I‘m delighted to be collaborating with Vue Cinemas on their ‘Get Lost’ campaign focusing on improving wellbeing. We are even providing you with an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to catch a film of your choice, anytime in 2020 at Vue.
Vue’s campaign research, carried out by Vue Entertainment and University College London, highlights the positive cognitive, emotional and physiological benefits going to the cinema can have.
I’m not going to go into all the findings (you can find them here), but there is investigation into nomophobia, ‘text neck’ and other phone usage symptoms.
Personally, for me going to the cinema is an under-utilised wellbeing tool. When I go to the cinema I am having 2-3 hours shut off from the world, and that opportunity is becoming extremely rare.
It‘s not just turning my phone to DND, it’s the sensory immersion. Sitting in the dark, watching an amazing story play out and being truly invested. Because I’m at the cinema I’m not: on twitter, replying to emails, cooking (ordering) food, chasing the cats of worktops and/ or the rest. At the cinema I’m immersed, it’s just not the same at home.
The really interesting part of the research and campaign for me is the finding that a few hours at the cinema can help make us more creative, productive and connected. Furthermore there’s recognition that a trip to the cinema can help us step away from the mounting pressure of being online all the time. If you’ve ever emailed me, you’ll know it’s not usually a quick reply. But I am often reading them and considering my reply. Going to the cinema is a joyous excuse for putting your phone away/ off and for me, just shutting myself down. For 2-3 hours life is simple, I am going to be a passive passenger on the movie-going adventure.
The research includes an interesting point by Dr Joseph Devlin (Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL) who said “our ability to sustain focus and attention plays a critical role in building our mental resilience, because problem-solving typically requires a concentrated effort to overcome obstacles. In other words, our ability to work through problems without distraction makes us better able to solve problems and makes us more productive. In a world where it is increasingly difficult to step away from our devices, this level of sustained focus is good for us.”
I’m all about trying to improve my mental resilience, and I think this echos my idea of the cinema being a wellbeing tool. While I’m often viewing it as a ‘de-stresser’ it is good to hear it’s also building experience for emotional and mental resilience.
So yer, make time for you! Go check out your nearest Vue cinema and let yourself be shown a beautiful story.
If you need an incentive, thanks to Vue, I have 2 tickets to give away!
So how do you fancy winning a pair of tickets to see a film of your choice at your nearest Vue cinema?
For a chance to win, all you have to do is count how many hidden references to famous films appear in the video below (there’s quite a few). Enter by emailing mike@mikesopenjournal, with the subject heading ‘Wellbeing at Vue Competition’ or drop me a DM @Mike_Douglas_ with you answer.
This competition closes on February 22nd.
The prize is one pair of tickets which can be used at any Vue cinema in the UK during 2020. If the correct answer is not given I will choose the closest answer in order of submission.
(All data shared in entering this competition will be used for administration only, nothing will be stored and only the winner will be contacted)
Link to Vue Competition Video - https://youtu.be/C6jrYeBA7BA
Here‘s the bit from the Vue Team:
“Stories are meant to be seen in a certain way so you can fully immerse yourself surrounded by screen, sound and watching in the ultimate seat. Vue offers the best luxury leather recliner seating, high definition SONY 4K screen and Dolby Atmos multi-dimensional sound because everyone deserves to experience the magic of big screen entertainment at affordable prices”.