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Your love of movies, do you think it was genetic?

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Your love of movies, do you think it was genetic?

Old 09-24-03, 04:44 AM
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Your love of movies, do you think it was genetic?

I was wondering how many other people feel that they inherited the appreciation for movies they have from their parents.
While my parents may appear like normal, well adjusted folk, I realise they seem to be infected with the same sick obsession for films that runs through my veins. Perhaps it was transmitted, like some genetic defect.

I didn't think much too much of the cinema when I was younger. But looking back I had an awful lot of exposure. My father would often wake me and my brother up a few hours into our bedtime, suddenyl hit with the urge to go to the late show at the downtown theater in Niagara Falls, and wanting to take us along. I would usually fall asleep halfway through the feature, and awake in my bed the next morning, thinking it all could of been a dream. But there would be the half eaten bag of popcorn resting on my nightstand.

My father was the first one in the neighbourhood to get a VCR. One of those five hundred pound monsters. Where the remote control was hooked up to the player by a short wire. He bought a laser disc player early on. I remember when I was about ten and he put on Invasions of the Bodysnatchers and I started complaining about the 'black bars' on the TV. He looked at me as if to say "What are you, stupid?", and with great dramatics explain to me the difference between the 'black bars' and a normal TV picture.

Maybe it was a by-product of marrying my father.But my mother has the greatest tolerence for cinema I've ever seen. I'm certain that she has hated about 60% of every movie she's seen, but for decades now she has faithfully gone along with my father to any foreign, wolfman or kung fu movie. I'm willing to bet she is the only woman in her church group who has sat in theater to see 8 1/2, Evil Dead's Trap, and Romance.

Mom and dad, thanks for setting an example. I think.
Old 09-24-03, 04:48 AM
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My parents were kinda into movies, but not nearly as much as I was and am.
Old 09-24-03, 05:36 AM
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i'm a major movie geek, and my parents are not interested at all. they never rent, nor go to the theater. occasionally they watch films on tv, but it's not too often. my interest for film certainly didn't come from them, that's for sure!
Old 09-24-03, 07:04 AM
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My folks were both into Trek back in the day, but not nearly to the extent I became a Trekkie. I didn't really become a movie fan though until DVD made collecting movies a viable hobby.
Old 09-24-03, 07:10 AM
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No I think my movie geekdom is not part of the parental genetic makeup. My dad could never stay awake during any film (he fell asleep during ID4 in the theatre! Even the sound effects couldn't keep him awake). My mom sees a preview for a film and she'll say "oh that looks good, I can't wait for it to come out on video). I on the other hand would run to the theatre opening weekend and can't even fathom waiting months until it's released on DVD.

Maybe it's a genetic throwback from my grandparents or something but I don't see that being the case either. I'm just strange I guess.
Old 09-24-03, 07:21 AM
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My parents weren't so into movies, but my grandparents were. They had movie posters from the classics up all over the place, like Gone With The Wind, Wizard Of Oz, Casablanca, and many more. They also had a library of videos that numbered somewhere in the thousands, so they encouraged me to watch them, which I did as often as I could. They would always give me the history behind whatever movie I watched with them which led to my love and appreciation of film today.
Old 09-24-03, 08:44 AM
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I like movies, my parents hate them.

It's definitely not genetic.
Old 09-24-03, 08:53 AM
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i am a geek as well, but my parents think I am some what of a movie snob because I make my decisions based soly on forum reviews and reviews in general. (they complained that i didn't want to see "bringing down the house")
Old 09-24-03, 09:34 AM
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I watch Empire Of The Sun for teh strong acting, powerful story etc.
My dad just likes to watch the planes.

I don't think it's genetic. If you have tastes that reflect your parents', I'm sure it's acquired through experience rather than nature.
Old 09-24-03, 12:04 PM
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definitely not in my case, my parents watch movies but aren't obsessed with them, they certainly never buy movies, or typically watch movies more than once
Old 09-24-03, 12:56 PM
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Not genetic, but I would say that part of my love for movies was passed on from my father - who just may have loved them even more.
Old 09-24-03, 02:11 PM
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I would say a mixture of both. My parents are big "going to the movies" people, they go to see a movie atleast once a week. I can't blame them their children are grown and out of the house. But they always took my brother and I to the movies. My earliest memory is going to see Return of the Jedi with them, and I would say that started it all for myself and movies.

I guess I should be thankful they were understanding about my obsession with movies, during high school I would constantly take over the TV and make them watch whatever film I had recently read about and had to see. I still can't convince my my mom that fullscreen isn't "more picture" as she would say.
Old 09-24-03, 03:30 PM
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No. Love of movies is not genetic. My dad hated watching movies. He fall asleep in most movies he watched. He once said the movies are all fiction and make-believe, so what's so interesting about it? I, on the other hand, love watching movies. So love of movies is definitely not genetic.
Old 09-24-03, 04:03 PM
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None of my parents love movie. My dad even thought that movie is a pure bs. Definitely not genetic.
Old 09-24-03, 04:43 PM
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My father was a big influence on me. He's always loved movies and from as far back as I could remember, he would sit me down in front of the TV and we would watch films together, with him explaining who the actors were, etc. From a young age, I got good doses of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Bros., Abbott and Costello, the Universal monsters and other horror and sci-fi classics (this was pre-VCR so we had to depend on TV broadcasts). Now we both have huge video collections. So he was definitely an influence (also he never watched sports on TV, only movies, and now I'm the same way).
Old 09-24-03, 04:48 PM
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I often wonder where I got my obsession with movies. My parents will rent a video now and then, but they aren't really into watching movies like I am. Heck, I can probably count the number of movies they've seen in the theater over the past 20 years on one hand.

My brother is really into movies too. strange. Sometimes I feel bad for my parents 'cause they're missing out.
Old 09-24-03, 05:18 PM
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Here's something weird:

My dad doesn't really watch movies that often. He doesn't know that many big stars or what's popular, but he owns and operates a video store. He started it in the 1980s when VHS was taking off. It was a good investment at the time. He's kept it running all these years because he knows business, not movies.

But that's where my love of movies cames from. He used to bring home boxes and boxes of movies that we had too many copies of in the store. We also used to get tons of screeners (mostly crappy B movies, but I watched them all nonetheless). When I was young, I used to sneak R rated movies and watch them.

I honestly don't know if I would have the same appreciation for movies now if my dad hadn't owned a video store.
Old 09-24-03, 11:45 PM
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I like movies a whole lot. My parents don't. Its almost like a form of rebellion. They rave about Pirates of the Caribbean I rave about the Royal Tenenbaums. 2 different worlds.
Old 09-25-03, 12:21 AM
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My parents like sucky movies.
Old 09-25-03, 12:55 AM
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Genetic?? No, I don't think so. But if we are talking about influence here, then I will give a nod.

My parents introduced movies to me and all my sisters/brother. They accompanied us to go to cinema, bought us a VCR, accompanied us to hunt for videos and opened a rental account for us. Going to the cinema was the favorite recreational activity for my family.

It was then. Now, my parents have lost it a bit. My dad once rejected my idea to go to cinema by saying he was too old and too tired for that. My mom is another case. She never rejects, but she will sleep halfway through all the kind of movies, except for dramas. I guess my parents are just too busy taking care of the family, they prefer staying at home and watching movies from television.

As for the children, we are all grown up loving movies, but I'm convinced I am the particular one. And though recently we have a very limited time to spend together, I believe movies are still a kind of thing that bring fun into my family .. in some ways.
Old 09-28-03, 10:27 AM
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No way. I think if anything I've influenced them (my mom much more than my dad -- she now has a 5.1 HT widescreen setup). One Christmas I just started buying them DVDs -- before either one of them had a DVD player. It was a not-so-subtle hint.

My mom took the plunge and loves it.
Old 09-28-03, 11:02 AM
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Dad only likes to watch the Star Wars flicks every now and then, mom doesn't like movies at all. Definitely not genetic.
Old 09-28-03, 11:55 AM
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I think I am the only one obsessed with movies..not really obsessed..but if I can watch a movie I certainly will. My true obsession is music, followed by anime though that sort of ties into movies, followed by video games, but then again, the games are play are pretty much like movies...

So...I do love movies...

In one year I have bought 25 movies, and I keep looking for stuff I loved on VHS and rentals and theatres and great anime and foreign films to get.

My father absolutely LOVES movies, but not all movies, mostly old movies and action movies, hates movies in any other language that's not English, can't read subtitles, and doesn't really like anything that's not possible in the real world..I often laugh at how little of an imagination he has..though he does like some movies like Superman and Star Wars...in fact...my first superman movie was SuperMan 2 on TV, and my first Star Wars was Star Wars VI, and when I told him, he made a priority that day of buying me Superman [original] and the trilogy on VHS...the only other movies he has ever bought me were Lion King and Aladdin..and my first anime [Slayers - Volume 1]

My mother also loves movies, but I am so thankful for her being here. She loves watching foreign movies, anime, sci fi, action movies, but also loves dramas and more serious stuff too..we throw movies around to each other, and in the end we both enjoy lots of the same things. We both had a good time making fun of Star Wars Episode 2 [which we expected much better from, as Star Wars Episode 1 was sort of fun, and the last three we watched together just me and her several times]

Sarah, my sweetie, also loves movies, pretty much every movie I like, she's the one I can watch all anime and all cartoons with [like Anastasia, Lion KIng, Little Mermaid, etc], and we can watch good sci fi or action movies too..but she hates movies with a sad ending or movies that are too bloody..and quite honestly..I do too..

So I guess it is "genetics" or spiritual alignment or something, but movies are sure fun for us..

The only thing they seem to hate is actually buying DVD's...they'll gladly rent with HV or BB coupons, or get the free movies on Icontrol [HBO on Demand] , or download a few on USENET...but it's taken me time to make them realize how great DVD is ..they're getting there though, I was surprised one day when my mother came home with Blue Seed Perfect Collection and Spirited Away....that was like wow! made my heart shine so much!!

Music is my true love though, in very little time I have bought over 60 CD's, many imported for game and anime and Jpop, and tons of great Spanish stuff, and probably some of the only good English stuff like Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, U2, and the Christian music I like too..I'll download new mp3's every day, buy about one or two albums per month, and just love music in a whole..I'm even studying music in college, and drama too...

Oh, talking about this kind of stuff really does make me feel warm and happy

Finally, a topic in which I can freely talk about love!!
Old 09-28-03, 05:50 PM
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in my family... yes.

my mom loves to watch movies... but she doesn't know anything about anything

my dad... he loves movies (just like every other person here in this forum)
he introduced me with Charles Bronson, Eastwood, euro horrors, roger corman horrors,... all the way to Connery's Bond 007
& he doesn't know english (we're not born here in US).... but he still loves Bronson & Eastwood with all of his heart.... cool!

he also intorduced me with Beatles, abba, the Carpenters, & such...



Last edited by BlackBeauty92; 09-28-03 at 05:52 PM.
Old 09-28-03, 06:11 PM
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Genetic? Probably not, but I definitely inherited my taste in movies from my father.

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