I am known as being a person who loves movies. I love going out of my way to watch a movie at a community theater, and when the movie I want to watch isn’t viewing, I also enjoy making myself at home and watching it anyway.

The other day, I asked my friend Olivia to go to the movie theater with me. She responded that it would be better to wait for it to come on at home so she could pause the movie when she started to feel bored. I tried to convince her that this movie being in the theater for a limited time would make the experience more enticing, but that’s when I came to a realization that maybe our different preferences lied in the fact that she wasn’t as comfortable as me being in a room with such close proximity and enhancement.

Every room has a different lighting scheme, layout, seating arrangement, etc. Two very different feelings and visuals, which believe it or not, impacts the way that we interact with others and impacts our thinking. While both the common living room and a more professional theater are designed to give us entertainment, theaters are designed to expand a shared love for movies while also giving an immersive experience, whereas watching movies at home are more intimate, catered to one’s own personal norms and meant to make you as comfortable as possible.

For starters, both of these places have very different seating arrangements. Theaters typically have more closer together seats, forced at an elbow distance. In an attempt to house more people at a time in one screening, the theater also succeeds at getting you to feel more inclined to talk to those around you. 

I recall a time that I was watching a movie at the theater, when a younger girl next to me asked if I had watched the first Hunger Games movie. I turned to my side and allowed her to get a better glimpse at my shirt, which had Peeta Malarks face in the smack middle. To which we continued to talk about our favorite scenes and characters. 

Yet of course, when the lighting grew darker, and the screen in front of us brighter, we knew it was time to be quiet and tune in to the movie.

Now, if I had watched that same movie in my own home, I probably would’ve spaced out a little bit. Maybe laid down, or propped my feet up on the couch. I might’ve even invited a friend of my own, who I already know loves this franchise. We wouldn’t have felt forced to stay quiet during the movie, and we would be able to address all the exciting plot points right when they happened. All of these things listed are things that I feel comfortable doing while at my house, things people don’t usually do at a movie theater. With different seating arrangements, and different people surrounding you, it is easier to feel more or less comfortable in a space.

Another thing theaters typically offer is bright lighting and louder sounds. If you really want to get fancy, you could go to a 4D theater where you can allow all your senses to be absorbed into the movie. This is the perfect strategy to tricking yourself into being a PART of the story, which helps enhance this experience. In contrast, if you choose to watch a movie at home, you would more than likely adjust the volume to your own preference, and your TV may even already be fixed to the brightness of your choosing. You’re there to feel the movie through your mind, not your body. You may feel more at peace once you get to decide at what extremity you’re watching the movie at. However, this doesn’t stop someone from turning all the lights off in their home, then cranking the volume up a ton. Yet, that’s the magic of watching movies at home, YOU get to decide.

It’s not a surprise that once your surroundings change, your thoughts and opinions do as well. Not everyone is built to be a movie fanatic who loves slurpees and shushing people at the movies. Some people just prefer their own snacks at home, watching with the people closest to them. Just remember, wherever there is a theater waiting to give you the full screening experience, there is also a home waiting for you to sit back and enjoy the same movie.