Key Insights
- Film Students’ Focus: Many film students struggle to concentrate on movies due to distractions.
- Classroom Challenges: Professors report that students often cannot recall basic plot details from films.
- Media Consumption Shift: The way media is consumed has evolved, affecting attention spans.
- Content Design: Streaming platforms often create content that requires minimal viewer engagement.
More and more, we live in a world built around distraction, and sometimes it’s hard to focus—even on the things we love, like movies. According to a report published by The Atlantic, film students are increasingly struggling to finish the films assigned in class, with multiple professors saying it’s become a genuine problem.
Why Can’t Film Students Sit Through Movies?
“I used to think, If homework is watching a movie, that is the best homework ever,” said University of Wisconsin–Madison film professor Craig Erpelding. “But students will not do it.” Even in classrooms where electronics are officially banned during screenings, he says roughly half the students still end up on their phones.
Another UW–Madison professor, Jeff Smith, added that many students can’t even answer basic questions about the films they’ve supposedly just watched. He recalled asking his class about the ending of François Truffaut’s 1962 film Jules and Jim. More than half chose the wrong answers, claiming the characters hide from the Nazis (it takes place before World War II) or get drunk with Ernest Hemingway (who doesn’t appear in the movie at all).
The students themselves aren’t denying it. Several who spoke with The Atlantic admitted they struggle with slow-paced films. “There were some movies that were extremely slow, and ironically, that was the point of the movie,” one student said. “But I guess impatience made me skip through stuff or watch it at two-times speed.”
Some professors have begun adapting, showing shorter films or splitting longer ones across multiple classes. Others say they haven’t noticed a massive shift, arguing that there have always been students who have struggled with older, slower movies.
What’s Changed?
The way we consume media has changed dramatically. What was once just television has expanded to include tablets, smartphones—hell, even your fridge. Teenagers now spend more time than ever on social media, with an endless supply of stimulation available at the tap of a screen. It’s an entire generation that can’t really imagine a world where that wasn’t the default.
At the same time, much of today’s streaming “content” is deliberately designed so viewers don’t need to pay close attention. Matt Damon recently pointed this out, claiming Netflix encourages filmmakers to include a big action sequence within the first five minutes to hook audiences and to have characters repeat key plot points since they assume viewers will be on their phones for half the movie anyway.
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