What Do You Notice?

I visited with family yesterday, and there was a western on the TV that they muted when I arrived, being nice people. As we talked, the scenes played out, and I said, "Look, there's a zipper up the back of her dress."

I mentioned recently seeing a historical where a passing servant carried a crystal-clear pitcher through on a tray--pretty unlikely. The guy said he notices when movies use the wrong gun or the wrong tank. The woman said she notices horses and recognizes the same horse in different movies.

That led me to think about how we perceive things, and how differently. Watching the same movie, I'd be noticing anachronisms, he'd be looking at weaponry, and she'd be checking out the transportation.

I visited a book group a few months ago that had read a book by one of the mystery genre's current stars. The group was eclectic; some read mostly non-fiction and some "literary" fiction, whatever that is. I was interested to hear those members' comments, because they were totally put off by the unlikely events in the book: a ridiculous method of murder that a) shouldn't have worked, b) might easily have killed an innocent bystander instead of the victim, and c) could have been done better a dozen different ways.

One of the members, an avid mystery fan, defended the author, citing her wonderful characters, the beautiful setting, and her talent for description. She hadn't even noticed that the plot was murky.

There's that different perception thing. We see what we're looking for when we read, just as we do while watching a movie. As a reader of mysteries, I want a good crime to solve. While I stumble out of the story if the plot makes a clunky noise or the characters start acting unlike themselves, someone else might enjoy the flying bullets and exploding cars, while others just love that the author put in a lot of pretty horses.