To read something on the screen? I notice doing this especially in an older movie, where there is a newspaper large enough. I'll pause, and make out the headlines, etc... Sometimes I'll do the same if it's in a big city, 1950s, to read the movie title on the marquee, and just signs in general - wondering what they sold, if some companies are around today, etc..
shareSometimes curiosity strikes when watching something set in the past ("That 70s Show" or "Young Sheldon"), and pause the scene to look carefully at the rooms and random objects shown in the background, with a particular fascination with what's displayed on the bookshelves for some reason, even if it offers no further insight into the personality of the characters.
Once noticed in an episode of "Star Trek: The Original Series" that Captain Kirk's personal quarters, where he has a bed and a nearby computer monitor, he has a small handful of physical books. Two of them were Carl Sagan's "Contact" and "Masterpieces of Drama."
Glad to see I'm not the only one who pauses when watching things in private.
~~/o/
'Contact!'
That's an awesome little detail right there👍
I read Cosmos and couldn't put it down
Sagan was a master teacher...that guy was awesome
I need to read the man's material. He seems like an incredibly well-respected professional. Haven't come across a bad thing about him other than some info suggesting he was quite a free-spirit in his private life, enjoying recreational drug use without concern of judgment by others. I take that as having some personal backbone.
He did a lot of cooperation with PBS, helping give people quality free TV content, exposing everyone to the wonders of science, as you express in your post.
In a recent episode of "Young Sheldon", when the title character finally has some confidence after gaining the respect of a bully, widening his social circle (though temporary), as he's passing through the hallway and all the other kids make way for him, the boy remarks to himself with a smug look on his face, "This must of been how Carl Sagan felt walking the halls of PBS headquarters."
~~/o/
Never saw Young Sheldon but it sounds funny
Yep, I bet Sagan felt like a boss wherever he went
That dude was cool for a 'nerd!' lol
Yes, frequently
Historical signage and newspaper headlines are of great interest to me
I also like the shop signs...gasoline $1.09 per gallon and Cigarettes for a buck!?!
Advertising was also way cooler way back when...visually more pleasant to look at imo
I do the same thing with gas prices. Other prices, too.
shareI guess it's all subjective
When I was much younger I thought everything was too expensive
I feel the same now:/
What's the lowest price per gallon you remember paying for gas? Mine is 22.9₵ Gas wars, doncha know. But for the most part, when I started driving it was around 25₵. Dang, you could drive for hours on a couple of dollars worth! By the time I was in my 20s I recall it being around 50₵ or so.
shareI can't recall
I got my learner's permit (And my '67 Mustang!) when I was 15
That was in 88...so probably about a buck and a quarter a gallon or thereabouts
I do this! I know some folks do it to look for goofs - 'this' happened 2 years after the time when this story takes place, but I don't care - it's not that important. But I'm curious to see if it looks like an actual newspaper or possibly a mock-up. As Shogie mentioned already, I like to note prices on gas, food, etc.
shareAbsolutely! I've done that with Simpsons, Futurama, and Bobs Burgers as well, to catch background references, signs, store names, etc.
shareI did this once on a "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" episode. If you haven't watched this series, (it's the fun 90s one, not that crappy horror-fest from Netflix), you might not understand what I'm gonna tell below:
Sabrina's best friend, Valerie, was Editor of the school newspaper in Season 2. However, Valerie is an extremely shy girl and lets people walk all over her. This caused her to make a very lousy deal with Libby, the bitchy Queen Bee of the school, to temporarily be Editor of the school newspaper for a week, in exchange for "helping" Valerie to ask a cute guy out. As you can expect, Libby didn't quite fulfill her end of the deal, and was a total jerk that week about what would be printed in the paper. She got rid of an article Sabrina wrote, mainly because Sabrina wrote it, but also because she claimed it was "offensive to cheerleaders." (Sound familiar, guys? They had this snowflake crapola going on even in the 90s! Just on a smaller scale!)
So Sabrina got back at Libby by offering to take the final prints to the copier instead of one of the helper students, and she magically changed the way the front page was set up. Instead of a picture glorifying how great Libby was as a cheerleader, it showed her in a pie-eating contest and getting all messy. (Turns out she doesn't like pie). Then Sabrina switched out the article Libby had written and put her own "censored" article in there.
One time, I was curious as to what the articles said, so I paused the tv at least twice to see what Libby wrote, vs. what Sabrina wrote. Libby's article was basically a lame gush-fest about everything she had worn that week. Sabrina's article was about the real reason students attended Westbridge High, in order to learn new things, meet new people, and make a difference. She also complained about how preferential treatment was given to jocks and cheerleaders ahead of all the other students. So you can guess who wrote the better article.
Sadly, despite having a magical advantage, Sabrina got into serious trouble for sabotaging Libby.
I forgot to mention prices -- especially gas, which usually have a big sign on the corner for the viewer to see, but also inside the store. I'll use the inflation calculator to compare, just like I do when I hear about a guy getting $10 a day for labor.
shareYes!
Do you ever pause a film to read the film’s wikipedia page to see where the film is going before deciding if it is worth watching to the end?
all the time especially to read a letter or a sign.
share