When Viewers Drift Off: A Brief Phenomenology of Cinematic Daydreaming

Inspired by Jean-Pierre Meunier and expanding some of his original ideas, this article looks at cinematic daydreaming as an act of consciousness viewers are sometimes engaged in over and above the perception of the film. After defining the term ‘cinematic daydreaming,’ I distinguish three relations the daydream can have to the film. Subsequently, I offer a concrete description of the cinematic daydreaming experience by focusing on five aspects: (1) the degrees of controllability, (2) the declining attentiveness to the perceptual surroundings, (3) the attenuated ‘power’ of the film, (4) the shift into a more private mode, and (5) intrusive day-dreams that interfere with the film vs. extensive daydreams that enrich it.