I rewatch the Harry Potter films almost every two years.
During this Christmas break, my family and I started to watch them again. I still don’t like the plot where Ginny and Harry become a couple. I don’t see the chemistry. It was all sudden. And the character Ginny barely showed other facial expression than Poker Face. (Might be a bit harsh to say so. But I can’t find a way to describe it otherwise…)
But this time I realised how the films intended to portray Ginny as a very strong woman and a powerful witch. That was quite satisfying to see.
Anyway… enough with my latest HP film thoughts…
I was wondering, why is it that I like to watch something again and again?
I used to do that very often with films I like. Not to mention I’ve watched Friends for what feels like millions of times.
Isn’t that just wasting time? What’s the point of doing such things?
Yes, it is relaxing to watch familiar things. You know roughly what’s going to happen. So there won’t be surprises. There’s only the satisfaction to be able to “foresee” things.
But there’s also the thrill in case we find any detail that we missed the previous times when we watched it.
And, we might come to some new understanding about certain plot and characters with each new watching time.
We are not who we were when we first watched them.
We watch the old stuff again and again because we feel connect to them. We feel connected to our old selves.
We revisit them, remember them. Remembering who we were, and reflecting on who we are today.
Rewatching films like the Harry Potter series and the Star Wars series is less than an entertainment, but a ritual. Especially for those of us who watched them in our childhood.
Resonating much with us, these characters shaped who we are in the first place, in the time when our own world view was built. The experience of watching these popular films as a shared experience with others around the world, across generations, is how we bound with others, and feel belonged.
Revisiting the films as a form of strengthening connections with our younger selves and with others around us, is by no means a simple “waste of time”.
Clear Word Drops 