Seeing is a gift. Most of us feel that the sense of sight is a given. But so many people lose the ability to see, which is tragic. Being able to see then suddenly not is a hell unto itself, whether permanent or temporary. IaF you're reading this.... BE GRATEFUL!!
Redditor u/HiddenLayer5 wanted to hear from those who have lost their gift of sight by asking... People who could see but went blind, what's it like? Is it like being in perpetual darkness or something else?
Just One...
GiphyI lost an eye as a child. It is not darkness, it is nothing. What do you see with your elbow? That's what I see with my prosthetic eye. Noctudeit
The Darkness...
Oh, I can answer this. I had some neurological issues when I was younger. Once or twice this resulted in a brief but total loss of vision because my brain stopped processing the input from my eyes or something along those lines.
It's nothing. You don't see darkness. It's just nothing. Best way to describe it would be like you're trying to see out of your kneecap. There's nothing to see because your kneecap isn't sending information about sight to your brain. Or it's like asking you to tell me how I look in the infrared spectrum right now. There's no real words to describe the sensation of lacking a sensation, because it's an oxymoron.
Keep in mind too that there's different kind of blindness. What I described is probably similar to the experiences of people who were born blind because of issues with their nervous system. Other people can go blind due to degeneration of the mechanics of the eye itself, which I'd bet is much different. American_Phi
I'm Going Blind!
Someone legally blind, not going blind ...
I have several friends who are going blind, and they seem to fall in to two camps.
- Their brain tries to fill in the blanks in their blind spots, and it's just a lightly blurred section that they know not to trust.
- It's just blank, as if nothing is there, light or dark. They can't perceive anything particular there, as it's beyond their ability to see anything there. BARDLover
The 20/60 Issue....
I am legally blind in my left eye. It is a problem with how my eyes lined up as a kid, and my brain decided to ignore my left eye. I wore a patch off and on as a kid and had vision as good as 20/60 before it progressively got worse. I honestly hardly notice it. I had a pretty distinguished career in the military despite it, including shooting top gun often. I always felt bad because I could never do drills some people could, such as shooting with non-dominant hand, at least without some awkward head lean, I suppose.
Given that it is one eye, I just experience the world crystal clear with my right eye. When I got metal in that eye, I drove to the hospital, and it was incredibly brutal. I could see the red of a light, but couldn't really gauge distance. Dhoy1
Look Forward.....
GiphyStare at a wall. Now try to look out of the back of your head without moving an inch. All that nothing behind the headband of your vision is what they see. Nothing. polyjeans
The Kink....
I've always suffered from severe short sight. Then when I was pregnant with my youngest child I was diagnosed with wet macular degeneration. It manifested as a "kink" in my vision. So (in the one eye I can sort of see out of, the other is redundant due to an extremely severe astigmatism) there's this kink in the world now. The world I see anyway.
I've also been diagnosed with cataracts which means my sight is now like looking through a fog. It can be hugely frustrating. I can't read to my children anymore and that breaks my heart. I'll be having surgery to remove the cataracts in the next couple of months.
I've just been registered as disabled due to my sight loss. This hit me hard. Really hard. I've always been independent and having to ask my 4 year old which bus is coming (amongst other things) is a bitter pill to swallow. So, I see a kind of kinky fog right now. I don't know what will happen when I lose my sight entirely. I do know that the thought of it is utterly terrifying. Lilasskicker123
Migraines....
I'm seeing a lot of total blindness answers, so I'll provide my experience....
I experience ocular migraines related to inflammation surrounding one of my ocular nerves. When I get the migraines, I lose all peripheral vision in one eye and can only see pinpoint in that eye for about 20 minutes and then I'm sick in bed for at least a day. What I do see aside from the pinpoint, is this lightening-strike zig zag that slowly moves across my field of vision, and blurred colors in the peripheral field. My brain doesn't want to really process what colors I see, though.... its weird. scoobledooble314159
The Flicker....
Ok, so my eyes are screwed up in a weird way.. I can't see thing that flicker fast, like under florescent lights. this means I'm effectively blind in most grocery stores. for .me, it's weird as hell I either see blinding white that's so bright I HAVE to close my eyes to dim it, or it's as dark as if the lights were off (Walmarts are 'fun' because there's little to no other light sources) so for me, it's a near daily experience going from sighted to non-sighted and all the fun that ensues with that. gartral
Looking for Anything....
Sort of transient blindness I guess that some might find interesting. I get severe migraines with an atypical visual disturbance (aura). Instead of squiggly lines and such, I lose parts of, or all of my vision. Things like tunnel vision or missing spots of my vision are most interesting to describe.
With those, I don't see blackness around a point like looking out a tunnel, or black spots in my vision. Instead, it's like there is no data there. I actually struggle to identify where my blind spots exactly are in my field of view, until I specifically notice it blocking something I'm trying to look at (difficult if it's not in the exact centre). With the tunnel vision, even then it's hard to tell when it's happening. Whenever I suspect it might be happening, I have to hold a finger up with my arm outstretched, looking forward. Then, continuing looking forward, I'll move it out of my line of sight and work out when I can't see it anymore.
Maybe the best comparison (though still not ideal) I could make for people who haven't experienced anything like it is to consider the blind spot that your nose blocks. Our brain filters out the nose, but we don't see a great big black spot, there's just no information there. LindLin
Trauma...
GiphyI suffered from a brief bout of blindness after head trauma.
I could sort of see, but it was more like looking through a kaleidoscope. Everything was a blurry blob of color without a defined start or end--everything just blended together. Like, if you unfocus your eyes and cross them, that's a very rough idea of what I was seeing (or, not seeing).
I don't remember what the exact term is for this specific type of vision loss (it was 7 years ago and I was rather concussed), but, if permanent, it is indeed classed as blindness. murrimabutterfl
Rise Up.
I'm not entirely blind, but I'm blind in my right as a result of cancer.
There are days it becomes my biggest weakness. I can drive fine, hold down a job fine. But some days I walk in to table corners, bang my elbow on stuff etc, Or hell my fiancé pointed out the sodas I was looking for at Walmart the other day after I had walked past them 3 times, because they were on my right side.
I privately admit defeat a lot because of it, unfortunately. mattymattrick
Passport please.
I don't know about blindness, but eye migraines are a trip. Like really, it makes everything look like Im on acid. And I get blind spots in my vision. It's not painful at all, just really weird. The first time it happened I legit thought I was losing my vision. -ThunderGunExpress
Dark in the Dark.
I lost my site when I was 13. Yeah I guess it's just like being in the dark all the time… Although it's been so long I don't quite remember anymore how being in the dark when you could still see is like. browneye54
Close your eyes....
GiphyIt's hard to comprehend but in most cases you just see nothing. Close your eyes and try to see out of the back of your head. You can't. DickManning
Fade in and Out....
When I was younger and the weather was hot I would lose my vision for about 15 seconds every time I stood up quickly. I was so used to it that I would stand up at the end of class spot my path and start walking, my vision would tunnel out quickly to complete blindness (I perceived this for some reason as grey but could see nothing) my vision would fade in from a sort of static after about 5-10 seconds. I just used sound and touch to navigate. pounded_rivet
A kick!
I'm vision impaired from Uveitis that kicked in when I was 26.
My eyesight is like looking through a fly screen, black dots and floaters everywhere.
Also, due to how often people say "BUT YOU CAN'T BE BLIND IF YOU'RE USING REDDIT" whenever I post about eyesight: https://old.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/55wzgp/how_do_blind_people_use_reddit/SunnyLego
Sharp Objects....
Pretty sharp vision but an issue with my spinal fluid pressure causes stress on my retinal nerve, leading to an enlarged blind spot. Most people don't notice theirs, but it's like a tiny black hole in my vision, even to the point it's edges distort things like one ( AKA if I'm in a car looking at the street lines and the line goes through my blind spot, it looks like the line curves around the edge.) you don't see black which is why you don't notice it unless you focus on it. It's a really interesting sensation once you learn how to find yours, and you watch objects disappear moving into it. Crezelle
All I See....
GiphyI think it's different for each individual.
For me, I just see a mix of black, brown, gray, white and more rarely but sometimes everything from red to yellow. RealNicklasMCHD
Premature....
GiphyI was born with 6 months instead of 9.
In the 90's in some small city in Brazil we didn't have laser surgery so i did my eye surgery with criogeny, my retina detached and my left eye is blind
Its basically like there is nothing because your eye is shut off from your brain. Anni01
Okay-ish...
Oh, I can answer this one. I was normal, and then legally blind, and now I'm ok-ish. I was diabetic (a whole other story) and got diabetic retinopathy. My one eye which was worse was like trying to look through a running lava lamp. Just whirls and spots of color and black. Un_creative_name
Who else wants to see again?
Reddit user Kuli24 asked:
"What's a movie fact you know that pretty much no one else knows?"
The Departed/Arthur the Aardvark
"When filming the rooftop scene in The Departed, a giant inflatable Arthur the Aardvark—from the TV show Arthur—on top of a nearby children's museum would have dominated the background of many of the shots."
"The museum graciously agreed to temporarily deflate and remove Arthur."
~ el_goyo_rojo
GiphyMission Impossible
"The theme song from Mission Impossible spells out MI in Morse code on repeat."
~ BelgianBeerGuy
GiphyStar Wars
"Robert Englund, famous for playing Freddie Kreuger, auditioned to be Luke Skywalker, but didn't get the role."
"He told his roommate, Mark Hamill, to go try out instead."
~ Zefram0911
GiphyNightmare On Elm Street/Lord of the Rings
"And by extension, the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise is considered the reason we have Lord Of the Rings today.
"Because New Line was on the verge of bankruptcy until Elm Street saved the company."
"And New Line was the only company with the guts to green-light and fund Peter Jackson’s pre-production and production for LOTR."
~ hevnztrash
GiphyThe Princess Bride
"Cary Elwes broke his toe on André the Giant's 3-wheeler during filming The Princess Bride."
"He was worried Rob Reiner might fire him so he kept it a secret.
"He worked the scenes before the Fire Swamp to make his character kind of nonchalant but really he couldn't put much weight on his foot."
~ Inevitable-Roof4992
GiphyAliens
"In Aliens, after the first encounter with the aliens as the Marines are retreating, there is a scene where they get in the troop carrier and as they are getting ready to leave, an alien tries to get in."
"Hicks picks up his shotgun off the deck, jams it in the alien's mouth, yells 'Eat this' and blows it away."
"That whole scene was shot backwards because the actor, Michael Biehn, couldn't perform the move."
"So it was shot backwards, played in reverse and then sound dubbed over it."
~ LordBaranof
GiphyCoco
"In Pixar's Coco, the boy who was going to play Miguel hit puberty, changing his voice."
"The people in charge replaced him with someone younger."
"The original boy got a cameo where he is the guy working the stage asking him if he's ready to go on."
~ numbersev
GiphyAirplane!
"Leslie Nielsen was a critically acclaimed dramatic actor and leading man before he did Airplane!."
"On the set, people were intimidated by him because of his status."
"But they had no idea that he was the set prankster."
"He's actually buried with a fart machine that he used to carry around to mess with people."
~ G-Unit11111
"His prior career was the primary reason for casting him in Airplane!."
"A respected serious actor giving those jokes as serious lines was what made it so funny."
~ SaltWaterInMyBlood
GiphyFinding Dory
"In Finding Dory, the original voice of Nemo had grown up, so his voice had obviously changed."
"But he still got a cameo as one of the truck drivers."
GiphyDead Zone/Christmas Story
"The movies Dead Zone and Christmas Story were being filmed only a couple miles away from each other at the same time."
"Both productions were waiting for snow so they could film. It was an usually snowless winter."
"Finally late in the season there was a significant snowfall. The scene where Sheriff Bannerman arrives at Johnny’s house is being filmed at the exact moment of the tongue to the flag pole scene."
~ Annual_Rooster5678
GiphyShrek
"In the first Shrek movie, Lord Farquaad is removing all the fairy tale creatures from the swamp."
"He wants Shrek's home too."
"In the old DVD extras they explain it’s because he wants to build a theme park there."
"It’s not explained at all in the movie."
~ bickel89
"Farquaad was modeled after then Disney CEO Michael Eisner."
"Shrek was produced by DreamWorks which was co-founded by Jeffrey Katzenburg who ran Disney before Eisner."
"Farquaad is also a play on the word F*ckwad."
~ TheGoadingGoat
GiphySir Anthony Hopkins
"Sir Anthony Hopkins is an incredible mimic."
"Throughout his career, he’s looped (post-production sound re-recording) many well known co stars who were unavailable for re-recording sessions."
"He’s never taken credit for this."
~ smdanes
GiphyToy Story/Monsters Inc.
"The original choice for Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story was Billy Crystal. He turned it down and went on to say it was one of the biggest mistakes of his career."
"When the opportunity to voice Mike in Monsters Inc came up he jumped at it, as he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice."
~ DorkusMalorkus89
GiphyContagion/Seven
"In Contagion the autopsy performed on Gwyneth Paltrow used a prop head that was originally made for the finale of Seven."
"The latter decided against showing what was in the box and thus, years later it was repurposed."
"In other words, we finally got to see what was in the box."
~ thepoeticpatient
GiphyEdward Scissorhands
"In Edward Scissorhands, the version shown to critics and reviewers contained a scene that got cut from the final theatrical version. The scene was during the opening when the grandmother starts telling her story to the little girl."
"Essentially, it made it clear that everything we are seeing in Edward’s story is not as it actually occurred, but rather we’re peering inside the little girl’s imagination, seeing how she’s interpreting what her grandmother is telling her."
"This brings whole new meaning to things like the way the houses are painted, how all the dads leave for work at exactly the same time, and the quirkiness of how everyone behaves.
"Once you know that this scene exists, you see the movie in a very different way. Much of what we think of a 'Tim Burton weirdness' is actually childlike imagination once you know."
"So, go watch it again. It’s not a whole new movie, but it feels and comes across in a whole new way."
~ Darnitol1
GiphySo, what cinema secrets do you know?
There's nothing like leaving a movie theater having just seen an excellent movie.
Particularly one that took you by surprise.
Perhaps it was deeper and more meaningful than it purported itself to be, or on the flip side, had much more warmth and humor that you would have expected.
Or, the film took an unexpected twist that you never saw coming.
Resulting in your needing to bite your tongue until the rest of your friends and family see the film, and not spoil the surprise for them.
Redditor HornyCorny was curious to hear which plot twists left viewers utterly speechless, leading them to ask:
"What’s a movie twist that caught you completely off guard?"
He Didn't See It Coming Either!
"Brad Pitt in 'Burn After Reading'."
"So surprising and downright freaking hilarious."- thefirehairman
If The Shoe Fits...
"'The Shawshank Redemption'."
"Come on."
"It's not always a man notices another man's shoes."- FUBARspecimenT-89
Lucky For Some, Not For All...
"'Lucky Number Slevin'."
"Huge twist and very satisfying."- kvlr954
angry josh hartnett GIFGiphyRosie O'Donnell Would Agree...
"Fight Club."- BuchseeI
"once watched it with a friend who had never even heard of it, and she called the twist like, a half hour in."
"She said it as a joke and didn't realize she was right until the actual reveal, but still I was shook."- yugosaki
I See You Keyser Söze
"The ending of 'The Usual Suspects'."- Schwarzes__Loch
Definitive Shyamalan
''The Sixth Sense'."
'I love movies with plot twists, but I never imagined this one. It caught me completely off guard."- lucasduka
Haley Joel Osment Movie GIFGiphyThe Title Is Also Misleading...
"The second half of 'Parasite'."- iwontrememberthat4
Appropriately, They Really Toyed With Your Cognition
"'The Game'."- DudeHeadAwesome
"Good one!'
"I spent the entire movie going 'is it a game? Is it real?'"- fastpixels
There Were Definitely Ghosts...
"'The Others'."
"Unsuspected end."- NeckComprehensive743
scared horror film GIF by FilmStruckGiphyOne Unforgettable Opening Scene
"'Scream'."
"The Drew Barrymore role."- LivingTheLife53
The Real Reason Everyone Is Terrified Of Bees...
"When I was a kid, I wanted to feel good and happy."
"So at the video store, I decided to rent a movie with two happy laughing kids on the DVD cover, thinking it would be a feel-good playful story."
"That movie was 'My Girl'."
"Eff that movie."
"Seriously."
'The DVD cover lies."
"IT LIES."- buckyhermit
You THOUGHT you knew who the villains were...
"'From Dusk to Dawn' — midway point."
"Didn’t know at all what I was walking into when saw it in the theatre decades ago — just, you know, Salma Hayek. Good enough."
"Quentin Tarantino slurping tequila from her foot after it ran down the entire length of her leg — that was already a 'Holy WTF' moment."
"But then, well.. . you know."
"And if you don’t know — quick, go watch it. "
"No trailer, no synopsis, no summary."
"Find it and load it 'blind' and fasten your seatbelt."
"You’re in for a wild ride."- canada11235813
George Clooney Tarantino GIF by MIRAMAXGiphyIt's Title Is More Than Accurate!
"'Crazy Stupid Love'."
"The scene when the whole movie goes apesh*t in the yard is one of my all time favorite movie scenes."- Fimbulvintern
Trifecta Of Twists
"'The Others'."
"The end of 'The Mist'."
"'The Prestige' (though, I ALMOST had it figured out, but not quite)."- Krinks1
There's nothing better than when a movie surprises you.
Even if it does make talking about said movie with people who haven't seen it a bit more challenging.
Case in point, people who saw The Sixth Sense and The Usual Suspects after their endings were spoiled for them, don't seem to like those movies as much as those who went in blind.