I don't support the argument necessarily, but a movie is (can) be a collective experience witnessed simultaneously with others.

Books, as fantastic as they are in all regards, do not offer that trait.

True - watching a comedy movie with close friends in your living room is quite different than watching a drama by yourself.

Some music is for contemplation, other music is for dancing.

I suppose the media format isn't what determines whether the work is an active or passive experience. And the more I think about it, the more I think passive experiences can be greatly valuable.

It's just that a life comprised entirely of passive consumption is destined to be unfulfilling, and doubly so if you're consuming the low-quality, low-effort, junk food type stuff.

You can read a book aloud to another person, as parents do of course with their children but what sometimes couples do with each other.

Book clubs

Secondary reactions; you're not reading aloud in a group of people but comparing experiences. Films/tv offer a firsthand initial experience; there is no denyinghe presentation but the time to internalize and process is limited in the 2d format, as opposed to written.

Reading can be a communal and simultaneous activity. Through most of history people (well, at least I know about Europe) did not read silently.

And Reading aloud clubs exist too. Really fun actually!