Film Students Are Having Trouble Sitting Through Movies, Professors Say
-
Does this mean we can see the end of the overly long film trend?
I miss films being ~80 - 90 minutes. I've had a long day, I don't want to commit to three hours unless it's something really special.
I hate short movies
Stories feel rushed and theres not enough time for good story arcs
-
Here's the entire article text (speaking of people not having attention spans):
For years, audiences have groused that films are too long, and now, a number of film professors say their students are having trouble finishing films they are assigned to watch for class.
The Atlantic writer Rose Horowitch published a piece Friday based on surveying 20 film-studies professors who shared stories of students struggling to sit through films in class without checking their phones or answering basic questions about said films after watching them.
In an anecdote that gained attention on X, the University of Wisconsin Madison professor Jeff Smith recalled asking his students about the ending of the 1962 François Truffaut film Jules and Jim. Horowitch writes: “More than half of the class picked one of the wrong options, saying that characters hide from the Nazis (the film takes place during World War I) or get drunk with Ernest Hemingway (who does not appear in the movie).”
Professors report they have even resorted to asking students just to watch portions of films. It’s a phenomenon mirroring what is happening in high school English classes around the country, where students might just be assigned portions of books.
Though these are discouraging stories for cinephiles to hear, there’s evidence that members of Gen Z are embracing movie theaters and film culture. Some in Hollywood have dubbed them the Letterboxd generation, and they were credited with helping fuel unexpected hits last year.
As Northwestern professor Lynn Spigel told The Atlantic, “the ones who are really dedicated to learning film always were into it, and they still are.”
Precisely the sort of hot take I'd expect from The Atlantic, swirling the drain of stewardship by hiring David Brooks^.
But look, I get it. I'm a genuine film nerd today, and I kinda always have been. When I was little, I'd watch old movies and everything about them set my mind wandering. They were black and white, the pacing was stilted, shot compositions and lightning were static, the audio quality was equally too drab and too sharp at the same time. All the characters were old, boring adults who wore suits and were busy with... adult things to do. It felt like eating crusty week-old bologna. Everything about "contemporary" movies was great! Crisp colors, dynamic lightning, hyper-focused Robert McKee screenwriting that made sure your brain knew precisely what to be thinking at what moment and give you a right happy dopamine hit at the end. What's not to love?
Bless my dad. I once told him that I thought all black and white movies were boring. I had to be something like 10 years old at the time. He told me to go to the video store up the street and rent an old black and white movie called 'Fail Safe' and watch that. I did. That movie left me absolutely floored. Shook. I didn't know, couldn't even imagine, that old movies could go so hard. That was where my interest in the medium really started.
It took a lot of time, discovery, honing of taste and learning the technical limitations of the decades to develop a palette that could appreciate classics.
I don't fault younger people for having the same aversions I did. If I were developing film studies cirricula, I'd ensure that foundational education about expectations of the various cinematic eras was already complete before throwing students into Truffaut.
^ Who is David Brooks? This is David Brooks.
Omg don't get me started on Fail Safe! How hardly anyone knows about it is beyond me. Sidney Lumet, Henry Fonda, still considered obscure instead of a well known classic
-
Here's the entire article text (speaking of people not having attention spans):
For years, audiences have groused that films are too long, and now, a number of film professors say their students are having trouble finishing films they are assigned to watch for class.
The Atlantic writer Rose Horowitch published a piece Friday based on surveying 20 film-studies professors who shared stories of students struggling to sit through films in class without checking their phones or answering basic questions about said films after watching them.
In an anecdote that gained attention on X, the University of Wisconsin Madison professor Jeff Smith recalled asking his students about the ending of the 1962 François Truffaut film Jules and Jim. Horowitch writes: “More than half of the class picked one of the wrong options, saying that characters hide from the Nazis (the film takes place during World War I) or get drunk with Ernest Hemingway (who does not appear in the movie).”
Professors report they have even resorted to asking students just to watch portions of films. It’s a phenomenon mirroring what is happening in high school English classes around the country, where students might just be assigned portions of books.
Though these are discouraging stories for cinephiles to hear, there’s evidence that members of Gen Z are embracing movie theaters and film culture. Some in Hollywood have dubbed them the Letterboxd generation, and they were credited with helping fuel unexpected hits last year.
As Northwestern professor Lynn Spigel told The Atlantic, “the ones who are really dedicated to learning film always were into it, and they still are.”
Precisely the sort of hot take I'd expect from The Atlantic, swirling the drain of stewardship by hiring David Brooks^.
But look, I get it. I'm a genuine film nerd today, and I kinda always have been. When I was little, I'd watch old movies and everything about them set my mind wandering. They were black and white, the pacing was stilted, shot compositions and lightning were static, the audio quality was equally too drab and too sharp at the same time. All the characters were old, boring adults who wore suits and were busy with... adult things to do. It felt like eating crusty week-old bologna. Everything about "contemporary" movies was great! Crisp colors, dynamic lightning, hyper-focused Robert McKee screenwriting that made sure your brain knew precisely what to be thinking at what moment and give you a right happy dopamine hit at the end. What's not to love?
Bless my dad. I once told him that I thought all black and white movies were boring. I had to be something like 10 years old at the time. He told me to go to the video store up the street and rent an old black and white movie called 'Fail Safe' and watch that. I did. That movie left me absolutely floored. Shook. I didn't know, couldn't even imagine, that old movies could go so hard. That was where my interest in the medium really started.
It took a lot of time, discovery, honing of taste and learning the technical limitations of the decades to develop a palette that could appreciate classics.
I don't fault younger people for having the same aversions I did. If I were developing film studies cirricula, I'd ensure that foundational education about expectations of the various cinematic eras was already complete before throwing students into Truffaut.
^ Who is David Brooks? This is David Brooks.
I love movies and watch them constantly, but I'd probably check out if you asked me to watch a WWI movie with pacing and conventions typical of the 60s too. Classics are important for a film class, but there's plenty that can be learned from films made after 1970 too and they tend to be a lot more palatable.
This is honestly a terrible example to use as a general lack of interest. They're film students, obviously something drew them there, it just wasn't war dramas from the middle of last century.
-
Why would you want to watch the quality and content of a 90 minute film drastically stretched to fit a whole season?
Why would you a compelling story squished into a ninety minute marketing pitch?
Not all shows are serialized, either.
-
I hate short movies
Stories feel rushed and theres not enough time for good story arcs
A well constructed film does not feel rushed in a shorter run time.
I like long films, like really long ones. Ones where the length is part of the experience. For example, I loved Apocalypse Now Redux.
What I don't like is films that are substantially longer than they need to be. I don't want them pared down, I want them built around the format their story suits rather than padded out. I like breathing room (mostly!) but it's a fine line to walk.
A good film opening gets on with things quickly, getting the viewer up to speed, but too often I find myself quoting Springfieldians from Marge vs. The Monorail - "GET TO THE MONEY!"
-
There's this thing called "TV shows" for the quick hit you want.
Thank you for the educational response.
-
Yeah, Ive got a 1 year old foster kiddo and 19 year old at the moment (extended foster care to age 23).
You are a good human. Children are challenging at the best of timea and fostered children come with their own stuff. Good. On you guys.
We looked into it when our grown kids moved out. The ministry matched us and we had a non introduction type meeting where they ministry has you at the facilities when the kids are doing activities but they don't know there are foster parents being matches.
They explained the match was with a 13 year old who'd been abused by his biological parents.
We felt for the kid but as we went through the process and got more info it turned out his adoptive family had an incident with him and they had unadopted him (I didn't even know that was a legal possibility). And then some history of hurting animals or similar, so we sadly had to back out because we had two small senior dogs. Our only relief was another respite guy had taken a shine and building a relationship with him -
My sweet spot is the 2:00 to 2:15 mark. Any less than that feels like an extended TV episode to me.
For some reason, horror movies are good at 1:30 to 1:45.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Just fail them. They shouldn't be anywhere near a film set with the attention span of a gnat. It's dangerous.
-
This post did not contain any content.
What's next? Philosophy students that can't make it through Heidegger's Sein und Zeit?
-
The youth are such a disappointment. I really did have high hopes for future generations.
oh hey, you're the one who licks the boots of bill gates, the guy whom it was revealed in the epstein files got an STD from extramarital sex with russian girls of unspecified age.
Maybe you should just stop posting.
-
This post did not contain any content.
i don't fucking blame them, i'll gladly watch 2 hours of my favourite youtubers talking about toasters or whatever, but so many modern movies would drive me to brain death after half an hour.
-
oh hey, you're the one who licks the boots of bill gates, the guy whom it was revealed in the epstein files got an STD from extramarital sex with russian girls of unspecified age.
Maybe you should just stop posting.
The comment in question: https://feddit.online/comment/6965617
Looks like Bill Gates should see trial. He should have immediately come to the FBI about this if he had any conscience.
Maybe you should eat my ass.
-
You are a good human. Children are challenging at the best of timea and fostered children come with their own stuff. Good. On you guys.
We looked into it when our grown kids moved out. The ministry matched us and we had a non introduction type meeting where they ministry has you at the facilities when the kids are doing activities but they don't know there are foster parents being matches.
They explained the match was with a 13 year old who'd been abused by his biological parents.
We felt for the kid but as we went through the process and got more info it turned out his adoptive family had an incident with him and they had unadopted him (I didn't even know that was a legal possibility). And then some history of hurting animals or similar, so we sadly had to back out because we had two small senior dogs. Our only relief was another respite guy had taken a shine and building a relationship with himIt happens, called a "failed adoption". The thing about being a foster parent, we've done it for years, is having boundaries and understanding what youre comfortable with. My wife and I are great at handling trauma and providing a stable environment but there are times we've taken on kids with disabilities and its too exhausting for us but there are foster parents that specialize in that and make a better home for those kiddos.
-
This post did not contain any content.
I love movies, but to be fair, the Brutalist was tough to get through
-
A well constructed film does not feel rushed in a shorter run time.
I like long films, like really long ones. Ones where the length is part of the experience. For example, I loved Apocalypse Now Redux.
What I don't like is films that are substantially longer than they need to be. I don't want them pared down, I want them built around the format their story suits rather than padded out. I like breathing room (mostly!) but it's a fine line to walk.
A good film opening gets on with things quickly, getting the viewer up to speed, but too often I find myself quoting Springfieldians from Marge vs. The Monorail - "GET TO THE MONEY!"
A well constructed, long, film also doesn't feel long
-
Just fail them. They shouldn't be anywhere near a film set with the attention span of a gnat. It's dangerous.
Yeah, maybe they're in the wrong field
-
A well constructed, long, film also doesn't feel long
True, but it's a lot easier for me to find 90 minutes than 180 minutes on a weekday night.
-
Yeah, maybe they're in the wrong field
They just see the glamour and the $$$, and don't know about the ridiculous hours and working conditions (when you're actually working).
When I did film school, our first lecture was 9 hours long. We watched a bunch of experimental films. The second lecture was 7 hours long, watching more (but completely different) experimental films. We started with 300 students, and by the third week we were down to half that. Only a handful of us ever worked professionally and I only know two that are still working (I left a few years ago). It's a brutal industry.
-
Why would you a compelling story squished into a ninety minute marketing pitch?
Not all shows are serialized, either.
Could it be that different stories require different lengths of time to tell? No, that'd be silly. Clearly you two should keep arguing.
