What I have learnt in the 5 years of The Cinematic Aficionado

So......It was recently, my blog’s 5-year anniversary. I can't believe it's been 5 years since I clicked publish on my first review of Ready Player One, on the 11th of April 2018, which happened to be my first review ever. 

And so much has changed in those five years, from graduating from university to finishing law school as well as going through a really tough time during the pandemic and 2021. 

Looking back, here are some things I have learned in those 5 years of creating content…

Reviews don’t have to be very long to convey a message 

I always thought that I needed to have reviews of over 700 words for them to be considered valid. I would look at what I had written and if it didn’t have fully fleshed-out sections with in-depth explanations, I didn’t feel as though my reviews were worth reading. And as I have written countless reviews since then, those feelings haven’t gone away. I still feel as though I need to have pages and pages worth of words for my reviews to be valid. That simply isn’t true. Whether try blog posts are 100 or 1000 words, each one was written with the same amount of attention. Sometimes I just have more to say. 

You don’t have to see every single movie that comes out for your opinion on film to be valid

This is one that I have struggled with, especially since I stopped reviewing movies as religious as I used to (something I explain in this blog post from August last year). In the past two years, these feelings of inadequacy pop up at the end of the year and around award season. When my peers are talking about their favourite movies of the year and the films that could and would win their respective awards, I become filled with this huge sense of guilt that I haven’t seen the movies that are being mentioned. I realise that my opinion and love of film are still valid even though I haven’t seen all the major releases 

You don’t have to see every single movie that comes out for your opinion on film to be valid 

This is one that I have struggled with, especially since I stopped reviewing movies as religious as I used to (something I explain in this blog post from August last year). In the past two years, these feelings of inadequacy pop up at the end of the year and around award season. When my peers are talking about their favourite movies of the year and the films that could and would win their respective awards, I become filled with this huge sense of guilt that I haven’t seen the movies that are being mentioned. I realise that my opinion and love of film are still valid even though I haven’t seen all the major releases 

You don’t have to have watched every single classic for your opinion on films to be valid 

This is tied to my earlier point, especially when I tell people that I review movies,  they ask me if I have seen specific answers and I respond with a “Nope haven’t seen it.” When this happens, imposter syndrome kicks in I feel as though I am not qualified to call myself a film reviewer as I haven’t seen some of the movies that are considered masterpieces. The feelings attached to these are very hard to let go of because I feel as though my opinion can’t be trusted. However, that is balanced out by the amount of love I have received on my reviews, whether or not they are from movies that are considered classics or not.  Whether the film came out 5 years ago or 50 years ago, I’m learning that my opinion is still valid. 

Honesty is very important 

Just because you have been asked to watch a movie does not mean you should lie about your feeling. Is it awkward to come back to someone after you watch a movie they recommend and tell them you don’t like it? Yes, however, it’s okay if you don’t like something. Films are subjective and you won’t like everything. Thousands of movies come out every single year and there is definitely something out there for everyone. It may just be in a place you haven’t looked at yet. 

Your review style is just that, YOURS. You don’t need fancy software or cool graphics for your blog (or Youtube channel)  to be valued by others 

While I o consider myself a creative person, graphic design is not my passion and that’s okay. It’s one of the reasons I picked a blog in the first place. I have said many times that one of the reasons I haven’t posted on YouTube is because I don’t have a camera or the best editing software, and while those things definitely make for better quality videos, it doesn't take away from what I have to say in those videos.

It feels great to have a sense of community

Writing/Filming reviews can be pretty lonely at times because you spend a lot of time at home on your computer, and when the review comes out, and when the review comes out, you move on to the next one. It can be very hard to see the reach you have. Then you look at your comments, analytics, or social media. And everything changes, numbers become names and tangible people who tell you that they like your work. And that fills me with a joy that is really hard to describe. It makes you feel as though the energy that you are putting into reviewing movies is paying off.

Reading comments and engaging with other creators has been so much fun. Having a community that supports you, recommends movies for you to watch ad eagerly waits for your next post is probably my favouite part of being a content creator.

Your voice is important 

Whether you have 5 followers, 500 followers, or 5 thousand followers. Those people followed eye for a reason. It can be very easy to compare yourself to other creators and see their growth, compare it with your own, and feel like you’re not where you want to be, and it’s okay. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. You cannot see what other people are doing behind the scenes, and what may seem like sudden growth can come from years of work and sleepless nights. Try to keep working and work to the best of your ability. 

It is okay to take a break 

Your comfort and mental health should come first before anything else. These feelings, in particular, have been very hard for me to shake as I feel less than others, especially when I look at the rate at which other people watch and review movies, I  go on Instagram and see people posting almost every day and yearn for days past where I would have at least one review out every single week. The main reason for my prolonged absence is detailed in this post but I will post a quote from it. 

The biggest reasons for the lack of reviews, however, has been my mental health and burnout. Looking back at 2020, putting out content the way I was, wasn’t and isn’t sustainable. I am not a machine that can churn out blog posts and videos every day, I thought I could but I can’t.

Trying to get back into film reviewing has been really tough. There have been multiple absences and even more apologies, with promises to come back soon. And with each broken promise, there has also been a tremendous amount of guilt.

It’s not that I don’t want to get back to reviews, I just can’t. I’m learning that it can take years to recover from burnout. And I am still recovering. I started this blog in 2018 when I was 20 years old and I am turning 25. My life then does not look like my now, I’ve been through really high-highs and really low-lows, and it’s best to not rush back and create content for the sake of it rather than because I love movies. 

That is why you get the sporadic post from me because I still want to do this, I still want to review movies and foster the amazing community that I have. It’s just taking a lot longer than I planned.

This blog is very important to me and it’s time that I give it the love and attention that it and you lovely people deserve. 

So all in all, thank you for 5 years and even though I have not been the most consistent, I hope you stick with me for another 5. 

Signing off with a picture I took when I officially launched the blog.