A journal of my thoughts when trying to decide what to watch
Just use the watchlist, that’s what it’s there for.
Past You did Future You (who is now Present You) a huge favor by going through each streaming service and curating your watchlist with things You (All-Time) would like to watch. It is now there for You to choose from.
Yeah, but there’s a reason why I didn’t watch those things then, and those reasons are probably still a reason why I don’t want to watch them now. Maybe it’s not the right vibe. Or maybe some of the things I’m waiting to watch with somebody else. Some of them I’m not sure if somebody else wants to watch or not. Some of them are too long, or are meant for a time when I can pay close attention, and I’m not sure if now is a time where I can pay close attention (it’s been a long day, I’m wiped1.)
There should be multiple watchlist categories that you can label for different watching occasions. That way, you can pull the right watchlist up at the right time. Somebody get me in touch with one of the streamers. This is a million dollar idea. It’s at least a few thousand dollar idea. Is this just what Letterboxd is?
What mood am I even in now? Nothing too long, or that I have to pay close attention to, that’s for sure. Do I want to watch a dumb comedy? How dumb are we talking here? Will that just make me mad? If I watch a dumb comedy will I just go into a rage-spiral because this movie got made and how is this any better than the last script I wrote that was “so funny we had to meet with you” but “not something we can buy right now”? Or maybe that will inspire me. Maybe watching something dumb and “bad” will get me working on the new script I’ve been lazy about. Maybe it will make me push through and finish it instead of just putting it off. Should I just write now? If I don’t know what I want to watch, maybe that’s a sign I should write. But I’m wiped. It’s been a long day.2
I’ve been scrolling this whole time. I spaced and I haven’t even paid attention to what I’ve been passing by. I gotta go back.
What about an app that’s just fake movie posters for fake movies that don’t exist and you just scroll through it. You could write little fake descriptions of the movies and everything. Little movie synopsis parodies. I could treat it like a writing exercise. Write as many loglines for stupid movies as I can think of as fast as I can think of them and then Photoshop a fake poster for them. I bet there will be some good ideas that sneak in. Forcing yourself to come up with as many bad ideas as possible is always a way to come up with at least a couple good ideas. I bet people would just this app, too. Just look at funny movie poster parodies and descriptions without the stress of having to ever choose anything to actually watch.
Did I just describe picking something to watch on TV as stressful? What is wrong with me?
I should switch to another service. I’ve been scrolling here too long. Peacock maybe? I never look at Peacock, maybe hidden treasures are waiting for me on Peacock. Oh shit, I don’t have Peacock? I thought I had Peacock. Did I have somebody else’s Peacock login? Why did they get rid of Peacock, don’t they know that hidden treasures are waiting for them on Peacock?
What time is it? Nine PM. Is it too late to start a movie? Probably. I could go to bed and wake up early and try to write tomorrow morning. That’s probably a better use of my time and energy. If I write first thing in the morning I won’t have the excuse of being wiped. But I will feel like I’m shirking other responsibilities. I know myself. I’ll tell myself it’ll “be better” if I answer a few emails first and then get to writing. Then, before I know it, I’ve had a long day and I’m wiped again.3
Oooh, I’ve been wanting to watch this for a while. But not now, I gotta be in a different mood. I’ll add it to the watchlist.
They’re all long days. I’m always wiped.
I’m always wiped. It’s always a long day.
Yup. Here we are.