I
will admit it. I love to watch terrible movies. It isn’t that I don’t
love great movies as well. It’s simply that watching awful films
makes for satisfying sport – the kind of sport that is well suited to
those of us who don’t particularly relish the role of armchair
quarterback.
This
passion for foul cinema led me to found a group dedicated to watching
bad movies and making fun of them. We gather in a private residence
about once a month and screen a double feature of celluloid crud,
while shouting out jokes and enjoying some pizza and popcorn or
whatever treats suit our fancy on a given evening.
Our
group, known as the B Grade Cinema Society, originated in the
workplace. We never watch movies at work and rarely even discuss them
in the workplace, but we did largely meet at the office. Even as
various members of the group have moved on to other companies, they
have continued to be a part of our dastardly screenings.
Why
do people keep hanging around for such lunacy you ask? I believe this
particular brand of madness is great for building camaraderie and
inspiring a specific kind of interaction that is often lacking in our
mobile device driven lives.
Even
the types of “conversations” we have while watching and
berating the films is superior to the detached conversation of texts
and various forms of instant messages. Then there are the
conversations that take place before the first feature, during the
intermission between the films, and at the end of the evening.
In
odd and surprising ways, the films manage to inspire interesting
discussion topics in addition to the other issues we may chew the
proverbial fat about. From Zardoz to Shriek of the Mutilated – from
The Last Dinosaur to Just Before Dawn, we’ve had a lot of laughs and
a lot of worthwhile conversations. The group has now been gathering
for nearly five years, and it is always a fun and humanizing
experience.
Then,
there are the good, even great, movies we sneak in on occasion.
Watching films like The Last of Sheila or Play Misty for Me has
helped to keep the screening experience fresh and has exposed the
group to fantastic films that they might never have encountered
otherwise. Such films tend to inspire discussions more oriented
toward the originality of the script or the caliber of the cinematic
techniques utilized by the director.
So,
what is the lesson here? If watching bad movies and making fun of
them is not your cup of tea, you might find a similar experience in
hosting game nights or in gathering at a cafe for coffee talk. The
broader value of such efforts lies in cultivating a shared human
experience rife with face to face communication. I hope you enjoy
your gatherings as much as we have enjoyed ours.