M(54) You can trust me that I have a good memory otherwise, I remember everything I need to and work in an industry that necessitates it. But for some reason the plots of movies and books I genuinely enjoy just slip away and I can’t recall what the story is. I know I like the movie, and it’s one of my favorites but I can’t remember what happens. Does anyone else experience this?
Comments
Please do not delete your post after receiving your answer. Consider leaving it up for posterity so that other Redditors can benefit from the wisdom in this thread.
Once your thread has run its course, instead of deleting it, you can simply type “!lock” (without the quotes) as a comment anywhere in your thread to have our Automod lock the thread. That way you won’t be bothered by anymore replies on it, but people can still read it.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
I’ve had this for as long as I can remember. I can remember a lot of specific things with precision, but plots of movies or tv shows? Not a chance…
I forget movie plots all the time except for the ones I really enjoyed. I can’t tell you how many times I was watching a movie and suddenly realize that I already watched it.
I’ve been hours into an audio book only to realize that I’ve listened to it previously.
I don’t enjoy movie franchises because I don’t recall the characters nor plots from previous movies which are needed to make sense of the latest release.
I can watch a movie and as soon as the credits roll I won’t be able to tell you any of the characters’ names.
Yes. I always remember how books made me feel, but not necessarily what happened.
I’m the same. 59 and never remember a lot of details from movies and books after I’ve seen them. I have friends that recite lines from movies from years ago. I just don’t have that kind of retention skills, yet I run a business, can remember projects and clients from 10 years ago.
All the time. I can remember in detail lots of books I’ve read and films I’ve watched, but others, I can’t remember anything, even stuff I may have read or seen fairly recently. I was going through a series of books about six months back, and when I finally got to the fifth book (which I had to wait for it to be published), I could only vaguely remember what had happened in the previous four 😄
Yep, I’m the same. I’m always stunned when people my age remember the minor details from movies they watched as a kid.
My brain automatically rejects information not worth holding onto. If i watch a film I’ve forgotten most of it by next week.
Same with me. Sometimes I can rewatch a movie and get 75% through before I have a “feeling” that maybe I saw it before. Sometimes earlier, sometimes not at all.
In any case, with a very few exceptions, I can watch a movie that I know I loved, but still have to anticipate what is next, as if the first time. (IMO, it’s great. Every movie is a new one to me….)
Depends on how long ago I watched it. Like for tv shows if it goes years in between seasons then it takes me a while to remember who’s who and what happened etc. For movies sometimes I forget I watched it especially if I wasn’t the one to pick it, then I’ll think I’m watching it for the first time and kind of remember what happens.
Depends on how long ago I watched it. Like for tv shows if it goes years in between seasons then it takes me a while to remember who’s who and what happened etc. For movies sometimes I forget I watched it especially if I wasn’t the one to pick it, then I’ll think I’m watching it for the first time and kind of remember what happens.
I have couched it in short term vs long term memory and I think a lot of movie plots and things fall I between and just are not stored. Lotr is 12 hours long I can recall 8hrs of sub plot.
Welcome to old! Movies and books you vaguely remember as being “good” are suddenly new again! I’ve given up fighting it and decided that it’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
I’ve watched so many movies and television shows. Most of them are sadly mediocre, and I just brain dump them as soon as it’s done. It’s been like this since about 2000. There are a few notable exceptions.
I (32) am the opposite. I can forget where I put my hat I wore yesterday but I cannot reread books or rewatch movies (unless it’s one of those you can rewatch regardless) because somehow I remember 99% of the plot of any book I’ve read or movie I’ve watched. Sometimes it takes a few chapters into a re-read and I’m like…nope I know the ending outcome and lose interest.
entertainment is just that. few books or movies i consume for entertainment will change my life. this is fine and natural.
this also reminds me of a quote by emerson: i can’t remember all the books i’ve read any more than all the meals i’ve eaten, but they have made me just the same.
I’m the opposite. I can remember the plots to TV shows and books from years ago, but I can’t remember what happened in my own life last week. Maybe there’s just not enough bandwidth for both…
For me it’s more that I’ve consumed so many books and movies that there’s a whole middle ground of stuff that wasn’t memorably good or bad that I recall seeing/reading but where I need to really jar my memory to recall detail.
I’ve read a bunch of book series over the years, Harry Hole, Jack Reacher, that level of stuff, and I can’t really recall the specific plots by title, but if someone gave me a summary sentence I would then be able to discuss my general thoughts on the book. Even some authors like SA Crosby, Don Winslow or Jonathan Lethem write similar enough stories every time out that I don’t really think about them individually.
I’d feel the same way about movies, anything with Jason Statham aside from Crank 2 is basically a single concept in my head I’d need a little string to pull on if I’m gonna think about it any further.
Stuff I’ve loved or hated I can always remember
I have this with stories I’ve only read or seen once or twice. Especially if it was unremarkable, like most stories are. Something like the movie “Seven” is easy to remember because the reveal at the end is significant. But the reveal in “Ocean’s Thirteen” isn’t compelling, because it follows the same formula as the two films made before it. I couldn’t tell you exactly how any of those movies go right now. I remember at some point that Julia Roberts plays a character who is said to look like Julia Roberts, because that seemed kind of novel at the time.
On the other hand, I’ve seen Pulp Fiction so many times I could almost recite it word for word.
Yes.
If it has been over a year I will forget. But while I reread or rewatch I will start to remember. It feels like seeing the future. Don’t ask me any characters name though.
It’s the opposite for me, remember useless crap from decades ago but can’t remember what I went to do at the kitchen or wherever.
Our brains have a limited capacity, I think they subconsciously know not to remember stuff that we have for lighthearted background fun, such as a movie. But a song, a song that tied to your first kiss with your wife, or first vacaction, etc, that type of background, fun or enjoyment will be hard written into your brain forever
No.
When it comes to books, games, movies etc I seldom remeber the plot and details like names of characters. I just remember that i liked it or disliked it.
It’s actually the opposite for me. I tend to remember movies and books so well that subsequent viewings/readings are not worth it and boring.
Yes, has always been a thing. With series and videogames too. I’ve noticed you forget media more easily the faster you watch it. If you take your time and consume it throughout many days, it’ll stay longer in your memory. But if for example, you marathon a series and watch it in 1 or 2 days, you’ll forget it easily
Sure! Happens all the time. What were you saying?
My father experienced this. For me, it was a wonderful thing in that he got to experience watching/reading something again for the first time. But the second time he already knew that he’d enjoyed it. I kinda of envy him that.
I sometimes forget the titles of things I’d read or watched. Even forget that I’ve watched/read something. But once it clicks that I’ve read/watched it, the plot is usually clear. Sometimes my mind has edited out portions of the plot that I found boring/uninteresting, but the overall narrative remains.
I used to remember them very easily but as I got older I kept forgetting, I mean, I even forgot names of my coworkers and I can remember stuff very very easily. I have an app with the doctor (again) so I gotta push for more test but it could be stress or age (according to him anyway)
Different people have different levels of remembering media. I can recall the plots of tons of movies and plots that I enjoyed. If I have rewatched a movie plenty of times of course I’ll be able to remember specific moments. Others that I watched only a few times or once, I recall only certain key bits. Book plots I can recall fairly well but sometimes character names slip me after some time. I remember vividly how I felt reading it or if there were interesting things about the writing itself.
It shouldn’t happen much short term. But I think it’s pretty common long term.
I can completely forget plots, and even that I watched a film. It will dawn on me after I’ve invested 30 minutes in it and I realise I wasted my time. It doesn’t even all comes at once, I can only remember the film or show 5/10 minutes ahead of what I’m watching.
Yeah, I’ve read a ton of books over the years. Most of them I can re-read and it’s just like the first time.
Absolutely, these are not things that are personal to you, so I think it’s completely normal not to remember a plot in a movie. I can tell you that I don’t remember plots in movies and sometimes when a new season drops on the streaming services I’ve got to go and watch the last episode of the previous season to bring my brain back up to Where it left off.
Learn to enjoy the ramifications of this. I can watch a movie or TV show a 2nd or 3rd time and essentially it’s like watching it newly again. Recently rewatched Hannibal, for example. Remembered almost nothing, including key plot points.
Yes, people ask me all the time if I saw such n such movie and I’m usually like uhhh I think so? Reference anything in a movie and it means nothing to me. I forget them the next day unless I truly resonate with a character
While it’s probably quite common, you might just want to get your memory assessed formally for peace of mind.
For me it is, because I’m usually smoking weed when I watch a movie
Yep. Many a time I start watching a movie, maybe a minute or two my wife reminds me that we’ve seen it before. At first I didn’t believe her, only to work it out 10 minutes before the credits are rolling. Now I just take her word for it, although not that it would matter, having forgotten it the story would essentially be new to me.
if it’s good I remember