In my film era

After denouncing films for a long time, I have finally realised their value.

Maybe it is my new-found obsession with Letterboxd. Maybe it is the hype surrounding Barbie and Oppenheimer. Maybe it is free time I have allowed myself by not studying this week. But whatever it is (okay, it is probably the latter), I am happily embracing my film-girl era. 

I'm not sure why exactly, but I used to be fervently opposed to watching a movie. I'd watch one with my mum every once in a while, sure, but I would never understand friends who would make their hangout a film viewing, or couples who would go to the cinema on a date. Movies used to seem to me to be a solitary activity, one that could only be done if you were home sick, or bored inside during a pandemic. "Wouldn't you rather spend the time talking?", I'd say to friends. "Doesn't your attention span wane quickly?", I'd annoyingly ask people. 

I admit that I was wrong. 

Perhaps I had the pretentious belief that all movies merely existed to make a profit, that they relied on Marvel Cinematic Universes and objectification of women and tropes used ad nauseam to repeatedly get bums on seats. Or perhaps I did in fact lack the attention span to watch something longer than a YouTube video, despite being an avid reader. 

Again, I was wrong.

I'm learning that films can be just as beautiful and artistic and thought-provoking as literature and music and theatre. Films are not exclusively a solo activity either, because I am finding myself in so many discussions about certain movies and what we got out of them. It's fun to get to know someone through the art they consume, and film taste is certainly one aspect of that. 

So maybe my distaste for films was not for the act of watching a film, but instead, a select few films. I have a new affinity for foreign films, and I have directors that I now understand to be auteurs. Being interested in movies is a hobby too, because you can chat with your friends about them, read numerous reviews and content online, or take yourself for a little date to a nearby cinema. 

Here are some things that I have learnt: (1) SBS has a whole range of FREE arthouse and independent movies, (2) do not sleep on foreign films, they are often much better than English-language movies, and (3) you can broaden your taste by surprising yourself with your friends' recommendations.

I'm happy to be in my film era now. I'm excited to discover more about the world of film, even if it has to take a backseat while I finish up my studies.