The Free Spirit's Foolproof Guide to Choosing What to Watch

We are living in the age of automation. Things that were once done, through great effort, by a human hand are now done by machines. The land is tilled by tractors, our clothing manufactured, and for many of us, even our entertainment is chosen by an artificial guide.

Gone are the days that we choose a movie based on what our friend recommended, what was in stock at blockbuster, or which scrap of paper we picked out of a hat. Now is the age of the algorithm. Companies like Netflix, Disney, and Amazon filter thousands of titles based on our individual profiles' preferences and picks to find our ideal next viewing experience, and to quite a degree of success. Netflix reported in 2016 that 80% of their viewer’s title choices were following the recommendation of an AI engine. It's convenient, it's effective, and let’s be honest, it's oh so... boring.

As with many things, when it comes to choosing a movie to watch, or show to binge, there is a familiar stirring of the soul-- a longing for the old fashioned way.

That same longing has driven countless others to do seemingly frustrating and inconvenient things, like camping, mountain climbing, and knitting, all in the name of experiencing life as it was in the good old days, and for an avid screen junkie, that means stepping out of the box of algorithms and artificial intelligence, and taking back the reins of choice. After all, why should we let what we watch be chosen by a machine? They don't know what it is to be human. They don't understand you. But don't worry, dear reader. I understand you, and I know exactly what you need. You need, “The Free Spirit’s Foolproof Guide to Choosing What to Watch.”

The Method

Choice is great, and wrestling your movie or show selection back from the hands of cold, heartless machines is an honorable, dare I say, courageous act, but it can also be daunting. After all, my idea of a good movie night doesn’t include calculating the value of thousands of shows and movies by myself. So rather than allowing ourselves to get overwhelmed with the task at hand, we’re going to stick to a straightforward and simple method, buffeted by a few tips along the way.

We’ll use the tried and true, if this, then that method. Basically, you choose a show or movie that you already love-- maybe one you kind of feel like watching, but have seen it too many times already, and you know it’s time to try something new. You start with that show or movie, and then choose something similar. It doesn’t have to be a total rip off of the movie, but at least adjacent to it. Maybe it's the same genera, or has a similar feel or attitude. It’s up to you after all, but starting from something you already love makes it more likely that you end up with another hit.

If you're a fan of superhero movies like the Avengers, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a surprise gem of a movie that isn’t actually a part of that saga, but has the same huge entertainment value and break-neck story pace that leaves your disbelief suspended somewhere in the dust behind you.

If you’re a Doctor Who fan, please, for the love of all that is good in this word, try watching the ridiculous, zany, and delightfully clever, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. I’ll say no more. Just do it.

If you liked Godzilla: King of Monsters, there are tons of disaster movies out there that might hit that same chaotic sweet spot, like San Andreas or the Day after Tomorrow, but if you want a more unique suggestion, try out 2002’s Reign of Fire. It's a bleak, post-apocalyptic monster movie that’s worth a watch, if for no other reason than to see Matthew McConaughey as You. Have. Never. Seen. Him. Before. Seriously, I had to IMDb the movie just to be sure it was actually him. It’s crazy.

So there’s our method! But before we go making big decisions just yet, allow me to give you a couple tips to help tweak the search just a little more.

The Guidelines

What is the first thing you think of when you hear, “free spirit?” A healthy structure of appropriate guidelines? Alright, me neither. But even the freest spirit can go astray without just a few, well placed instructions to help them along the way.

For our purposes, I’ll offer two helpful suggestions. These are by no means rules that you must follow, but rather, helpful tips to make the final process of picking the right flick, a little easier.

Guideline One: Set your limit, choose within it.

How many times has this happened to you? You’re scrolling through a list of movies, when something catches your eye? You could watch it, but you’re unsure. You’ve never seen it before. It’s not even a sequel, prequel, reboot, spinoff series, live action remake, or part of the cinematic universe of another movie you’ve seen. Big risk, honestly. A seed of doubt begins to creep in. You could be satisfied with that choice. It might even surprise you, with something fresh and new, but somewhere, deep inside, a little voice keeps nagging at you.

“That’s not the one,” it says. “Keep looking. I’m sure there’s something better just a little further.”

That voice is the enemy. Don’t give into it.

The free spirit’s guide to movie selection does not condone such indecision and self doubt. We're not weighing thousands of options here. This is meant to be an instinctual, primal experience, so tap into your inner hunter-gatherer because it's time for some hard and fast decisions.

I suggest you limit your choices to at most the first three movies that come to mind, (although the truly courageous go with their first and only gut response). Modern streaming services can be overwhelming, with thousands upon thousands of options, so limiting ourselves to a short roster helps to stop us from second guessing and wasting precious viewing time agonizing over what could have been.

Guideline Two: How heavy are we talking?

When it comes to choosing what to watch, it helps to be in tune with whether you want to watch something light, or heavy. Let me give you an extreme example.

When I come home from a twelve hour shift at work, I am way more likely to rewatch a season of The Office than to watch something like Twelve Years a Slave, even though I have seen the former undoubtedly too many times, and I know the latter is a gripping, brilliantly made, and emotional work of art. Sometimes, you just don’t have it in you to give the attention and the emotional focus that a movie demands.

It’s not that, “light,” movies and shows aren’t meaningful, emotional, or even challenging to a viewer, and that, “heavy,” ones are. Nothing could be further from the truth! They’re just different ways of going about telling a story. Call it what you will, comedy vs. tragedy, dark and gritty vs. feel good, blockbuster vs. oscar bait, the point is, more than knowing what genre or style you feel like, a healthy understanding of how much intensity you can handle will go a long way in helping you make the right pick.

Put it all Together:

Alright, so we have the method, we have the guidelines. All that remains now, is to put it all into action. It’s almost time for you to spread your wings and fly, dear reader, but let’s take it slow to start. Here are a few examples from my own experience to help you get a feel for it. Feel free to take these examples to heart. If you happen to like the same movies and shows I’ve listed here, I think I offer some great suggestions for where to go next. If these picks aren’t for you, this will still be a helpful look at how the Free Spirit’s Foolproof Guide to Choosing What to Watch works, in all its glory.

One of my personal favorite movies of all time is 2001’s, “A Knight’s Tale.” It’s a critically underrated, hilarious take on a medieval, buddy road trip style story. With a great cast, snappy writing, and artistic decisions on things like costume and music that break just enough from reality to elevate it into more of a fantasy.

Bouncing off of a knights tale, a heavier pick would be something like, 2002’s, “The Count of Monte Cristo.” It’s a bit more traditional and tragic, but it keeps the time period and bitter rivalry that energized a Knight’s Tale so much.

On the lighter end, I’d strongly recommend the current series, “Cobra Kai.” It has a similar sort of bravado and charming bromance humor to a Knight’s Tale, and it centers around the same drive of competition, and finding self worth in what you do. Either pick, though they’re both quite different, would be a great follow up to a story like a Knight’s Tale.

2005’s, “Pride and Prejudice,” is another great movie, and definitely one that I come back to again and again. It has a kind of depth that only Victorian movies can have, where it seems every time I watch it, there are more layers to uncover. Bits of dialogue, action in the background, hidden meanings, and details of the performances that just make me love it more each time.

For a heavier suggestion off of that, I can’t recommend 2019’s, “Little Women,” Enough. Smartly done, with a depth of character that I struggle to think of a rival for. Also, the movie has a unique take on it’s ending that not only causes you to rethink the whole movie, but says something genuinely profound about stories in general.

On the lighter side, there’s a lot more Jane Austen out there, and a surprisingly overlooked take on her work came out just last year: “Emma.” It’s a very comedic version of the story (which has been made into a film a few times) and while not nearly as sweeping or romantic as our starting point, it’s just as charming, and offers layers and wit to the performances and story, that make it worth watching again.

For one final example, Netflix has recently acquired the whole roster of Studio Ghibli movies (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, A Whisper of the Heart, etc.) and if you're anything like my wife and I, well, you would have seen them all before Netflix got them in the first place, but it’s ok, you don’t have to be exactly like us, you can watch them now. I’ll wait.

You can’t go wrong with Studio Ghibli, and if you’re looking to branch out from there, I recommend you try Cartoon Saloon’s, “Song of the Sea.” The studio has made three movies now, based on Irish Folklore, and while all of them are highly acclaimed, I'm following my first gut reaction (as we agreed) and suggesting this one (especially for a heavier choice). It’s hauntingly, beautifully, sad, and like many of the Ghibli films, blurs the line between what’s real and what’s magic.

For a lighter choice, the series, “Hilda,” currently also on Netflix, offers a spectacular vision of a magical world through the eyes of an adventurous child. The worldbuilding in Hilda is great, and very reminiscent of some of Ghibli’s more magical works, like Spirited Away, or Kiki’s Delivery Service. It seamlessly integrates magic into all different aspects of the story, so that it doesn’t feel like some crazy, mystical power, but just a part of the character’s lives, alongside mundane things like going to school, moving to a house in the city, or trying to earn scout’s badges.

So those are my suggestions, but this isn’t about me, dear reader, it’s time for your choices. You’ve been freed from the invisible shackles of the algorithmic movie selection, and now it’s time for you to blaze your own path, bravely setting a limit of choices, deciding how heavy or light a show or movie you feel like, and then searching your heart for your true north, your classic starting point movie, and choosing what flows from there. Follow your instincts, dear reader, follow your heart, and find your perfect next viewing experience. And if that doesn’t work, you can always draw picks from a hat.