Cbapter4- IFromParagraphto"Essal' 79AttheMovies
YouAreWhereYouSit:SeatingChoiceCanTella LotaboutaPerson!1 Whenhegoestothemovies,RavelCentenolikestositontheaisleand
stretchhisfeetout-afactthatbyitselfspeaksvolumesabouthispersonality,
accordingtoa newstudy.Thestudy,commissionedbytheBritishmovietheater
companyOdeon,examinedhowtheaterseatinghabitsreflectpersonality.And
asthesummermovieseasonreachesitszenith,theresearchsaysyouarewhere
yousit.PsychologistDonnaDawsondividedmoviegoersintofourdifferent
personalitytypesbasedontheirseatingpreferencesandcitedexamplesof
moviecharacterswhofitthosetypes.
2 Thosewhositontheaisle,likeCenteno,are"detachedobservers"-people
wholiketohavetheirownspace,whoareobserversandtendtobequieter.
"That'sfunny,becauseI'ma writer,"CentenosaidThursdayashewaitedtosee
AI.attheCineplexOdeonatUniversalCityWalk."Sothat'swhatI do(observe
people)."Onecelluloidexampleofa detachedobserver,saidDawson,isJack
Nicholson'sMelvinUdallcharacterinAsGoodasItGets.
3 Otherpersonalitytypes,accordingtoDawson:
4 The"frontrowfilmfanatic":Extroverted,assertive,andcompetitive,these
arepeoplewholiketoseemovieswithothers,notontheirown.Anexample
fromthemoviesmightbeMikeMeyers'sAustinPowersorJuliaRoberts'sErin
Brockovich.
5 The"middle-of-the-roaders":Thesearethepeoplewholiketositinthe
middle,fittingly.Theyarepeoplewhoareflexibleandtrytogetalongwithothers,
suchasGwynethPaltrow'sEmma.GloriaandTomCandelariaofRedlandssay
thatseemstofitthem."Welikethemiddlebecauseit'snottoofarbackandnot
tooclosetothefront,"GloriaCandelariasaidasshescannedthemarqueeat
CityWalk.TomCandelariasaidthe"middle-of-the-roader"labelseemstofitthem
because"we'reeasygoing."
6 The"invisiblerebels":Thosewhositfarinthebackarepeoplewhoare
rebelliousandlikeexcitementbutdon'tnecessaryseekthelimelight,thestudy
said.A typicalexampleisClintEastwood'sManwithNoNameandSigourney
Weaver'sLt.RipleyintheAlienfilms."Thebackrowis,wherethingshappen;it's
anexcitingareaofdangerandlotsofpassionate smooching,"Dawsonsaidin
theOdeonreport."Ittendstoattractpeoplewhoarerebellious."
7 Forsomepeople,though,sometimesa chairis justachair."Idon'tknow-
whereverthere'sanemptyseat,"saidfilmgoerChrisMarshallofLakeHollywood,
whenaskedwherehelikestosit."Thatworksforme."'Sheppard,Hanison."AttheMovies.YouAreWhereYouSit:SeatingChoiceCanTella Lotabouta Person."
LosAngelesDailyNews 10 July2001:Nl.