Cannot follow the plot?

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Whenever I watch movies, I sometimes miss the plot, especially if it contains a lot of social interaction and speech: Is this an Asperger thing, having something to do with our difficulty following verbal stuff?

I have the same problem. It seems I don't process the right details that are important to the plot. My mind wanders and I get distracted by less relevant things. I also sometimes even have trouble understanding the words due to auditory processing disorder.

There are some movies that aren't meant to be perfectly understood on the first watch. They have to bring in plot information subtly because dialog that blatantly explains the plot would sound corny and unrealistic. Then some movies are hard to follow because they're just bad. Getting it just right is an art form. It is a problem with translating books into movies because film generally doesn't have a narrator describing what's going on so everything has to come from dialog.

Last edited by marshall on 10 May 2013, 8:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I'm more the opposite. I tend to follow films better than most, and often have a good idea of what will happen next in films and television programmes. I tend to get films the first time that other people say you need to watch more than once to get. On the other hand that does sound like my Dad (not an aspie).

I'm pretty sure it's an Aspie thing. I have to watch the same movie over and over to be able to follow the plot. Documentaries are easier, actually I have no problems at all in following them. I think it is this imagined reality in drama that makes them difficult for me to understand, notwithstanding that I live in a fantasy world of my own.

Same here. I get hung up on visual details and miss important plot developments.

No.

This is more lousy writing and the demands of fitting things into a 2 hour (or less) script. Most major movies are so scripted (with notable exceptions) that plots suffer. Add to that the longstanding tradition of leaving much explanation to the end, and it's hard to follow many movies.

My biggest problem with movies (after not understanding the dialogue at all because I am hearing impaired) is recognizing who is who.

Movies are boring, so I don't pay attention, so I don't follow the plot, so I don't watch movies anymore.

I can follow the plot in movies pretty easily. (Then again, I have high-functioning autism, so that might not be helpful.)

As for books and webcomics, I practically remember every detail. Heck, once I remembered that a certain minor character that some other character was discussing/recalling was in some main characters dream seven chapters prior in one webcomic. My mother had no idea what I was talking about, so I went through the comics and showed her where said minor character was mentioned before, and my mom said, "How the heck do you remember this stuff?"

You don't have to be hearing impaired to not hear dialogue correctly. If you can't easily filter speech from background noise due to impaired auditory processing words can sound like gobbledeegook even if your hearing is perfect.

Same here, but also the same as the OP. Especially if they are historical movies, as I find those movies extremely complicated and convoluted.

That's why I love sequels because I am already familiar with the characters and it gives me one big factor less to have to untangle.

I have the same problem with dialogue-driven films and television programmes, especially in political storylines (and I used to work in politics!). I also confuse characters (especially male characters), which doesn't help. I don't really have a problem at all (except with the confusing of characters) with subtitled films, though, which is probably why my favourite dramas are non-English language films.

I'm OK with plot development, but guess what's coming up next is strange for me. I have a hard time getting that right. Most others around me seem to know what's coming next.

I can follow plots in movies...

...but only in old movies.

Modern cinema and modern movies on TV just confuse me!
You have music all the time, too much action/too much drama, barely any breaks, even when there is a conversation there is background music and when they talk it is as if they whisper. I really cannot enjoy that a lot. Sound effects are overly loud, music too, but they talk in such a low volume... it's such a big contrast that it almost hurts my ears, especially if it's on TV because I have to increase volume to be even able to follow and focus on the conversations and suddenly there is a bang (or they just put down an object, e.g. a cup or break something or they just start to shout which is of course ridiculously loud) and the next second you feel like you're deaf - it is just annoying so I just gave up increasing volume during conversations and try to focus on them the old fashioned way. This makes me miss quite some plot so I have to rewatch the movie or the scene. Modern movies are exhausting and a lot less of a joy.

I prefer series, the people and characters are easier to recognise and their speech becomes more predictable.

Agreed. It's hard for me to keep track of who is who within a two-hour period of time while trying to understand what they are saying, what is going on, etc. People hate watching movies with me because I pause and rewind so much to try and make sense of everything. I won't even get into my volume control habits..