What is "Moviegoing with Bill" About?
Dear Moviegoers,
My writing is "very conversational" and has "a southern charm," according to a very kind and complimentary individual. A most warm and hearty set of descriptors, I take them as.
It could be a modus operandi of sorts, but I think of film criticism not as gate-keeping or even as something to be written with "consumers" in mind. Personally, all art is worth the time to think about, and that includes movies, even and especially the assembly line types. Reviews, criticism, or however we prefer to call the writing, I think of them best as parts of an ongoing conversation that curates and encourages all the same.
If films can be thought of as mirrors held up to the world (which is arguable), does it make watching and talking about them acts of vanity? Maybe, and that could be ok. How else are we to learn about ourselves, others, and the relationships between? It's a dialogue that's spoken, written, acted out, and tangible to no end. It's "pieces of time" to engage with over and over again.
I've tossed and turned about my writing, blog after blog, for a long while now, and have reached the partial understanding that reviews are never finite, and that these conversation starters or continuations should be allowed to never conclude. There's comfort and fun in that.
And so, here at Moviegoing with Bill, readers and moviegoers alike will find my thoughts on movies as being like talking film with me, from before a screening to in the theater lobby and on the walk home. "An incredible simulation," maybe, but let's get creative with this.
I could open a review with a question and end with another. I could include fictional characters or add in real experiences and anecdotes. Why not?
It's always been a goal of mine to contribute, in some way, to moviegoing culture. To get people out of their bubbles and into a cinema, whether it's brick & mortar or homemade. To escape into something to be chewed on later. To talk with friends, family, and neighbors alike.
If all of that represents "southern charm," then I suppose I can go with that as part of who I am and how I write. And, hopefully, y'all will see this blog that way, too.
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And, of course, should anyone wish to message me outside of the blog, send an email to [email protected] anytime.
As was asked in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, "Do fish have dreams?"
Let's find out.