Have you ever wondered what movies Wellesley students enjoy or how they enjoy them?
I conducted a survey of current Wellesley students to investigate these questions. In total, I received 122 responses to my survey! Of those 122 people, 94 of them were not CAMS majors/minors (prospective or declared) or part of the film society.
General Behavior:
- 77.87% of Wellesley students surveyed spend $0-25 per month on film-related entertainment
- For 79.51% of respondents, the most common way to watch movies is on a device (laptop, phone, tablet)
- On average, students watched a film in theaters between 3 and 6 months ago
- Participants most commonly watch movies alone (55.74%) but would most commonly prefer to watch with friends (46.72%)
- Students most commonly watch movies less than once a week and consume 1-5 movies in a month.
Wellesley Screenings:
- 70.49% of students surveyed have attended a film screening at Wellesley
There was a large variety of locations where the screenings were held and of who hosted them. The graphs below show who hosted the screenings respondents attended and where they were located. I was surprised that Collins Cinema was not the top response by a larger margin, but the pandemic may have contributed to higher zoom/virtual and dorm numbers. Where have you attended a film screening at Wellesley? Who hosted it?
- When asked whether they would attend a film screening at Wellesley in the future, the most common response was probably yes, followed by might or might not, and then definitely yes
- Only 13.94% of respondents would definitely not or probably not attend a screening at Wellesley in the future
Students were also asked why they would or would not attend a screening in the future, here are some of their responses:
YES:
“I think it is fun to watch films in a public setting with those that share a common interest for film.”
“I love having access to films and a community surrounding them”
“I love the vibe and they’re free! But only if it’s a movie I am especially interested in”
NO:
“Graduating :(”
“COVID concerns”
“I like watching movies with a couple of friends and being able to talk while watching (ask each other questions, make comments, etc) and you can’t really do that in a large group event. “
Cinephilia:
What is Cinephilia? A cinephile can be defined as “a devotee of motion pictures” or someone who enjoys and is knowledgeable about films. Only 25.41% of people surveyed consider themselves cinephiles. 50% do not and 24.59% were unsure. To evaluate how students interpret and react to the concept of cinephilia I asked why or why not would they consider themselves cinephiles. Here are some of their responses:
Cinephile:
“[I] get really into cinematic universes and obscure/experimental films”
“Not only do I look forward to upcoming movies and movie news, I like analyzing the movies to talk about it’s meaning within the context of the film itself or in a broader scope/its context”
“It’s such a fixed point in my life, I couldn’t live without it.”
Not a Cinephile:
“I am not very knowledgeable about films and film culture despite enjoying them”
“I like movies, but it’s not that extreme”
“I have a short attention span and I get bored/under-stimulated very easily”
“Although there are some movies I enjoy analyzing, the majority of the movies I watch are for mindless fun”
Maybe?:
“I really like movies but I feel like the title cinephile is pretentious”
“I feel that, although I watch many movies, my taste may not be up to the standard that many cinephiles present”
“Cinephilia has a very elitist and pompous air to it that I don’t identify with”
Genres:
What genres are the most popular with Wellesley College students? I had my respondents rank 13 common genres of film from their most to least favorite. The info-graphic below orders the genres by their mean rank. Comedy is the most favorite genre and Western is the least! How would you rank them?
Film Society and CAMS vs Everyone Else:
One of the basic questions I asked on my survey was whether the respondent fit into one or more of these categories: 1.) A CAMS major/minor 2.) A prospective CAMS major or minor 3.) A member of the film society. There was also an option available for none of the above. I asked this question because I wanted to see if there was a significant difference in the responses for people who are part of these categories vs. the general Wellesley population. I will be abbreviating this group as FS/CAMS for ease of understanding.
Differences:
- 34.5% of FS/CAMS students have watched a movie in theaters in the last week, compared to only 7.4% of non-FS/CAMS students
- 41.4% of FS/CAMS students use letterboxd, “the social network for film lovers,” but only 4.2% of non-FS/CAMS use it
- The biggest difference was in considering themselves cinephiles. 58.6% of FS/CAMS students consider themselves cinephiles, while only 14.7% of others do
- Why is this? It is more likely that people who enjoy films and talking about them would decide to be CAMS majors/minors or join the film society.
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A perfect ending note to this survey summary is what one CAMS major had to say about why they consider themselves a cinephile:
“Because I’m OBSESSED with film, I watch a bunch of films and I try to experience as many genres/styles/eras/etc. as humanly possible. I want to see every movie. I want to analyze every movie. I’m majoring in CAMS because I want to have a thorough knowledge of cinema and write/analyze/discuss them forever for the rest of my life”