Film students struggle to watch an entire film

In the United States, a phenomenon is worrying film studies professors: their students are no longer able to watch a film to the end. The Atlantic reports this observation based on about twenty accounts from academics.

Revealing figures

At Indiana University, professors can monitor their students' activity on the campus streaming platform. Data shows that fewer than 50% start the film and only 20% watch it all the way through. At the University of Wisconsin, a quiz on François Truffaut's film Jules and Jim revealed that more than half of the students got the ending wrong, claiming, for example, that the characters were hiding from the Nazis or meeting Hemingway.

A generational and societal problem

Despite the ban on electronic devices during screenings, half the students check their phones. Some professors compare their students to smokers in withdrawal. The phenomenon has worsened since the pandemic.

Teachers attribute this difficulty to changing media habits rather than to the students themselves. These young adults have grown up with infinite scrolling and spend about five hours a day on social media. One study reveals that computer users switch tabs every 47 seconds, compared to once every two and a half minutes in 2004.

To learn more, see the full article on Courrier International.

Source: Even film students can no longer watch a movie to the end

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