"Real Time" Life

A few days ago, I gave my littlest roommate the DVDs of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, and bullied her into watching them asked her to watch them one after the other. This evening, knowing she's watching them, P and I decide to 'drop in' on our littlest roommate to find out how the movies are going. We find her in front of her laptop, with the headphones in her ears, head plugged deep into the film.

Me: "Hey, J, what's up? Which one are you on?"

Silence. Then she turns her face and there, to my surprise, I find not the joy I expect, but perplexity.

Me: "What happened?"

J: "Ummm... it's a bit -- slow. Is it supposed to be that way, or is it just me?"

Me: "Well, they're 'art' films, so... I guess one may find them a little slow at times."

Then I go to the screen and actually see what she's talking of. The protagonists look like they're sitting in a drunken daze, and the old lady telling their fortunes is dancing around (talking of stardust, no less) and her voice sounds like she's on ecstasy.

Me: "Hmmm, that's not how it's supposed to be - it's definitely your system, let me try to change it."

J first makes a fuss, protesting that she'll be losing precious movie time just waiting around while I change things. Considering that the movie is going so slowly that she's taken more than an hour to watch just the first forty minutes, I rubbish her ridiculous protests and pause the film. One little change of setting later, and we are, to my relief, watching the movie in 'real time' once more.

J: (Perplexity vanishes) "Hey, thanks, Summer!"

Pause.

J: "They're talking too fast now!!!"