film or music

the visual medium is more intense than that of sound.

music is more abstract than watching human beings relate to each other.

it is easier to identify and empathize with another human being than it it is to experience emotion when listening to music.

there are many types of music which don't elicit emotional responses.

if you had to give up your sight or your hearing, which would you give up first ?

the "eyes" have it over the ears. it is much easier to live
with a loss of hearing than a loss of sight.

its an entirely different experience....its like comparing listening to music to reading a book.

the visual medium is more intense than that of sound.

I'll say! Especially when Eva Mendez or Natalie Portman are in the picture.

Ever see that shampoo commercial in which the woman sounds like she's having sex in the shower? Ever just hear it from the next room? You probably wouldn't let the kids watch what you thought was being shown if you didn't know it was a commercial for shampoo.

Ever watch a horror film with the sound turned off? Doesn't work very well.

You can't have a good film without excellent sound...both effects and music...regardless of the genre.

Sound connects with me on a primordial level. Visuals connect with me on a more immediate level.

Neither on their own connects on an emotional level that equals what is possible when they are combined.

If you want to get scientific about it, one could argue that the sense of sight has four cranial nerves devoted to it, whereas the sense of hearing has only 1. While it's true that only one of the four craninal nerves devoted to vision actually transmits visual information to the occipital lobe of the brain, (the others innervate the small muscles of the eye) vision is arguably the most important sense. Does all this really matter? Not really becuase it all boils down to the emotional experience.

Music will always get my vote. I guess that's why I have a dedicated music system and no home theater.;)