Updated 4 months ago
Most people probably do this anyway, but recently Iearned to swim against the tide of the rise of the Internet, and just go in blind to films you’ve heard are great. The way we used to. See it raw, as an unadulterated tabula rasa.
Over the past 7 years, I’ve amassed thousands of the best films and TV ever made. They’re all from top cinephile lists, and recommendations from people and institutions I trust.
Trusting that effort, and the standards of quality, I’ve learned that the best way to view film is NOT knowing beforehand anything other than the cast and genre. In a way, the definition of the word “spoiler” has expanded a lot to encompass all the chatter around movies, and that’s a bad thing.
I can even use my media server to randomize the film. I recommend Emby.
Afterward, I can pore into and geek out on all the meta-analysis, reviews, etc.
I’ve never been disappointed, because I know all the content is “good.”
This also works with games, but for other, less immersive media, not so much; for example, art, opera, and architecture all greatly benefit from foreknowledge, with literature somewhere in the middle.
