Not Everyone Can Watch 3D Movies, and Here’s Why

Unfortunately, our lives tend to be so busy and hectic that we often neglect our own health, putting off visiting the doctor unless it is strictly necessary. This behavior can bring many negative consequences to our body, especially to an organ as delicate as our eye.

My name is Laura and, due to my long trajectory of visits to ophthalmologists, I decided to share with the readers of awesome.club my experience of how a simple trip to the cinema to see a movie with 3D effects taught me how important it is to visit an optician and pay attention to our eyesight from an early age.

It all started in 2009. I went with my friends to the cinema to watch the movie avatarand we were excited because it would be the first time we would see a movie with 3D technology. Tickets in hand, we sat in the middle seats with our popcorn bucket and it wasn’t long before everything started to feel weird for me. In one of the trailers, a character stretched his arm towards the screen and my friends leaned back making an excited sound.

But I didn’t understand what was happening, I had no reaction.

Then a dinosaur turned its tail, and again everyone around me leaned back and laughed. I had to ask what was going on because I didn’t see what they were seeing. When the movie started, the situation did not change. On the contrary: it seemed to be just like any other, and only when we left did I find out from my friends about all the three-dimensional effects I hadn’t seen.

What was happening? Could it be that my glasses were broken? Was I misplaced in the chair?

Or maybe James Cameron didn’t like me🇧🇷

None of that. In fact, what I had was consequence of childhood strabismus🇧🇷

Strabismus is a disorder in which the eyes do not look in the same direction at the same time, but one looks at a point and the other looks away. This produces a change in binocular vision due to loss of eye parallelism. When a person suffers from strabismus, they may experience a decrease in depth perception and vision in three dimensions.

To be able to see in 3D, the brain must receive two slightly different images of the world, that must be recorded by each eye and recomposed into a three-dimensional image. If an eye has zero, or less, vision, it is impossible to notice. It could be due to strabismus, lazy eye or any condition that does not allow you to observe with both eyes at the same time.

Stereopsis is the visual phenomenon whereby, from two slightly different images of the physical world viewed by each eye at the same time, the brain is able to recompose a three-dimensional image.

A curious fact is that some people don’t know they have this visual dysfunction because they’ve obviously never seen “the world any other way”🇧🇷 In my case, although my strabismus was cured in childhood, it wasn’t enough to develop three-dimensional vision, and I didn’t realize it until we went to see it. avatar🇧🇷 It is advisable to detect visual problems before the age of seven, in order to have the possibility of reversing or stopping them.

Experts warn that if you have any complaints on a 3D movie (nausea, dizziness or headaches), it is advisable to go to the eye doctor to rule out vision problems. If it’s a child, you need to be alert to their responses and interactions during the film’s effects. If not, visiting a professional would also be convenient.

The earlier vision problems are detected, the better, as at an early age the possibility of them being permanent decreases. In the case of strabismus, this can usually be corrected with the use of glasses, eye protectors (ophthalmic eye patches), or medication.

As can be seen, strabismus is a treatable eye disorder🇧🇷 and the sooner this is done, the lower the chances of suffering long-term consequences. It is important to point out that the lack of three-dimensional perception can have other causes besides the specific strabismus. Therefore, before any suspicion, it is better to consult a professional.

If you can’t watch a movie with 3D technology, don’t worry, you’re not alone: ​​you’re part of a group of about 15% of society. Also, we all know that if a movie doesn’t have a good script, no matter how good the three-dimensional effects are, that won’t be enough to make us like it. So while we focus on the plot, we’re going to have a great time… And don’t forget that the 2D cinemas (common) are cheaper!

Do you know someone who can’t see in 3D? Tag the person in the comments. And don’t forget to share this information with everyone you know!