better, of course! Also, I don’t feel comfortable watching it, when a movie is supposed to entertain you, isn’t it?
With all these different opinions I see on daily basis, I just feel the need to point out what I think makes us experience cinema differently, in the hope that we can minimize the cognitive biases when judging movies.
It’s Loud Out There
By this I mean on the internet. If word-of-mouth doesn’t influence us so much, you won’t see Indonesian movies promoted this way:

Those reviews don’t mean anything, really.
I casually read reviews written by legit critics or journalists from reliable media as I scroll through my social media feed, but as if it’s not enough, Indonesian film publicists decide to post reviews from influencers whose opinions don’t always relevant and push even harder with positive reviews from any normal netizen, just to create FOMO until we find the urgency to watch it.
I don’t see how such reviews help me to even decide whether to watch them or not, but if it works, then it’s not stupid, right? In fact, we tend to fall into conformity bias. When netizens say that it’s a good movie, we go to the cinema and watch it while carrying that same expectation throughout the duration. In the end, only because we’ve been raided with positive reviews — hence conforming the society, it feels wrong to say otherwise.
On reading reviews, here’s my stance: I don’t read them unless I stumbled upon a short one — I just read the headline and that’s it. If people mock it then I won’t see it, if people praise it then maaaybe I’ll see, but if there are mixed reviews, I tend to go see for myself.
First Time?
Admit it, the reason why you love Star Wars is that you watched it when you were little. You didn’t understand much about physics behind space exploration but still, it was your first time seeing a space adventure movie that let loose your imagination to the galaxy far, far away. You didn’t know anything about CGI back then, so you had nothing to compare its visual effects with — it was literally incomparable. The impact of such first experience is so strong that it becomes the only franchise before the age of internet that millions still love dearly today.
In contrast, the reason why you don’t like it is that you watch it the first time as an adult when you have been exposed to movies with better CGI and more elaborate stories and action scenes than that. It’s the same case with Midsommar (2019). Netizens are mad about how Midsommar delivers its gory horror story about people trapped in a bizarre cult in such an idyllic setting under broad daylight. It’s probably because people have never seen a movie so misleading and so twisted before. If you’ve seen The Wicker Man (1973), you’ll see what I mean. It’s a movie about — you guessed it — someone trapped in a bizarre cult, so it wasn’t my first time experiencing such a movie, and holding that knowledge firsthand, I kept my expectations low when watching Midsommar. On one side, it was my first experience to watch a horror movie THAT picturesque, and sure I like the aesthetics, but on the other, it wasn’t. I was able to put the aesthetic astonishment aside and noticed just how hollow the movie actually felt.
First, or rather, fresh cinematic experience can set off the hype, but then, using previous experience for later can keep you calm in your seat and help you see the movie in clearer view without actually comparing those two movies. So instead of comparing Joker in Joker (2019), Suicide Squad (2016), and The Dark Knight (2008) based on each movie’s overall quality, we can have a more critical view of how each actor brings different character study of Joker, and leave each movie as independent experience.

Now let’s appreciate other first cinematic experiences we’ve had recently: animated movies to achieve meticulous details with the likes of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Toy Story 4 (2019), the largest superhero assemble the world has ever seen in Avengers: Endgame (2019), and we surely have never seen anything close to Joaquin Phoenix’s entrancing performance in Joker (2019).
Historical Significance
For movie sets in outer space, we can all agree that Interstellar (2014) is one of those standing on top of the class. What about 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)? We could never agree on where does this one stand. How could someone like 2001, and why was it such a big deal, exactly? It’s VERY slow-paced and there are just too many things we don’t understand in this movie.
It’s not us. The movie is THAT HARD to follow, even by the audience back in 1968.
Let’s imagine what 1968 was like. America in the 60s was shattered by huge historical events: the Vietnam War and specifically to this case, the Cold War, in which Russia had gaslit the Space Race by sending the first human into space in 1961. Consequently, mankind was far from searching for extraterrestrial intelligence back then. So who wouldn’t be intrigued by a sci-fi movie directed by Stanley Kubrick, who just satirically criticized the government in 1964 with Dr. Strangelove?

As a matter of fact, it was a success: it won Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, thanks to its intricacy and realism. What’s more, it was a financial success due to its “Star Gate” sequence that invited people to watch it under the influence of psychotropic drugs (thanks, hippies!). That’s how movies with strong historical relevance like 2001 stay in memory.
By the same token, people find the theoretical physics in Interstellar bewildering, but again, it’s the ethereal vision of the galaxy that helped this masterpiece secure an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Interstellar can also be considered historically relevant in this and upcoming decade as we’re thrilled with Elon Musk’s idea of starting a colony on Mars.
When watching old movies, I like to take myself back in time of the movie release so I can relate to its historical significance, and oftentimes it heightens my cinematic experience, hence a better appreciation towards it. When I watch Back to the Future trilogy (1985–1990), I can be equally amazed seeing the DeLorean fly as those who watch it in 1985, even though I have seen better flying cars in modern movies. That’s also how I can enjoy the whole 238 minutes of Gone with the Wind (1939) without pause.
Appreciating movie depends on how you indulge in the cinematic experience. Ignoring reviews helps greatly to maintain your expectations, and there’s no harm in bringing yourself back in time to also understand the historical context. All in all, cinema is not only an art form that can transcend beyond emotional revelation, but also entertainment. You can only get the most out of it by immersing yourself fully in it, otherwise it’s just a waste of time.
