Relating to characters in movies

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I have never like movies that were to close to real life. I struggled to be interested in the characters lives.

I always liked movies that were random or where characters find themselves at the mercy of circumstances and are out of control.
I have always felt that these were easier for me to understand.


I think I have issue with the theory of mind and that is why I don't like movies about real life. The characters don't make decision that I understand, while random movies are much more like the life I experience.


Has anyone else experienced this?

I like sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero movies etc., because the plot is less based on the personality and relationships of the characters, and more on technology, magic, or powers. Most movies about ordinary people going about their drama-filled lives are very boring for me, and difficult to understand.

Then, I think that characters in sci-fi works are some of the most human (like Spock ) because they don't need to make weird, or unnatural choices, or behave in an exaggerated or petty way for there to be a plot. When there is a fantastic plot, the characters are free to be natural and human. That's what I think, anyway.

[quote="feral botanist"]I have never like movies that were to close to real life. I struggled to be interested in the characters lives.

I always liked movies that were random or where characters find themselves at the mercy of circumstances and are out of control.
I have always felt that these were easier for me to understand.
[quote]

Actually, I don't like plots that are too random (think Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), because it is to scattered to be understandable for me. I like plots with a bit of logic.

The kind of movies I liked as a kid were random. I never thought about relating to characters. I only liked the movements and the stuff in the movie and the items or buildings. In fact I didn't understand movies as a kid but still watched them even though I didn't understand what was going on in the movie or couldn't follow the story or understand the plot. Sometimes I found parts relatable but that was it.

I don't mean totally random, dis-jointed movies.

I mean movies where the circumstances are beyond the characters control; like a waterslide, you have no control over where you are going, you are just along for the ride.

Most action/adventure movies fit this description, but I guess one of the best examples would be The Hangover.

In The Hangover, the characters are constantly reacting to situations that they don't understand and can not guess the other peoples motives.

That is a story to which I can relate.

I like real-life situations in movies sometimes, but most of the time I tend to choose things that are Fantasy, animation, or Science Fiction. I tend to not understand people in shows and movies that are realistic. I don't always understand why characters in realistic fiction works do what they do and I don't always understand their motivations.

That is exactly it. They make decisions that don't make any sense to me.

But he's not supposed to be a human, but I get what you mean about characters seeming a little more natural and not putting on a big social act all the time.

I always identified more with Spock.

I don't understand why anyone needs to feel the need to relate to enjoy something. This seems to be a common human thing so this is another weird thing about me. I don't need to relate to enjoy something.

What I mean by random is I don't go after a specific movie or genre. I can like a science fiction movie but not like other sci fi movies or I can enjoy some horror movies but not like all of them. They have to interest me. Does the story look interesting? I have watched some movies only to find them boring so I turn it off. I also like realistic movies but they have to interest me. I don't go for relatable characters, I go for plot and story.

I have known a few people who preferred things to be realistic so they didn't like lot of movies because stuff that happens in them isn't possible in real life. Lot of people just watch it for entertainment.

I certainly don't like all sci-fi....like Dr. Who for instance, my little brother was into that for a while and I tried to watch a little but couldn't get into it at all. I will give just about anything a chance but if an episode or two doesn't interest me than I usually give up or in the case of a movie I'll usually give it 15 minutes to intrigue me. Of course anything filmed in that terrible first person style gets 5 minutes to knock that crap off or I turn it off, luckily that doesn't seem very common in sci-fi or fantasy. Horror is certainly hit and miss, I'd say the vast majority is just regurgitated crap but there are some I like...also though some sci-fi has scarier concepts than horror movies.

I don't particularly have to identify with a character, but there have to at least be some I like.

I think I'm like some of you in that I gravitate mainly towards movies that have little basis in the real world or subtle relational themes. Those realistic films bore me. So usually sci-fi, dystopian type films, fantasy, Marvel comic-based movies and goofy comedies (like "Dodgeball," where the characters' eccentric traits dominate the plot).

There are a few exceptions. Two my favorites include "October Sky" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." I'm attracted to movies that show otherwise unremarkable people overcoming great odds to achieve their goals. I also really liked "The Truman Show."

I used to always tell my ex-girlfriend if I want real life, I would just live it, not watch it.

I think that the only reason to watch a movie depicting real life is to connect with the characters and experience their life.

I was making an allusion to Kirk's statement that Spock's soul was the most human of all that he had encountered, despite Spock being half Vulcan and adopting a 'logical and beneficial' Vulcan lifestyle.
'Of all the souls I've encountered in my travels, his [Spock's] was the most human.'

I'm more interested in character personalities than I am in plot; if the character seems interesting, quirky, or otherwise unusual to me, I'm likely to enjoy the movie. I don't like films about average people who enjoy average things living average lives though, that's boring for me.

I also don't like movies that are too weird or random, like Alice in Wonderland, What Dreams May Come, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, etc. because the randomness is too confusing for me to keep track of, and it actually makes me anxious that I don't understand what's going on, as if I'm stuck in that movie's universe, with nothing logical or sensible to keep hold of in order to make sense of what's going on around me.

Oh god The Truman Show. I thought it was a strange movie and I also found it upsetting because I didn't like how Truman was treated. He was treated like he was different when in fact it was because he was being used to star in a reality TV show that is all fake and everyone else were actors and he was the only one real. I couldn't imagine finding out as an adult that my whole life was pretend and everyone else was all pretend and I would wonder about my real parents and I would feel my life had been stolen and I had lived in a prison my whole life. The only relatable part was him being treated different. I believe he was normal but he was just randomly selected to star on a TV show and I couldn't imagine giving up my own child to have him be raised by actors. But perhaps his birth mom didn't want him so instead of placing him for adoption, she placed him for a TV show.

I only saw this movie the first time because my parents wanted to see it and I knew nothing about this movie. But I remember in the movie they start screwing up and Truman starts to figure it out like why can't he leave town. Every time he tries, something always happens and then he hits the wall when he is rafting and that is basically the end of the Truman Show because they finally let him leave. Just imagine if one wanted to be an actress and it turns out they have been one the whole time.