Film Students Can't Sit Through Movies
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- Rose Horowitch reported that students taking film classes can't sit through the films, with one professor comparing them to "nicotine addicts going through withdrawal during screenings" who eventually give in and check their phones.
- Modern blockbusters are stretching toward three-hour runtimes, even as young viewers struggle to focus through even a one-hour screening.
- Stephanie Bai curated six acclaimed movies with short runtimes in a 2024 piece arguing to "bring back the 90-minute film."
- Xochitl Gonzalez explored an attention-span class divide, questioning who can actually afford to sit still at the movies.
- Rose Horowitch separately reported in 2024 that elite college students who can't read books often hadn't read books in high school either, extending the attention crisis beyond screens.
- Shirley Li recommended 20 half-hour comedies in 2022 as bingeable alternatives for viewers with short attention spans.
Why it matters: The attention crisis has reached the people who signed up to study cinema—film students can't sit through a screening without reaching for their phones. As blockbusters stretch toward three hours while young viewers can't focus for one, the mismatch is pushing 90-minute films and half-hour TV comedies into the role of practical alternatives for a fragmented audience.
