I watch a lot of stuff at home. Usually, it is just me and the family or just me. Watching something like this is nice, however, watching something with an audience can enhance your experience (and sometimes do the opposite).

Here’s an example. I have watched the Three Stooges on TV, VHS, and DVD hundreds of times. They always make me laugh. The first time I went to a Three Stooges Festival and watched them on the big screen something was different. I was surrounded with fellow Stooge fans who were laughing just as hard as I was. It made the evening even better.

When I surf YouTube for music videos for my blog, there are always suggested videos off to the side. A lot of it is amateur content that I blow off. This week, however, the preview picture caught my eye. It was a woman wearing headphones with her hand up to her mouth and eyes wide open. She could have easily been place in the above picture.

I was told that this is called a “reaction” video. The creator watches something (or listens to something) for the first time and records the reaction. This woman was watching the Godfather for the first time. I was intrigued. Now, the video is edited down, so you don’t see the whole movie. I think her video was 45 minutes with the film playing in the lower corner.

SPOILERS:

I have watched the Godfather countless times, but watching this gal (probably about 35 years old) see it for the first time was interesting. To see her gasp in disbelief at the horse’s head, and when Sonny get’s shot was crazy. She seemed to be reacting to the movie just as I did. I was in awe of the transformation of Michael Corleone, and she was commenting about his change as the movie played.

After the movie, she commented about it and talked about what a great film it was. She talked about cinematography, and character development and how it deserved to be the third best movie of all time (on whatever list she had). She then stated she needed to watch Godfather Part II.

Her video for that was about an hour, and there were much more reactions to that film. Yes, she was still watching in disbelief as some of the things fell into play. The thing that got me was when she cried at a couple of the scenes. Watching Vito’s mom get shot, and Fredo’s death were two of the scenes that stood out. After the latter, she had to pause the movie and compose herself.

This gal has many other films that she has reacted to. Some comedies, some dramas. I’m not sure that I will make it a point to watch them, but I may. It really was interesting to watch it through someone else’s eyes.

I think if I was going to watch more “reaction” videos, it would be someone reacting to music. I mean, isn’t that like saying to someone, “You’ve got to hear this!” then watching them love it or hate it? I think about playing the Beatles or Elvis to someone who has never heard them before.

Have you ever watched any of these types of videos? What are your thoughts.