On Repeat: Why People Watch Movies and Shows Over and Over - The Atlantic

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The glory of old films, memories, and the existential therapy of nostalgia

The millisecond that Dumb and Dumber clicks into focus on the television screen, something magical happens to me. It can be a terrible day, a stressful day, or a sick day, but within seconds of seeing Jim Carrey's bowl cut, I’m 10 years old again. The number of movies I have once memorized is small ( The Lion King , A Few Good Men , and, inexplicably, While You Were Sleeping ), but Dumb and Dumber is perhaps the only one where I have reasonably thought, “I could perform this entire film from start to finish, on my own.” On multiple occasions in college, I think I tried. I’m a creature of repet

On Repeat: Why People Watch Movies and Shows Over and Over - The Atlantic

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