A social media for movie lovers

Whether on TV, in a theatre or most commonly through an online streaming service, watching movies is a favorite pastime for most people. Beyond watching the film itself, one of the most exciting aspects of watching a movie is finding someone else to discuss it with. It not only opens up a conversation about enjoyable scenes but also invites people to discuss the topic of film in general. “Have you seen (insert film)?” is usually followed by the statement “You have to watch it.” Often though these conversations go unheeded and are filed away with all the other movie recommendations. Letterboxd, a social media app for movie lovers, offers a solution to this problem.

While websites such as Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb and Roger Ebert offer film reviews, lists and interactive qualities, their focus is not on creating a community of discussion. Created in 2011 and available to the public since 2013, Letterboxd is a free social media app that allows users to mark every film they have seen through a simple and entertaining process; members are provided with lists and pictures of popular films that can be easily modified and organized. The app also allows members to make their own lists, write reviews, keep a film diary and continue to add to their watchlist of films that they have not yet seen.

Regarding the social media aspect, Letterboxd allows members to follow friends, granting them access to their friends’ profiles of films, reviews, lists, watchlists and likes. The accessible, simple and familiar design of this app adds to its appeal; every movie is displayed the way it would be when scrolling through sites like Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Upon clicking on a film, members are taken to the film’s info page that provides ratings, summaries, reviews and its appearance on various lists. In addition, the app provides a “watched by” or “wants to watch” section if a friend has seen or wants to see that same film. For people interested in Auteur cinema or in watching films featuring a specific actor, the app has a search section of “cast and crew” that pairs with IMDb.

On the app’s home page is a list of that week’s popular films, friends’ viewing activity, recent news and reviews, and trending film lists. Some examples of the entertaining and specific lists on the app include “Befriending the lyrical loneliness… essential movies for lonely people out there if you want to feel something in the big big world,” “Frank Ocean’s Favorite Movies,” and “Foreign Cinema: A Beginner’s Guide” that all offer educational and entertaining niche categories.

With the rise of movie accessibility through various streaming services, it’s often easy to feel overwhelmed with the amount of content being offered. While Apple Music, Spotify or Soundcloud serve as a synthesis of social media and music streaming, streaming apps for movie watchers don’t offer this same social perk.

In many ways this makes sense because it takes a lot longer to watch a movie that a friend recommended than a song, what Letterboxd offers is a mode of organization that isn’t as commonly found with films. Being able to document which films one has watched as well as mark certain movies as favorites to be displayed on their profile gives Letterboxd a more personal feel. In addition, the app has a growing database of over 200,000,000 films marked as watched.

Letterboxd continues to grow as members browse the app and find movies that they have seen or plan on seeing. In addition, Letterboxd has celebrity users such as Sean Baker, Director of “Starlet,” “Tangerine,” and “The Florida Project,” and Roger Avary, co-writer of “Pulp Fiction” and “Reservoir Dogs,” which suggests that eventually Letterboxd will grow to have more directors and actors involved.

What’s so enticing about this app is its appeal to a wide range of social media interests. In contrast to apps like Instagram and Facebook, Letterboxd doesn’t emphasize the amount of followers each profile has but instead allows members to comment on lists or write reviews that others can read. It serves as an interactive community rather than focusing on an aestheticized image or set of curated interests. Letterboxd relies on users to add all of the films they have seen, offering a chance to track one’s wide accumulation of films. Regardless of dedication to watching and documenting films, Letterboxd offers features for everyone with a user friendly interface on both the phone and computer. It’s exciting, fun and brings organization to the very overwhelming world of film and content.

Written by: Rosie Schwarz — arts@theaggie.org

Student artist and Bike Barn mechanic finds ways to combine her passions

Molly Moritzburke, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, might be a familiar face at the Bike Barn. As manager of the campus-favorite repair shop, she is either running the register, training new mechanics or getting her hands greasy in the workshop.

“I started working here when I was a sophomore,” Moritzburke said. “I have been into mountain biking for a really long time. When I got to Davis, I didn’t really have an outlet for that. I thought that working on bikes would be a good alternative to riding bikes.”

Moritzburke is not only mechanically minded in terms of academics and bikes, she’s also an artist by nature.

“I have always been really into art as a kid, and thought I wanted to be an artist and go into art as a major,” Moritzburke said. “I screen print T-shirts for myself and friends now, and I do mostly acrylic painting. After a certain point I became interested in science and engineering as well, and I decided that would be a more fitting career path for me. But I still keep art in my life.”

Specifically, she sustains her artistic talent through the art she does for the Bike Barn. Moritzburke illustrates the quirky promotional signs that decorate the repair shop, from aggressive turkeys to Freddie Mercury.

“I usually update them twice a quarter, following the seasons and what’s going on in the area,” Moritzburke said. “It’s fun for me to have an artistic outlet at work, but it also provides information and attracts customers. The Freddie Mercury one was on UC Davis Snaps, and I’ve had people comment on my signs in the store.”

Beyond illustration, Moritzburke has begun to paint bikes — her two seemingly-unrelated passions intertwining even more directly. Using acrylic paint and a clear coating to finish, Moritzburke creates intricate, abstract designs on various bikes for friends and family.

“When you paint a bike, you have to start from a blank slate,” Moritzburke said. “My aunt had this old bike that the paint was coming off of, so she had all the paint taken off and base coated blue. She told me to do whatever I wanted on it. I don’t usually have an idea before I start. I’ll paint just blocks of color on the bike and then it will develop from there.”

While her practice is unaffiliated with the Bike Barn, polishing her mechanical dexterity at work has aided the hands-on skills necessary in her personal artistic venture.

“Working [at the Bike Barn] gave me the skills to do a lot of things that are necessary to painting bikes — how to take apart bikes, what materials I need to use to make it possible to paint a bike,” Moritzburke said. “Usually you have to take apart the bike completely to paint it, because you don’t want to get paint on any of the threaded surfaces. To strip the paint off the bike, I use a drill with a steel-wool like material attachment or just hand scrub it.”

The Bike Barn then becomes a setting for repairs, tune ups and creativity alike.  

“I think the Bike Barn pulls on a lot of my interests: art, engineering and bikes,” Moritzburke said. “Those are the main things I think about on a daily basis. It’s been interesting to see how these things fit in together. The inspiring thing has been finding that meshing.”

Moritzburke isn’t the only employee who participates in the Bike Barn’s aesthetic possibilities. Other employees collectively contribute to the artistic energy of the shop, playing off the physical space that attracted them initially.

“There’s always good music playing, our space is really eclectic,” Moritzburke said. “You don’t come in here and think that it’s clean or organized. But it is a space that draws in a lot of creative employees. We have musicians and graphic designers and more. It makes it a really interesting place to work, and we try to hire people who would enjoy working in this environment. I think that draws in those types of people naturally.”

A long table lives within the mechanic-only area of the Bike Barn, where workers discuss and hangout to the tune of hammers, loud music and sparks flying. Creativity, in this case, finds a home in a rather unlikely space, yet simultaneously and ironically, without surprise. For Moritzburke, “it’s more than about working on bikes.”

Written by: Caroline Rutten — arts@theaggie.org

How Aggies are keeping their resolutions from failing

New Year’s resolutions have become a tradition that many people look forward to, and much of their appeal stems from the new commitment to make a change in one’s life. Making resolutions may be part of the way people celebrate the New Year today, but this tradition actually has a history that started 4,000 years ago with the Babylonians.

For the Babylonians, the New Year began in mid-March and took place during the Akitu, a 12-day religious festival in which they decided to either name a new king or assure their king of their unwavering loyalty. During the New Year, the Babylonians would promise their gods that they would pay off their debts. If they did as promised, then the gods would reward them with another year.

Similar to the Babylonians, the Romans offered a sacrifice to their gods and would promise to be good-natured in the upcoming year. Emperor Julius Caesar changed the calendar and decided that January 1 would be the New Year for 46 B.C.

These traditions often meant self-preservation from the gods, but it also represented working toward being a better person. The New Year’s resolutions for the gods meant that people had to better themselves. While some may not relate their resolutions with a higher power as much now, they still craft resolutions to improve their lives.

Every year resolutions are made with hopeful intentions, but every year there are many people who can’t keep up with the demands of sticking to their resolutions. One common victim of this struggle is the getting-in-shape resolution. In January, there is a 12 percent increase in new gym memberships compared to the average 8.3 percent year round, according to USNEWS.

Lolita Ghadimian, a first-year pharmaceutical chemistry major, found a way to beat the statistics and continue going to the gym in order to accomplish her goals.

“One way I stick to [my resolution is that] I find out my friends’ schedules, and we figure out a time everyday to go,” Ghadimian said.

For some students, having to go to the gym an hour everyday when they are struggling to find time to go to classes, cook for themselves, go to work, study and sleep well can be difficult. With the added resolution of eating healthy, one must also go out of their way to find healthy recipes and learn how to cook them. Given all this, it can seem so much easier to just whip up some mac and cheese.

“I go to the [Dining Commons], and when I see the sweets bar, I just walk away,” Ghadimian said.

Emily Holt, a second-year civil engineering major, admitted that she doesn’t make any resolutions.

“I know I’m not going to stick to them, so I don’t even bother,” Holt said.

However, unlike Holt, there are still quite a few people that make resolutions, and a lot of them are long term goals. Long term goals are common, and it’s good to set them as life goals. Goals like being healthier, losing weight or exercising more often are all long term goals. Yet the effects of goals like these cannot happen overnight, nor can they happen without constant persistence. This makes long term goals the most difficult to keep, despite their benefits.

January is a time to reflect on how to improve oneself for a better year and a better life in general. New Year’s resolutions are little bits of hope that we keep within ourselves, hope that allows us to strive for a greater future.

Max Zielsdorf, a fourth-year materials science and engineering major, stated that his goal was to be more optimistic.

“It’s just generally one thought at a time,” Zielsdorf said. “You look into it and you see how can I make that a more positive thought? You can’t do that for every thought you just have to recognize when your thoughts are tending to go toward negative so you correct where you can.”

Keeping up with New Year’s resolutions is hard, and people may slip up from time to time, but it’s just a matter of commitment. When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, it’s important to recognize the progress being made and try not to focus on the fact that the goal has yet to be achieved. If it doesn’t go as planned, there’s always next year.

Written by: Itzelth Gamboa — arts@theaggie.org

Netflix film challenges societal standards of motherhood, mental illness

On Dec. 13, Netflix released “Bird Box,” an original film that is both a thriller and an existential drama which digs into the presumptions society has about motherhood and those with severe mental illness. Malorie, played by Sandra Bullock, finds herself locked in a house with half a dozen strangers, unable to go outside or even look out a window. The consequence of doing either would result in an entity revealing something so despicable in their eyes that it causes them to commit suicide. To reach safety, Malorie and her two children risk their lives and row down a river blindfolded.

Malorie is pregnant at the beginning of the film, and it’s clear that she tries to avoid thinking about her impending role as a mother — who could blame her? Parenthood is the blind leading the blind, but in this case, it’s the blindfolded. Director Susanne Bier, well known for her ability to portray nuanced human emotions in the midst of chaos, draws out Malorie’s soft side as the movie progresses and pierces through her guarded front.

“Bird Box” is suspenseful from start to finish, and there’s little time devoted to character development in the first few scenes because of the apocalyptic mass suicides. This developmental delay is also present in Malorie’s decision to avoid giving her two children names; she simply calls them Boy and Girl. What seems like a harsh consequence of neglect can be viewed as a necessary survival tactic.

Olivia, played by Danielle Macdonald, represents the societal norm of what it means to be a good mother. The fact that her character ultimately doesn’t survive, however, suggests that being a nurturing mother is not appropriate for survival in their new world. Malorie is tough because that is what is necessary to survive. The role of a stone cold parent who disowns their emotions for the sake of the greater good is usually bestowed upon father figures. Malorie also suppresses the children’s dreams and sense of what could be. Tom, played by Trevante Rhodes, is in opposition to this approach because he feels that hope is what drives survival and emphasizes the difference between surviving and living — a perspective usually held by a nurturing motherly figure. This reversal of stereotypical gender norms defies the evaluation of parents based on their gender.

Ali Wong, a comedian and writer for “Fresh Off the Boat” on ABC, said in her latest stand-up on Netflix, “It takes so little to be called a really great dad, and it takes so little to be called a really shitty mom.” The standards placed upon women to act in a certain overly-affectionate manner is used as an evaluative tool to determine if a woman is a good or bad mother. “Bird Box,” however, challenges the valorization of affectionate mothers by making Malorie the protagonist, as opposed to Olivia.

The characters were blindfolded for a large portion of the movie, which left room for more creative techniques with the cinematography. Some of the scenes became increasingly more intense because the camera shot was from behind the blindfold — making the viewer feel a sensory deprivation that parallels the experiences of the characters themselves.

Bullock had to rely on her voice to express Malorie’s emotions while on the river to the safe place, which is an amazing feat considering that the eyes are often a focal point for cameras in an emotion-driven scene. The pace of Malorie’s intense breathing becomes the overpowering sound in a few scenes as a clever way to make up for the viewers’ lack of ability to see her eye expressions.

Gary, played by Tom Hollander, represents one of the “crazy” people in the movie. Not only can he look at the threat without committing suicide but he also invites — or rather, forces — others to look at the entity and see its “truth.” He disguises himself as a fellow survivor and manipulates his way into the house with Malorie and the others, but it is eventually revealed that his intention was to make them “see.” This portrayal of individuals with severe mental illness seems to distort the societal hierarchy that places “sane” people at the top and “crazy” people at the bottom. It flips the widely held idea that those with mental illness can’t be on the right side of the truth, and possibly, that everyone else can’t see what they see — the “truth.”

Birds are often used as a metaphor for freedom, and in the movie, following the sound of the birds is how Malorie and her children reach their freedom in the form of a shelter. They also serve as a warning signal for when the entity is near — letting people know their freedom is in danger.

For me, the film came to a screeching halt, and it felt as if there were avenues left unexplored. The movie could have answered a few logistical questions about the entity, which causes everyone to commit suicide, without making the viewers surrender their own theory as to what it could be representing.  

“Bird Box” is a true testament to the influence Netflix possesses because the popularity and accessibility of streaming helps encourage people like myself to explore a genre that they wouldn’t normally seek out. The scale has tipped in favor of streaming over going to the cinema, which arguably helped to foster more conversation about the film.

Bird Box is available for streaming on Netflix.

Written by: Josh Madrid – arts@theaggie.org