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Psychologist explains what the seat you choose in a theater reveals about your personality

9 Comments
By Casey Baseel

There are a couple things that make going to the movies in Japan different from in the U.S. First and foremost there’s the price. General admission at just about every first-run theater in the country is a whopping 1,800 yen ($18.40).

Helping to take a little bit of the sting out of that, though, is the fact is that in some theaters, all seats are reserved. There are two advantages to this system. First, you never have to deal with the annoyance of one guy, sitting by himself, who’s saving the dozen prime seats next to himself for his friends, who will totally be here any minute.

Secondly, the seat a person uses can reveal things that give you a glimpse into their personality.

Recently, psychologist Hiromi Mizuki shared her theories regarding how the workings of a person’s heart and mind affect their choice of seat when going to the movies. Mizuki breaks the screening room down into the six sections shown at the end of the story. We’ve summarized her thoughts.

Section A: Center of the theatre, screen directly in front

Mizuki’s analysis: As the screen is easiest to see from this location, people who choose these seats are confident and decisive. Lending evidence to this theory is that since these seats are traditionally considered to be the best available, grabbing one means getting to the theater early or reserving your tickets online ahead of time, both of which show a certain amount of vision and planning skill. This kind of person goes after the things he wants in life directly, and likes to be directly involved with important situations.

Our take: These people have weird taste in movies, and often end up watching films where there aren’t enough paying customers to take up every seat in the most desirable section.

Section B: Back of the theater, screen directly in front

Mizuki’s analysis: As these seats provide a wide view of the entire theater, people who find a sense of security in being well-informed tend to congregate here. Even if the people around them are getting caught up in the moment, people in Section B feel it’s important to remain calm and objective. However, they are also somewhat timid and afraid of being influenced by others, so they subconsciously remove themselves from the center of the action.

Our take: These moviegoers are single, and sitting in the back of the room gives them a great vantage point for scoping out any attractive members of the opposite sex they want to hit on in the lobby after the movie ends.

Section C: Front rows, screen directly in front

Mizuki’s analysis: Because these seats fill your whole field of vision with the screen, people who choose these seats have a desire to be constantly connected with others. They like lively events and take pleasure in being around other sociable people. If their friends ask them for help, they’ll do whatever they can. In general, they tend to be understanding and forgiving of others.

Our take: People sitting here got to the theater late, and all of the seats in Sections A and B were already taken. Must try harder.

Section D: Middle rows, off-center

Mizuki’s analysis: People in these sections can maintain a moderate distance from the screen and are often near the empty space of the exit walkways, which gives them the buffer zone of personal space that they crave. When making friends, they gravitate toward people whom they can feel relaxed and comfortable around.

Our take: Theaters in Japan serve draft beer, and more high-end multiplexes even offer wine and hard liquor. With Hollywood blockbusters often clocking in at around three hours in length, though, you might need to make a toilet run before the third act climax starts. If you’re the kind of person who likes a stiff drink to get fired up while watching your action films (or to drown your sorrows after Bambi’s mom dies), Section D is where you want to be.

Section E: Back corners

Mizuki’s analysis: These are the seats where you’ll be least noticed by other people in the theater. Moviegoers drawn to these seats want to know everything that’s going on, but don’t have the self-confidence to take on the extra responsibilities that come with being directly involved.

Our take: Starting from the same observation that these seats will most leave you out of prying eyes of others, we arrived at a more life-affirming conclusion: People in these seats don’t care about the movie, because they just came to have a dark place to make out in. The rascals.

Section F: Front corners

Mizuki’s analysis: These seats offer the worst view of the screen, even though they’re the same price as any others in the theatre. People who choose to sit in this section simply accept being inconvenienced, and the people they deal with in their daily lives may take advantage of their weakness.

Our take: Our first instinct was to assume they all snuck in after the movie started, but theater-hopping is pretty rare in relatively scrupulous Japan. We’re guessing that people in Section F want out of their romantic relationships, but lacking guts to come right out and dump their partners, are trying to provoke a fight that will lead to a breakup by sitting in the seats most likely to cause an irritating and painful neck cramp.

Sources: Naver Matome, hitome.bo

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Eight Great Tips for Getting a Seat on Japan’s Crowded Trains -- Panty-Faced Superhero Gets Tough on Obnoxious Moviegoers in Pre-Movie Ad -- Experience space travel on the Star Fighter Day Bus Tour

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9 Comments
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Welp, I'm a section D kinda guy, and I have to say Mizuki's analysis is pretty accurate, for me at least. I feel more comfortable sitting on the right hand side to the left though. I'd always assumed I sat in this section out of habit, because in my room, my viewing angle of the TV is off centre as well, but I suppose that subconsciously I could be seeking a little privacy. Those areas usually are kind of empty, and I don't like people getting too close to me. I usually see a movie 2-3 weeks after it launches as well, so that there's a much smaller audience. When AVPR (Alien Vs Predator Requiem FYI) came out, it was just me and some shady guy in the theatre. I'm pretty sure he had a camcorder, and I sat middle left. The more I think about it, the more Mizuki's analysis seems accurate.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

The article is so full of malarkey i couldn't go through it . Most theaters are so empty that seats are open everywhere . I can't imagine anyone not sitting center row G or F seat 15 where you will always find me.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Psychologist explains what the seat you choose in a theater reveals about your personality

Read: one psychologist guesses what your choice of cinema seat might say about your personality

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Kudos to Mr. Stern and Get Real ! ! !

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I agree with Get and Jack. A lot of pop psychology and wishful thinking, not a scientific analysis. Article author's "our take" comments are actually more insightful and make the otherwise dull article good.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

So based on this rubbish what would it be for those who don't even go to the theatre?

Socially inept or perhaps they prefer to watch from home, what a lot of garbage, and perhaps if this psyc had a decent practise they wouldn't be writing lame articles.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Two thirds back and centre. The same position where the sound test guy sits when he's testing the sound.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

if you ask me, short-sighted people tend to seat in the front and long-sighted people in the back, regardless whether they're shy or go-getters XDDDD

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I don't know about these so called experts or psychologists but i like the middle seats because i get a good view of the screen and don't get blasted in the ear by the sound system. I like to enjoy the movies i go see

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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