Bonding through movie quotes
9:15 p.m. Tuesday, October 7, 2008
What is your favorite movie quote?
Scott Degan's is from "300".
"Spartans, what is your profession?," he said.
Kayli Guest's is from "Fern Gully."
"Tails, tails," she said. "Humans don't have tails. They have big, big bottoms that they wear bad shorts. They walk around saying, 'Hi Helen.'"
"From the movie "Superbad", he goes, 'I am McLovin,'" J.P. Sibbit said.
"This is one example of one of those quirky little behaviors that people haven't thought much about before but turns out it is really quite common," K-State psychology professor Richard Harris said.
That quirky little behavior is quoting movies.
Harris tested almost 500 college students at K-State.
"Everybody could do that," he said. "Nobody told us, 'no, I never do that, I don't know what you're talking about.' They could all do it; all gave us examples."
Most of the quotes came from comedies, action adventures, and dramas. And almost 90 percent of the quotes were accurate.
So why can most students rattle off a movie line, but forget when their assignment is due?
"To amuse yourself and to amuse others," Harris said. "People were quoting movies to make themselves and others happy."
Whether it's a funny joke or a motivational saying, sometimes the movies say it best.
"Sometimes, they're just certain things that you just can't put into words because somebody in a movie's already said it better than you, so it's like you just try to recapture that same emphasis that they used before," Guest said.
The study focused on young adults because they are the largest movie-going demographic.
The whole 49 news staff weighed in on their favorite movie quotes. To see their favorites, tap in here.
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