How to Get Your Spouse To FINALLY Watch SciFi With You!
It is Friday evening, the kids have finally gone to bed, and it is time for you and your wife/significant other to kick back and relax. Your both thinking that it would be nice to get lost in a movie for a while, so you start to flip through Netflix looking for something great to watch, but then the dreaded question comes up… “what do you want to watch?”. You might be ready to get Dr. Who, Star Trek, etc., but then you know what the answer to this question is; “I'm not sure what I want to watch, but NOT sci-fi”. You stop for just a moment, trying to figure out a way around to convince, sway, or even trick your spouse into watching something sci-fi, because after all, isn't sci-fi the best? But you know you are going to be met with stiff opposition. Which begs the question, “how to get your spouse to watch sci-fi with you?"
For me, this has been the bane of my relationships nighttime activities, and from as far as I can tell, this is true for a lot of other science fiction fans as well. So what is a science fiction lover to do in order to have peace in the home theater?Introducing our top 5 tips for getting your spouse to fall in love with science fiction!
1. Know WHY they claim to not enjoy science fiction.
The only thing worse than ignoring your spouse's dislike of the science fiction genre, is not knowing the reasons why your spouse does not enjoy science fiction! How can you make the situation better if you do not know the root cause after all?
Get your plan together, by first knowing what objections you are going up against so you can plan how to handle those objections. Does your significant other feel like sci-fi is just cheesy? Maybe, they say they have, “never seen a sci-fi flick that was not dumb”, or that, “it is all unrealistic explosions”, etc.
2. Plan HOW you will change their experience.
Corny plot lines the issue? Find something that can be taken more seriously. Often times, non-SCI-fi fans say that sci-fi focuses too much on the futuristic visions of the creators and too little on the development of characters. If this is the case for your other-half, then why not look for that perfect blend of futurism and character building? For my wife and I, along with many of our friends, The Expanse has offered exactly this, and with several seasons already out, there is plenty of sci-fi universe for the two of you to get lost in during your next binge.
3. Use reviews and trailers to do the talking for you.
Anytime you have to convince someone of something, you are essentially “selling them” on your idea, which is especially true in romantic relationships. Personally, this is a challenge, though, because I do not enjoy the sales process that much. I would rather be able to show someone something of quality and let that quality sell the product for me, instead of using a bunch of gimmicks and slick tricks. After all, our goal is to get our spouse to find something to love science fiction, not just go along with what we want.
4. Make the experience enjoyable
Conditioning your other-half to associate positive experiences with your favorite genre, could be the sneakiest way to convince them to binge watch Lost in Space with you, but it also could be the most effective way to do it as well. After all, who doesn't love a little romance and relaxation? For my wife, this means she might get a massage along with a glass of wine and a good snuggle on the couch, leaving her associating some of my favorite shows, with her favorite time spent with me, and I don't think she would even have a problem with it if you told her what I was up to!
5. Unlock the Nerd!
When all else fails, meeting them in the middle might just be the way to find a sweet spot where you can both agree upon, then build from there. What I mean by this is, sometimes it pays to find something you both agree on, which in the case of my wife and I, happened to be the Lord of the Rings, then find something you can dive into with them and expand on it until you can relate it back to something else as a way to get their attention. For example, the Lord of the Rings is known for its deep, intricate lore, but so is Dune. A few months ago, we got on a bit of a Lord of the Rings kick, which lead me into going pretty deep into the history of Middle Earth, until I was able to relate it back to the equally deep timeline of Dune, which sparked many hours of conversation and eventually lead to watching all the Dune movies available. All I had to do was connect one concept from a universe that she likes, with something similar in one of my favorite universes, for her to find something she loved and even wanted to explore with me.
At the end of the day, while you may be a sci-fi fanatic, no one really wants to spend their lives lost in space, fictional characters, even if we are a bit obsessed with them… so be sure not to forget those human connections. Even if it is hard to find the right way to share your love with someone else, doing so is worthwhile, so we hope that these tips have been helpful. Do you have any special tips on how to get your spouse to fall in love with sci-fi or stories you would like to share with the community here at Mahannah’s SciFi Universe? If so, drop us a comment below and let us know!
While you are at it, share your love of SciFi with the world or get the perfect gift for the sci-fi lover in your life, over at the Mahannah’s SciFi Universe store where we have unique sci-fi products and gifts available nowhere else!