Movies, an Official Declaration, and a Couple Acronyms

I have watched at least one movie each day of this month. I've reached a point where I will watch a movie not necessarily because I want to, but rather to keep the streak alive. I know it cannot go on forever, but I'll probably try to keep it going until June rolls around.

All this has led me to think about the very act of watching movies. I'm not going to get theoretical or philosophical about the nature of film or the relationship between art and reality - I could but I won't - but I will make one simple observation: there is a drastic difference in the experience of watching a film by oneself and watching a film with one or more other people. The group experience also varies according to the number of people; watching a movie with one other person is very different than watching that same movie with ten people.

Location also plays a large role in determining the movie watching experience (the dark theater is much different than a living room or bedroom), but I won't delve into that.

What I'm getting at is this: while nearly all of my formative and most cathartic movie-watching experiences have occurred when I watch films alone, I absolutely enjoy watching films with groups of people - though enjoyment does hinge on the quality of the group dynamic. For the last few months I have been trying to organize, to varying degrees of success, movie nights. There were the two Cheesy Mormon Cinema Nights, the Non-Cheesy Mormon Cinema Night, the Groundhog Day celebration, and so on. Some movie nights were admittedly better than others, but not even the poorest of turnouts has dampened my enthusiasm for movie nights.

This blog provides all the evidence I need to say that I am a sharing person, and I love to share the things I love, especially literature, music, and film. That being said, I am hereby declaring my official intent to create a film-viewing group, a movie club or whatever you want to call it. (This reminds me of the reading group I participated in as a college freshman that never really took off. I called it the Pseudo-Intellectual Short Story Reading Society. I found the acronym - PISSRS - hilarious; oh to be juvenile once again).

I am writing about this intent to create a movie group because I need to know if anyone is interested in doing this. If people are actually interested, we would agree on a time that works best for everyone while remaining flexible and open to accommodating extenuating circumstances. Everyone would have input in deciding the films we would watch, and there would be no restraints on genre or even excellence (watching a terrible film for pure enjoyment is a worthwhile endeavor). One week we could watch an absurd comedy, the next a soul crushing drama. One week a mindless action movie, the next an informative documentary. Everything is fair game - even marathons of television programs. As a Netflix subscriber, I have access to a very extensive selection of films. Basically, there are very few films we could not obtain. We could even take field trips to see current theatrical releases. I'm getting all giddy just thinking about it.

I think this could be a lot of fun if people are committed to making it happen. Anyone reading this who happens to be interested and willing to fully participate, let me know. Even if just a handful of people commit, I foresee many enjoyable experiences taking place. I'll hold off on giving this group a name until others can participate. That will give me time to come up with something better than the Pseudo-Intellectual Movie People Society (PIMPS). Anyone?

Postscript: I'm also open to the idea of starting a book club.