It feels like everyone and their mum is on Letterboxd these days. Whether you’ve heard it come up in passing, you’ve been forced into getting the app by your annoying film-obsessed friend (I’m that friend), or you’re just an informed movie buff, it’s no wonder that Letterboxd is the place to be in our digital age full of “screenagers”. I’m here to force feed you all my thoughts that I have on this app, whether you like it or not. So, here goes.
The Letterboxd pros. One, it lets you release your inner yapper. Ever been told off by your friends for chatting too much and to just shut up so they can enjoy the movie? Well, lucky for you, Letterboxd is a place where you can announce all your thoughts. So go ahead; the world is your oyster. Two, it lets you look up, list, log, review, and rank practically every movie in existence. Any decade, any language, any genre.
Speaking of possibilities, in my mind, there are two ends of the spectrum when it comes to Letterboxd users. Number one, those that don’t take the app seriously at all. We’re talking one-word reviews, usually commenting on the attractiveness of the actors or the director even. Think: “Milf/Dilf”. Number two: critics. They take their job very seriously (maybe too seriously). Now, in another league of their own, we have celebrities. My personal favourite is Ayo Edebiri, although apparently Paul Mescal is lurking somewhere on the app secretly (we will hunt you down, Paul). And, of course, I have to mention THE Martin Scorsese. If good ol’ Marty is on Letterboxd and you’re not, what are you even doing?
Now like all good things, Letterboxd has some flaws. There is no messaging feature—which is a con when you meet someone in line for a club and manage to ask for their Letterboxd, but not their Instagram or Snapchat, so you have no way of contacting them (smart move, Audrey)! Also, some would argue that the purpose of logging everything just to say you’ve watched it completely defeats the purpose of watching a movie and even diminishes appreciation for films. Exhibit A, I once went on a movie date with a guy who asked me about Barbie. Not necessarily my opinions on Barbie, but my rating of it on Letterboxd. And do you know what the first thing he did after the movie ended was? Logged his rating on the app. One word: Ick.
But Letterboxd guy isn’t alone; I’ve also had friends tell me they’ve spent an entire movie’s duration thinking about what they’re going to write in their Letterboxd review rather than being fully immersed in the movie itself. It begs the question: when we condense all our opinions on a movie into a single rating, or our favourite films into a “Top Four,” is it limiting?
Perhaps, in a world that is chronically online, Letterboxd is a lesson to be aware of our obsessions. We can all be cinephiles… but in moderation.
“Letterboxd” by focal5 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.