Almost exactly one year ago during my time at the blog factory, I gave a four-minute flash talk titled "Several Tips for Expanding Your Taste in Films Delivered at a High Speed," where I offered tips on how to broaden one's taste in movies.
A few days ago, while working on a completely unrelated presentation (for a Design Systems workshop, believe it or not), I came across the slides from that talk and thought I’d share them with you here.
Keep a diary
Right after watching a movie, jot down the title, date, and a rating. This habit will help you reflect on your movie experiences and compare them with others you've seen.
Maintain a Watchlist
Write down interesting movies whenever someone recommends them or you come across them. This avoids the dreaded decision paralysis when you're looking for something to watch.
Follow Movie Lovers
Get recommendations from friends with great taste, but also from your favorite filmmakers.
For example, every year Steven Soderbergh shares a list of everything he watched the previous year (here's the 2023 list). And if you like Ayo Edebiri you are in luck, because she shares her watches on her Letterboxd account.
Use Letterboxd
Letterboxd will tell in which of your streaming platforms a particular movie is available. You can also filter your watchlist by platform, follow other people's diaries, and watch their watchlist (a little creepy, but useful!)
By the way, you can follow me there if you like.
Go to the source
Explore films that inspired your favorite movies. For example, if you loved Mission Impossible, check out Topkapi, a heist film that inspired the iconic wire scene and the TV series.
Become a completist
Transform your viewing experience into a game. For example, try watching as many films as possible from a specific director, or with a certain actor/actress, or within a genre, or set in a particular city.
Letterboxd offers a great feature called “Lists,” where you can create or follow lists that others have created. It also shows you how many films from those lists you've watched.
Join the Criterion Channel
Criterion Channel has a great selection of classics and additional material, like interviews with the film crew or mini-docs. You'll need a VPN to set up an account, but after that, they won't bother you again.
Don't Avoid Bad Movies
Watching bad movies is inevitable, but in my experience, they often encourage you to think more deeply about what didn’t work. Plus, discussing them with others is usually much funnier!
PS: don’t get confused, The Red Shoes is a work of art!
Here's a list of all the movies included in the talk: