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| Farley Granger and Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train |
Me: Hi!
You: Hi...
Me: Welcome!
You: What is this?
Me: Honestly, I don't know. But I'm glad you're here. Do people still read blogs?
You: I'm not sure.
Me: Hmm...
You: What's it gonna be about?
Me: What's what gonna be about?
You: Your blog.
Me: Oh. Sure. Probably movies.
You: Probably?
Me: Definitely. Sorry. I don't know why I'm doing this.
You: You don't have to.
Me: That's true. But if I don't, I'll keep thinking about it. And I really need some sort of creative outlet.
You: But does it need to be a movie blog? There's already a lot of those.
Me: I know. And I don't read any of them.
You: Me neither. Why don't you do something else? Make a podcast... Take to social media...
Me: I had a podcast.
You: What was that about?
Me: Don't worry about it. It's gone now and you'll never find it. As for social media... I've mostly stopped participating, and been actively scrubbing old posts. I did start using Letterboxd though, and-
You: -and now you think you're a movie critic? You want to stretch your legs and see if you can write more than just some quick thoughts and obvious jokes? Give bloviating a try?
Me: Now hang on. I'm just trying to -
You: Why movies?
Me: ...
You: ...
Me: I don't know, dude. They've just been a constant in my life - in all of our lives. We're all here just trying to make sense of things, and one of the great tools we have is storytelling. And movies are perfect for that. It's collective audio-visual storytelling that places everyone in the exact same position. An accessible, engrossing, omnipresent medium. And everybody likes movies. I mean, you like them, right?
You: Sure.
Me: It's a young artform. Which works in favor of someone like me with a completist mindset. You can't watch everything, but it feels, foolishly, like you could get close. I know I will die with unread books on my shelf, but in my expected lifetime I might be able to watch everything I really want to see.
You: Is this healthy? This way of thinking?
Me: I also like that we can trace film back to its roots, track its evolution - be part of its evolution! It's a chronicle of who we were, and a barometer for who we are now and what we wish to be. I love how quickly it went from curiosity to tool to creative expression. You start with people walking around a garden in the 1880s and within twenty years you have narrative films, animation, color, special effects, feature-length stories, a thriving entertainment industry...
You: [yawn]
Me: That today generates mind-blowing spectacles that rattle bones, shatter eardrums, and trigger enough dopamine to make us forget who or where we are for 90-150 minutes at a time.
You: I do like that. You excited for Fast X?
Me: You know that I am! And what's great is that we can all experience it. These billion-dollar franchises are for everyone. One way or another, you can probably gain access to this thing, either in theaters or through streaming or on disc at your local library.
You: Do you work for the library?
Me: That's not important... But... You have a library card, right?
You: Somewhere.
Me: Because you know they have movies, right? Like Blockbuster and Family Video died, but the place people think is just for dusty books is curating a massive collection of physical media that you can borrow from for free. Not to mention apps like Hoopla and Kanopy...
You: We get it. Libraries are great. You're very special.
Me: Thank you.
You: Geez, you do get excited about this stuff, huh? So the plan is to vent all these feelings here? Because nobody wants to listen to you talk about them in your day-to-day?
Me: More or less. I also have a hard time getting thoughts out. Lot of stammering, lot of sputtering while I search for the right words. I don't talk this much in real life. You would be responsible for steering this conversation.
You: I'm sort of doing that now.
Me: Yes, but this is my imagination.
You: What?
Me: Nevermind.
You: Who are you again?
Me: Oh, yes, sorry. I'm Matt.
You: Hi Matt.
Me: Hi! And hey, look at that, we're back at the beginning of the conversation, where names usually get exchanged.
You: Yes... Now what?
Me: Seems like a good place to stop for now.
You: The beginning?
Me: Why not? You get what's happening here. Guy likes movies. Guy writes about movies. Maybe people will read. Maybe they won't. Tale as old as time.
You: Well... Good luck, I guess.
Me: Thanks! Think you'll be back?
You: Hard to say.
Me: Just say yes.
You: Yes, of course. I'll read all of it.
Me: That means a lot. Apologies up front if it takes a while to get going or if nothing comes of it.
You: Oh, I saw the draft you wrote on this very blog five years ago but never published. I get it.
Me: How did you...?
You: Just make sure to publish this one. Today, preferably.
Me: I'll think about it.
You: Too late. I'm doing it for you.
Me: Hey! Wait! I need to at the very least proofre-
You: [clicks Publish]
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