Hey, Watch it!

I used to watch an incredible number of movies. I don’t anymore. In part due to how expensive it is to see a film in the theater, in part because I just don’t go sit by myself in a theater anymore and enjoy watching something alone. So, when I do pull the wife along with me to see a movie, it’s something that I feel really strongly about seeing or want to support. And if I actually go alone, then that’s a really special movie. Some of me misses just taking an afternoon and going by myself to see a movie.

I used to love going alone to the movie theater. I used to spend some time people watching. I loved not having to measure my reactions to things that happened in the movies. I could just be free in those couple of hours. I’m not sure when that changed but it’s not the same now. Maybe I’ve become a little too used to doing things with someone. Maybe I’ve just found different ways to spend my time that feel more important to me than movies do now. Or maybe it’s the simple fact that I don’t feel so much like I need to escape my life anymore. I lean toward the last more than the others, but I do think that there are flecks of truth in each supposition.

I watch a lot of television now. Partly because my wife loves television. It’s a way for her to decompress from work and free up brain space for much needed rest. Before meeting her, I watched a fair amount of television, but that has increased exponentially since meeting her and, honestly, since binge watching became as easy as pressing a button. I am very picky (I like to pretend I’m fancy and call it discerning) in what I will spend time watching. Because television is an investment. It’s not a two hour and I’m done and leave you behind commitment. It’s a multiple season investment. Hours of my time and energy will go into this. My wife likes to give most television shows a chance. She loves watching pilot episodes and analyzing the process, the tropes, and the gimmicks used to pull people in. I’ve learned to appreciate some aspects of this, but I’m still far pickier than she. I am also much faster at giving up a show if it doesn’t excite me or if it offends me or if I’m too bored. That last, again, is the biggest culprit that makes me drop shows.

So, get to the point, right? How’s this gonna go? Television shows get a post and movies get a post. I have no clue how I’m gonna keep this brief. (Yes, in fact, I do consider in the vicinity of 3,000 words short.) You can maybe gather some of the shows and movies that’ll wind up on these lists from the first posts about my sheroes. Spoiler alert: don’t be surprised when I tell you that Star Wars is my favorite movie series ever.