[diplodinkus]

But why is that so bad? Movies retell the same story with the same beats over and over again. I think we should be more concerned about people who can focus on something repetitive for extended periods. What's wrong with them?

[avgDev]

Not being able to focus on 'boring' tasks is bad.

When I had an addiction to social media, I could not enjoy 'slow' things. I also felt anxiety and depression. After detoxing I am again able to enjoy the 'slow' things, like taking time to learn and resisting instant gratification hits.

Watching a movie sometimes requires 'getting into it' before you can really appreciate it.

Most of our jobs are repetitive tasks. Even something like being a race car driver is repetitive and 'boring'. In order to be fast you have to practice the same track layout hundreds of times to find the optimal racing line and braking points. Without boring there is no glory.

[diplodinkus]

If everyone found joy in boring tasks, wed never advance as a society. All progress is through laziness.

[itishappy]

We didn't go to the moon due to laziness. We don't build planes, trains, and skyscrapers due to laziness. We didn't invent vaccines or nuclear physics due to laziness. We don't write standards or encyclopedias or novels due to laziness.

I'd suggest most of our progress was actually made by grinding through boring tasks. Many (most?) lazy people do not drive much progress.

[avgDev]

Your statement is not logical as all progress definitely is not through laziness.

[vinhcognito]

A movie is not just what story beats it contains. If that is all you consider a movie is, then I suppose you might as well just read the wiki summaries of every movie.

But I wouldn't dismiss an entire form of complex expression because of an inability or unwillingness to engage with it at its level.

A movie is the visuals, the acting, the sound, the camera movements/editing, etc and how it all comes together to essentially give you a 2d slice of a person's realized thoughts.

[vidarh]

I love many movies. I have a huge collection. But there are also plenty of movies I will not bother giving my full attention because they're not worth it. If people struggle to give full attention to movies they actually find engaging and want to give their full attention, then that is an issue. If people feel they get more value from not giving a movie their full attention, that's a perfectly reasonable choice.

[DanHulton]

Maybe you should try expanding your cinematic repertoire, if that's the impression you have of movies?

I'm saying this genuinely, not to make a snide point or anything. There are some really good movies out there that aren't just "the same beats over and over again." If, say, you're only watching big studio blockbusters, try branching out into smaller dramas, that kind of thing.

[gspencley]

I think what the person you are replying to might be alluding to is "The Seven Basic Plots" theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots

"Beat for beat" might be a bit unfair but even then there are traditional structures such as "The Hero's Journey" that are commonly used by writer's both in and out of Hollywood.

That said, even if structure and a finite number of plots is true, there is still a wide variety of artistic potential from characterization to setting to art style.

I will say, however, that the older I get the more "familiar" things feel. Even when I'm watching non-blockbuster stuff. I'm pretty sure this is just the result of having watched more movies throughout my life. My standards are getting higher and my pattern recognition toolset is widening. And since I have dabbled in writing myself, I tend to recognize formulas when they are being applied ... even if the movie is not a cookie-cutter Hollywood factory-produced summer blockbuster.

[diplodinkus]

The last movie I thoroughly enjoyed was (you're going to laugh and I'm OK with that):

Hardcore Henry

Frenetic, insane, indulgent, madness. Loved it. Can stand most blockbusters, can't stand most dramas.

[kbelder]

I agree. It had serious flaws, and yet joyfully held my attention. Not because of the action, but because it had novelty. It wasn't a bland reshuffling of the same 12 approved characters in the 6 approved plots in the same 3 styles that most movies and shows seem to be permutations of.

A lot of rough edges can be forgiven for just a little bit of mad creativity.