The best movie genre to stuff your face to, according to science
I have very strong opinions on cinema snacking. I’m just going to say it – I think popcorn is too loud a snack to eat while watching a movie in the cinema. Don’t even get me started on eating a loaded hot dog or a cardboard tray of cheesy nachos.
Really, all you need is a quiet bag of chocolate with limited rustling. I don’t want to hear you loudly chewing or popping open a bag of crisps and rummaging around with your hands; just be quiet and watch the film. I might sound like a misery guts – I promise I’m not – I just think some snacks cause a distraction, whether that be sonically or aromatically, and it’s about time someone brought it up. How did popcorn become a default cinema snack?
I’ll never forget going to watch A Quiet Place in the cinema, leaving with my bag of Skittles still full. It was just too quiet to eat, and if anyone thought it was OK to munch on popcorn during a film like that, then they’ve got no cinema etiquette. Plain and simple.
But if you do insist on eating while you’re in the cinema, a super loud film is probably the best kind to snack along to. Funnily enough, it has been scientifically proven that you’re more likely to eat more while watching an action movie, taken in by the epic explosions and car chases – you won’t even realise that you’ve reached back into the popcorn.
Or perhaps it’s because so many action movies these days are so formulaic and underwhelming that you’re never fully engrossed enough not to think about snacking. I find that the desire to pick at my bag of snacks is most prevalent when there’s a less interesting moment on screen – so, I guess make of that what you will in terms of what that says about action movies.
Cornell University’s Aner Tal’s findings align with the former, however, stating, “We find that if you’re watching an action movie while snacking, your mouth will see more action too. In other words, the more distracting the program is, the more you will eat.” Apparently, you are more likely to eat twice as much compared to if you were watching another genre, which is quite a staggering amount.
He continued, “More stimulating programs that are fast-paced, include many camera cuts, really draw you in and distract you from what you are eating. They can make you eat more because you’re paying less attention to how much you are putting in your mouth.”
So, I guess if you’re all caught up in the thrill of a dramatic action scene, you’re not even going to notice that you’ve reached your hand into the popcorn bucket. If you’re going to snack during anything, you’ve got to admit that something like an action movie is probably the least distracting for your fellow cinema-goers.
Whatever you do, don’t opt for a smelly cheese-soaked nacho platter if you’re going to watch an Ingmar Bergman re-run; save that for the latest Michael Bay.
