a neurodivergent guide to patching holes in your film nerdery

Start a letterboxd account. You can catalog reactions, date watched, and this can also be used as a place to save “to watch” lists. I use Trakt only for that final purpose because it also logs TV shows.
Anything you can think of to add to the list, start it now. Then, pick 3 people you admire. Ask them what their favorite films of all time are. You will now have an incredibly long list. Ask those same people what the biggest film they can think of from their childhood is - your list will now double. If you feel like it - go look up the 200 films you have to watch before film school. Any title that seems important, or cool to you, put it down.
Do not take on people’s reasons as to why you should watch a film - those have nothing to do with you. Even if they say they think you’ll love it - release that. This is about what YOU think, what YOU enjoy, what sparks joy for you, and not everyone is going to understand the cavernous maze of your mind.
Now, this is important - forget the list. It is there to raise your awareness of the films you may come across in the wild. Trust me - I tried using the list to decide what to watch - you will be paralyzed. You will see this entire enterprise as a chore. You will be tired. You won’t be excited. Just keep the list there, so you know when you’ve sunk a battleship, so to speak - when a film you watched was a film you intended to watch.
Keep adding to the list any time someone mentions a film. Pay attention to the titles and intriguing details each time you add it, so you’ll recognize it if it shows up again, or someone recommends it again.
Pick ONE venue (Indie Cinema nearby, BFI Player on Amazon, searching “classic” or “iconic” on Netflix). Pick ONE regular timeslot (every evening, every Friday, every Sunday morning, every time your partner and you need a break)
Go to that venue, and pick something that sparks joy (this will often be something from your list, by virtue of it being something you recognize)
Shut everything else off and vibe. It can be good to remind yourself that you’re gonna need to leave a quippy review after you watch this, or have opinions about it when asked - that allows me to relax into a “duty” to focus, without feeling like it’s a demand. You have to be able to say why you don’t like something and develop your taste by knowing why you do like something.

Repeat steps 2-8 until you feel insufferably knowledgeable about the ‘classics’. Rebel against conventional wisdom, like me, and the world becomes infinitely more exciting.

💕If you need any more specific advice, or more specific recs, let me know in the comments💕

Stay Safe, keep ya mask on, Free Palestine,

UMNIA💕

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Easter egg for the eagle-eyed 🪺

17 obscure (!) ‘classics’ for you to add to your list, that I feel are not just worth watching but may actually be the reason the medium of cinema was invented.

Singing in the Rain
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Mary Poppins
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The First Wives Club
The Sound of Music
The Big Lebowski
A Serious Man
Dog Day Afternoon
Night of the Hunter
Before Sunset (the entire trilogy, in order, but specifically this one)
Cabaret
All That Jazz
2001: A Space Odyssey
Bringing Out the Dead
To Wong Foo, Thanks for everything! Julie Newmar
Frances Ha