On Solo Film-Viewing

I'm not a loner.
At least, I make the most sincere effort not to be; however, I have to give a recommendation to anyone who enjoys movies: try watching them alone. What? "Movies are supposed to be a social event, something you do with friends". Sure, you can use movies as social events, but I'd like to make the point that this is probably the worst thing you can do when you want to hang out with people: sit in a large, dark room while following a story on the screen (if that's the kind of movie you're at, that is). Not only does each person in a group have a different perspective on the film, each person afterwards feels obligated to validate the choice of movie-going by saying how they liked or disliked it, with whatever opinion comes first typically being the eventual consensus because, after all, you're not there to enjoy a movie, you're there to enjoy each other's company.
Those who know me, know that I frequently go to movies alone. This, of course, is not to insult anyone or to establish that I am in fact an individual (I have enough evidence of that already). The reason for solo movie-going is to gauge the movie's merits myself, independent of any other opinions of those people I may have some obligation to agree with on some level. Recently, I saw "Stranger Than Fiction" (which I recommend on the basis of having very interesting perspectives on the value of one's life, death, and just basic morality itself), and I know that if I had seen it with anyone I know, I would definitely not have enjoyed it nearly as much. I will admit a primary reason for this is that I care what others think of me, because it's usually me who chooses the movie, thus the evaluation of the movie is also an evaluation of me as a movie-chooser.
"What about sharing the experience with others?" Rent. You can fast forward, rewind, pause, whatever the situation requires. In fact, if you rent, I believe you'll enjoy the movie more because you will see it in a comfortable environment, and you can actually see the people around you. Awkwardness doesn't go away for me, unfortunately, but at least people have the option of talking without ruining the experience of unknown persons, and in fact more opportunity is given to "constructively review" the movie as you're watching (often in the form of jovial commentary, of course).
All in all, don't take my word for it, as I'm not always the exemplar for normal. Try it with some movie that you think you would enjoy, but are unsure if anyone else would have as good a time as you would. For anyone who thinks that I'm just taking too much time to speak on a completely irrelevant issue, a) you're the one who's read this, and b) really, there are more irrelevant things in the world.
Oh yeah, anyone wanna go to a movie?