It’s On My List
You don’t find the time. You make the time.
There’s only so many hours in the day, and each of us has to balance what needs to be done with what we want to be doing. For many of us this free time is an opportunity to watch a movie or a TV show, and because of the sheer amount of film and television content available to us we have to be selective with what it is we choose to watch.
Because of my viewing habits I’ve built up a backlog of films and TV shows that I tell others are on my ‘to-watch list’. I’m pretty sure a lot of people have a similar experience with films they intend to see and TV series they mean to catch up with, and yet we don’t. DVDs sit on our shelves collecting dust, and hard drives build in gigabytes of unwatched video. We skip past the same titles on our streaming services saying to ourselves “maybe later.”
I’ve owned Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas for over two years and I still haven’t made the time to sit down for a few hours and watch it. In its stead I’ve seen cheap schlock and rewatched Indiana Jones for the umpteenth time. There are a dozen TV shows that I’ve been meaning to watch because I’ve heard so much about them and read so many websites and blogs heaping their praise. But instead I watch repeats (or reruns for readers across the pond) and occupy my time with quiz shows and ‘reality’ TV. I’ve been meaning to get my hands on the Andrei Tarkovsky collection because I think it could be right up my alley, and yet it’s still on my Amazon wish list. It’s not about me being able to afford it — I just can’t add the item to my basket.
Every one of us could commit ourselves to clearing our respective watch lists, but in our heart of hearts we know that won’t happen. Certain movies and TV shows will sit in entertainment purgatory, and we only have ourselves to blame.
Why do we hold out from watching a film or TV series? What can explain our inaction and hesitation?
Anticipation
We live in a time where pop culture, past and present, has lost its mystery. Before we decide to pay to see a movie on the big screen we are subjected to a marketing campaign composed of trailers, posters, TV spots and a press tour. Some of us will use reviews online, in print or on the air to gauge whether or not to buy a ticket, wait for the home release, or avoid a movie altogether. We want to know what we’re getting ourselves into, and we have the means to find out.
Herein lies the problem. The trailers and TV spots look great, and the critics heap their praise. We read about how great a film is, and as the acclaim builds a buzz circulates online, with people longing to see the cinematic triumph for themselves. And then everybody loves it. The film becomes a sensation loved by all. It’s just as good as the critics said it was. The film becomes a runaway critical and commercial success.
But you’re not a part of it.
No one can escape the hype and news of a popular film without disconnecting from the mass. Because of the overwhelming positive reception we may counter-intuitively doubt what we read and hear. Our expectations have been placed so high that disappointment seems inevitable. How could any film be that good?
The same problem arises in television. Popular culture will fixate on a particular show, making it ‘the biggest show in the world right now’. Of course, you haven’t been watching but everyone’s talking about it. It’s on every website, blog and YouTube channel. Celebrities tell talk show hosts how obsessed they are with the latest big thing, leading to cheers from the crowd because they’re in love with the show, too.
But you’re not a part of it.
There is a part of you wants to see what all the fuss is all about, but another part that says it can’t be worth all the hype. You’ll be disappointed because the show has been built up too high to meet your expectations.
Am I going to watch ‘X’ film and ‘Y’ TV show? Maybe, but not today.
When You’re Ready
Sometimes we need to build ourselves to watching a film or television series, for both practical and emotional reasons. If we’re late to watching a TV series, and we need to start from the beginning, it can be daunting to ‘catch up’ with several seasons, containing potentially hundreds of episodes — it can feel like an obstacle to overcome rather than something that should be enjoyed. Similarly a film series can feel like a challenge, requiring us to dedicate substantial time at the risk of being a waste of effort. There are directors I mean to familiarize myself with, but where do I begin? Who do I begin with?
Watching sensitive material may require us to be mentally prepared. Film and television that contains stories and themes about domestic violence, child exploitation and sexual assault to name a few are not intended for casual viewing, and our approach to these subjects demands the respect and attention they deserve. Such material can be intimidating and upsetting to watch — making the choice to watch these films and shows is not often immediate. Choosing to subject oneself to uncomfortable and disturbing content is not done lightly. I’ve watched the first half of the nine hour Holocaust documentary Shoah, which interviews the survivors and guards of Nazi death camps in excruciating detail. The second half of Shoah remains on the hard drive of my Sky box, waiting for me to finish.
Foreign language, silent era, experimental — there are so many films that remove us from the safety of what we’re accustomed to that we might choose to put them aside for another time when we’re ready. Watching film and television outside of our norms needs us to be in the right frame of mind to give them our utmost attention.
Disinterest
This may be the most obvious, but it doesn’t make it easier to admit.
When a film or TV series is showered with awards and critical success how much does our personal taste play a role? Are we watching because we want to, or because everybody else has been swept up in the gossip, hype and marketing? When I talk popular culture with others and someone exclaims “you haven’t seen *insert title*?”, it’s as if I’ve committed some slight. It is my duty to watch *insert title* regardless of whether I’m interested or not.
In truth there are films and shows that we don’t care about seeing, but to remain part of the discussion, to remain up to date with the culture, it is expected of us that we watch them. I have nothing personal against Alejandro González Iñárritu but both Birdman and The Revenant are available for me to view at any time, and they remain unwatched, because I’m not interested. I hear how good the Netflix series House of Cards is meant to be, but I haven’t taken the time to start watching because in truth it’s not my thing. If I don’t want to watch a film or TV show there is no compulsion for me to do so — except from over-enthusiastic fans and my own neuroses.
How do I know I’m not passing on something that I might actually enjoy? I don’t know for sure, and that’s why it’s on my list. I’m not interested in watching ‘X’ film or ‘Y’ TV show, but I could be wrong.
And I have been wrong before.
For a long time my older brother repeatedly suggested that I watch the Steven S. DeKnight’s series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which I thought looked derivative and trashy. When I relented and bought the first season I was proven wrong — looking past the extreme violence and frequent nudity there was great writing, characterization and talent on display. From initially being some show I had vaguely heard of a handful of times I was now a convert, and without my brother’s pestering I may have never learned from my error.
My ‘to-watch list’ is in a constant state of flux. Eventually I will hunker down and strike off the films and shows on my list and replace them with new titles. As per usual this construct is built on my over-analytical nature and personal experiences with popular culture — but hey, nobody’s perfect.
The connection we have with others through entertainment and storytelling drives us to always seek more — perhaps more than we can realistically manage. No matter how much we want to absorb there will always be art that we leave behind. Or put on our lists.
Coming soon: Is Violence as Entertainment Okay?
