Since moving into the New Hall, my suitemates and I have bonded through movie nights. To have a movie selected, you must first put it on the big board (write it on the whiteboard), and then we all vote whether or not the movie makes it past screening and onto our “to be watched list.” The screening process mostly just consists of us all saying, “That movie is weird/bad” or “Yeah, sure, I’ll watch.” It’s not a process that is very difficult.
After making it to the watchlist, we usually say, “We’re gonna watch the movie on (insert random day)!” proceed to miss the deadline we assigned to watch it, and then randomly watch the movie one night on a Thursday with half of the suite missing.
However, when I do manage to catch whatever movie it is we are watching almost immediately I log it on to Letterboxd. Letterboxd, by all accounts, has radically changed the way in which I watch movies and also the way I critique art.
Letterboxd is a social media site I have never seen before. The whole point of it is simple: log what movie you watch, give it a rating with a five-star rating system (you can assign half ratings), and decide if you like it or not by pressing the heart button. There is of course a little bit more to Letterboxd, you can make a watchlist of things to see, you can write reviews, and you can follow your favorite actors or your friends to see what they are watching.
Your enjoyment of Letterboxd hinges on two things: are you interested in what other people are watching and are you watching anything interesting worth seeing. It feels more akin to old-school forums than it does to Twitter or Instagram. Letterboxd just wants you to talk about movies you liked, disliked, and anything in between.
Before Letterboxd I thought all art, movies included, needed some extensive review and deep understanding. Even the worst ones. But Letterboxd gives you the tools to be as detailed in your experience watching a movie or you can just say, “God, that was a sack of crap, don’t watch this” or “Oh my god, this is the best movie of all time.”
In an age where it feels so daunting to commit to any show or movie, Letterboxd encourages you to not only do so if you want to be in the loop with your peers, but also challenges you to go outside of your comfort zone. Is there a new movie you never heard of that is sweeping people off their feet? Go watch it so you can log it and talk about it. Letterboxd makes the simple act of viewing movies a social experience.
Since getting Letterboxd I have worked diligently to watch things outside of my comfort zone, to stay on top of the newest releases, and to finally tackle that ever-growing watchlist. It is gratifying to see your film list grow from the single digits to maybe even the thousands and to slowly knock away at that watchlist.