Is Film Burnout Even a Thing? + Interview with Man Who Watches 2,000+ Films Per Year [TALKING IMAGES]

[St. Gloede]

Can watching too many films cause you to lose your love of cinema? Our surprise guest, who watches well over 100 films every month, says no.

You Can Listen Here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WiF4YuSyPlYT2uB5zuLpr

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i ... 0615310744

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Participants:

• Adam / AdamH

• Arthur / PretentiousHipster

• Sol / Sol

• Chris / St. Gloede

• With special guest: Ben aka Flavo5000

Join the Conversation

Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?

If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?

If no, do you think you could ever be at risk/have you ever worried about possibly falling out of love with films?

Is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far?

What is the best advice you would give to someone who feels like they are falling out of love with film?

Do you think film burnout is caused by watching too many films?

Would you still enjoy cinema as much if you watched 4-5+ films per day?

If you could, would you like to have the same set-up as Flavo?

And finally: Is film burnout even a thing, or is just adult people deciding to focus on other hobbies?

Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies?

[Lakigigar]

Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?


Well yes, but honestly at this point i've had burnouts for every hobby of mine.

If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?

Focusing on other hobbies, but every now and than i would return to it (that's basically the same thing for every hobby of mine).

If no, do you think you could ever be at risk/have you ever worried about possibly falling out of love with films?

Is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far?

Perhaps, but i don't think that's the case for me. Lack of variety or too much variety can both contribute to it. It's probably a more side symptom of living with depression, ASD and ADD.

What is the best advice you would give to someone who feels like they are falling out of love with film?

Too watch film for enjoyment and not for gamification purposes
And to accept that you need a break.
Perhaps, watch easier films
And perhaps, stop rating films.

Do you think film burnout is caused by watching too many films?
Possibly

Would you still enjoy cinema as much if you watched 4-5+ films per day?
No, but i can't. ADD makes that impossible. It's already an accomplishment that i can watch films at the rate I do, even if basically every user here can do it better.

If you could, would you like to have the same set-up as Flavo?
Haven't watch the vid sorry, i can't concentrate on podcasts and i'm a strong visual perceiver, not an auditive one

And finally: Is film burnout even a thing, or is just adult people deciding to focus on other hobbies?
Both at the same time

Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies?
Music and games, tho arguably atm i'm more burned out on those than on film at the moment

Following earth science news (meteorology-climate, volcanology etc.), i used to be weather forecaster or storm chaser but I also got burned out on those and that's a permanent burnout because of external factors. In a way i'm burned out on living so i guess watching film at the moment is one of the things i'm not burned out on right now.

[mightysparks]

Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?
Yeah, I don’t find a lot of favourites and too much mediocrity gets exhausting. Also I just have other hobbies now instead of just the one so I’m just not as super passionate about constantly being ‘in’ film.

Also while editing this ep I realised I was burned out on working towards the top 500 on every list project and have slowed down on it.

If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?
Answered the first bit already, I still love film but now I take it at my own pace. If I’m not watching it I’m usually reading about it or looking for cool stuff to watch.

Is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far?
It can be, doing too much of anything can get exhausting. For me it was just a result of lifestyle changes.

What is the best advice you would give to someone who feels like they are falling out of love with film?
Take a break, find other stuff to do, rewatch a few old faves.

Do you think film burnout is caused by watching too many films?
For some. Even before my decline in film watching I always needed a break after the October Horror challenges.

Would you still enjoy cinema as much if you watched 4-5+ films per day?
I used to watch 3 a day and that was probably when I loved film the most. But now.. that would probably kill me.

If you could, would you like to have the same set-up as Flavo?
No I don’t want kids

And finally: Is film burnout even a thing, or is just adult people deciding to focus on other hobbies?
I’ve experienced slight burn out when I wasn’t particularly adult and didn’t have other hobbies. I think it can be either/both.

Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies? Gotten really into reading again the last couple of years, video games, hiking, cooking, taekwondo, making spreadsheets. Want to get into some kind of creative hobby to make stuff like crochet but haven’t made the leap yet.

[blocho]

I'm looking forward to listening to this episode. I'm sure flavo will have some interesting perspectives, and of course the rest of you are prodigious movie watchers too.

Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?
Yes, definitely.

If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?
Watching too many movies caused it! One of my father's favorite bits of wisdom is to recommend moderation in all things. It's good advice, whether with drugs or work or movies. I think some people on this forum clearly have a movie addiction. My movie-watching probably isn't an addiction (in the past, I've been able to stop abruptly for a few weeks with no problem), but it's definitely a habit.

Everyone has a certain rate of movie-watching at which the pleasure of movies diminishes. That rate will be different for each individual. I don't know the exact rate for me, but the pace at which I've watched movies over the past few years (about 1.3/day) may be a bit much. I have never lost my love for movies, but the level of enjoyment gets lower the more I watch. There are several causes:

- Watching more movies necessarily means seeing less enjoyable movies than I would see if I had a more deliberate pace.
- I watch almost all movies now at home, which is good on the whole, but when I compare it to the theater-going experiences of my childhood, it's not nearly as exciting.
- I watch almost all movies alone, which is another big change from my youth. Seeing movies with friends is always more enjoyable.
- The more I watch, the less surprised I am with what I see. Narratives that seemed new or at least inoffensive can now seem trite and annoying.

I should also mention that one of the reasons I watch movies is because of feeling depressed. It's a good distraction, but it's also isolating and can reinforce the depression.

One additional note, way back in 2009, I wrote an essay titled "The Year of Living Cinematically" after a year in which I saw 240 movies, which seemed like a titanic number back then and rather quaint now. One of the sections of the essay (subtitled: "Everything in Moderation") was about movie burnout.

Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies?
Photography is one, obviously. I also go for long walks around New York. I like hiking when I can get out of the city. I watch a good amount of football and baseball. I like reading, primarily non-fiction. And juggling, a hobby from my teenage years that I've picked up again recently.

[pitchorneirda]

I nodded yes a few times while reading you blocho, you pretty much nailed it all

[kongs_speech]

Oh wow, Arthur's in this one. Interesting. I don't do podcasts*, that's valuable movie watchin' time, but shoutout to the homie.

Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?

I briefly thought I was once, but it was just a symptom of intense depression and not a loss of enthusiasm for cinephilia itself.

If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?

See above.

If no, do you think you could ever be at risk/have you ever worried about possibly falling out of love with films?

No, not really. I watch such a variety of films, usually without any rhyme or reason, that I do not foresee a sudden loss of interest. I have about 10,000 features on my current watchlist, and I'd have to run out of those before I'd ever lose the passion.

Is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far?

I mean, maybe. I wouldn't call it too much obsession so much as just going about it the wrong way. If you're check whoring or obsessively competing in a challenge on here, you might see a bunch of crap. I know I used to watch too many new releases from 2020-22. Once I realized I don't actually have to make myself sit through every pile that gets dumped out and projected onto a screen, I found far greater joy.

What is the best advice you would give to someone who feels like they are falling out of love with film?

Just do whatever feels right to you. If you want to watch movies, watch movies. If you don't, don't. Just spend your time on what feels rewarding and productive.

Do you think film burnout is caused by watching too many films?

This seems like the same question as "is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far," so I'd have to repeat my answer.

Would you still enjoy cinema as much if you watched 4-5+ films per day?

That's the goal, though I rarely achieve it lately because my life is too busy, which is admittedly a positive development and beats sitting constantly in front of the screen. As I've become busier, I've had to make peace with the fact that I'm not seeing quite as much as I used to. I still average 3+ features a day and watch a very healthy amount of shorts, most of which are unofficial checks. If some crucial things I want to happen in my life are to occur soon, my numbers will sink further, and I would love for that to happen, because although it is my passion in life, cinema is certainly not everything and cannot compensate for human interaction or relationships.

If you could, would you like to have the same set-up as Flavo?

I have no idea what Flavo has, having not listened to this podcast, but based on his usual scores in the challenges, I do think he actually watches too many movies, or at least what I personally consider that to be. If you're doing more than 4 or 5 a day on a regular, consistent basis, it seems like you're missing out on other things that are technically more important. That's not a shot at Flavo. As I said, I have no clue what his deal is.

And finally: Is film burnout even a thing, or is just adult people deciding to focus on other hobbies?

I don't know. It doesn't apply to me, as I have experienced no such film burnout, so I really couldn't say.

Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies?

Listening to music, writing and having a social life offline.

* except when Schrader was on WTF with Marc Maron recently

[Torgo]

• With special guest: Ben aka Flavo5000

:O
I'll have to listen to this very special episode with that local celebrity!

[mjf314]

In the last few years, I haven't been watching many films. I can still enjoy a good film, but it's frustrating to have to watch several films to find a good one.

Right now my main hobbies are anime and video games, and they give me more consistent enjoyment than what I get from films, because they're longer. For example, I might try 3 or 4 games to find one that I like. I drop the games that I don't like (usually within 1 hour), and then I can get 50 hours of entertainment from the game that I do like.

[Onderhond]

I pretty much agree with what Kong said, but that doesn't really surprise me. We've got very similar takes on how to keep our hobby healthy.

I don't see much gain in answering the questions separately, but on the topic of burnout, one thing I've noticed in others (and I've been around for 20 years) is that setting extreme goals often leads to burnouts. While I too participate in some of the crazier projects on ICM(f) (like the Top 500 one), I never focus on one single thing and never aim to finish such a project right away. I'm 100% sure that would burn me out in no time.

Instead, I have multiple goals, I set intermediate goals and I'm in these projects for the long haul. That allows me to watch pretty much everything I want (and when I want), it makes sure that I have a pretty varied diet and that I don't get stuck in an almost endless cycle that feels like it is impossible to complete. For example, I'm 10+ years into my "rewatch and review all my favorites" project and I still love doing it. I have a few more years to go before I can finish (but my intermediate goal right now is rounding a Top 1000, which I'm close to), but as it never felt like work or something I was forced to do, I never got bored of doing it.

Of course, there are some people who can commit and benefit from this extreme focus, but most people I've encountered never finish these projects and lose their joy and amusement in what they do, causing burnouts.

[filmbantha]

Really enjoyed listening to this episode and I'm gutted I wasn't available to join in on the recording. Nice to see lots of people chiming in on this one, I think it's a topic many of us here on the forum will be able to relate to, to some extent or another.

Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?

Yes, I sure have. Watching films is my main hobby so when I'm unable to enjoy it, it's usually a sign that something isn't right with me.

If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?

When I'm tired/stressed due to work or other factors I find it difficult to concentrate on films and my consumption of films tends to drop dramatically if there is stuff playing on my mind. I like to be in the right frame of mind for watching a film - fully awake and alert, so when there are external factors affecting how I feel then this can spill over into my hobby. Like many others have said it's rarely films that are the cause of the burnout, if I ever get tired of a certain genre or style I mix it up with something entirely different. A happy filmbantha is watching at least 7 films a week, maybe even twice that (social life and work commitments permitting of course). Whereas an unhappy filmbantha may be only watching 2-3 films a week

If no, do you think you could ever be at risk/have you ever worried about possibly falling out of love with films?

The joy of finding a new favourite film and feeling those goosebumps on the back of my neck during a near-perfect cinematic moment is something that will keep me coming back even if I do occasionally require a break.

Is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far?

I think it could be, the idea of watching many unappealing films just to complete a list is not something I would entertain these days, although I was more up for this when I was younger. I've come to terms with the fact I'm never going to complete the TSPDT list and other such unwieldy monsters. Too many documentaries and experimental films for my liking and life is too short to sit through something I have zero interest in just for a check or to say I have seen it. I still use official lists as a starting point but I do not work on them obsessively like I have done in the past.

What is the best advice you would give to someone who feels like they are falling out of love with film?

Watch Symbol

Do you think film burnout is caused by watching too many films?

Yep I think It could be part of the issue depending on the person, I think I would struggle to enjoy films if I watched 5+ every day regularly

Would you still enjoy cinema as much if you watched 4-5+ films per day?

It sounds good but honestly I think probably not, as many others have said, best to enjoy things in moderation

If you could, would you like to have the same set-up as Flavo?

Sorry Flavo but that notion doesn't appeal to me at all. I love films and do everything I can to give them my full attention so juggling work and films does not appeal to me.

And finally: Is film burnout even a thing, or is just adult people deciding to focus on other hobbies?

I think it's a thing, I've experienced it and it's frustrating when you have the time to watch films but you just don't feel in the mood for them.

Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies?

All sorts, I love going to gigs/festivals, listening to music, reading. Though I don't do any of these as much as I would like to. I have also recently picked up a hobby I left behind in my teenage years. Painting models and playing tabletop games. I used to love Warhammer when I was younger and have found a co-op variety of a tabletop skirmish game called Rangers of the shadow Deep which is something like a cross between dungeons and dragons and Warhammer. It's great fun painting models and building terrain and then having my friends round for a few games. Nothing will ever replace films though, at least for now anyway...

[matthewscott8]

Nice choice of picture. I've never felt a waning of interest in cinema. My modus operandi is to look for very strong and moving films, watching a terrible movie, well it's like having my time stolen. I research what to watch and I don't just bulk watch trash. I like to give every movie the best chance so I watch them when the moment is right, i.e. my mood fits or time of day / time of year. I can't imagine sat there every day indiscriminately glomming movies. I watched India Song recently, how do you watch a movie like that, and then go straight to watching another one afterwards? I don't think I could deal with that level of emotional turbulence. The digestion process is important, and I like to write about them as well, which can take as long as watching the movie. I am sensitive to movies and so wouldn't like to chain them, and I also like to give them my full attention, I wouldn't be cooking and glancing at the film for example. Given my requirements - immersiveness, receptivity, absoroption - and having a full time job, watching 4-5 movies a day for any extended period is inconceivable. I have done it at the London film festival for circa 10 days running before.

[matthewscott8]

Hahaha, the injection of Ben into the podcast has been fun, I love the bluntness. I can't exactly say I agree that James Benning is "wallpaper", when he's at his best the choice of pictures is meaningful and even humorous. I have 5 of his films in my top 1000, though I really thought Twenty Cigarettes was practically a troll effort, filming his friends smoking cigarettes, is maybe a useful project for himself, but I don't know why anyone else would want to watch it, it'd be liking having someone else's family and friend pictures in your house, completely pointless and devoid of context. I also like the casual dismissal of employer; I also work from home and I think some days the relationship is like a convenience thing, they get something out of me, I get something out of them, but it's not a family and it's not a calling, it's mutually exploitative. I say some quite blunt things too, but my delivery is usually not blunt hehe. I'm also exaggerating, because on some days it feels like I am making a genuine difference, albeit in a completely alienated way (my effect on the world is almost impossible to measure / assess, and anonymous, and unlike say a heart surgeon whose mantelpiece is covered in thank you cards who can point to their exact impact).

In terms of whether these hiatuses in watching are true burnouts, I think they can be. My genetically identical twin brother started to refer to certain film watches as "heroin", and has largely stopped watching movies, deliberately, and not because other things have taken favour, he is actually dismissive of film now. He just didn't like how emotionally disruptive and addictive some films were.

I have at some points really been watching films to save my life. I was paranoid that I was going to fail the professional exam that I actually just passed, and watching Les Bas Fonds was actually some quite wonderful gallows humour and esprit in the face of that (it's not like reading a Gorky novel at all). Back at university, watching Leone and Herzog was really about feeling that I still had a reason to live. However it's easy to wonder what my life would have been like if I wasn't watching film so much. I found that looking for love, film as a hobby hasn't gone down well with prospective romantic partners, women that I have run into seem to vibe much more with music. Maybe I would have concentrated on my health, fitness and love life more if I didn't watch so many films. Maybe I would have focussed on my job more, whilst I am successful at it, I could have been meteoric. Working the day after you watched Cremaster 4, is tricky, so many thoughts and feelings still live.

[matthewscott8]

Btw it occurred to me that it would have been interesting to have someone who is not into film on this episode of the podcast. I think Chris noted at one point that most people would see watching 1 film a day as extreme, and that is true.

[blocho]

Non-movie people are always shocked that I watch 300+ movies a year until I point out that I probably spend less time watching movies than the average American spends watching TV.

[St. Gloede]

Btw it occurred to me that it would have been interesting to have someone who is not into film on this episode of the podcast. I think Chris noted at one point that most people would see watching 1 film a day as extreme, and that is true.

Haha, I can imagine their confusion throughout, especially when Flavo came on.

I wasn't even speaking of regular people btw, even for many film buffs 1 film a day can be pretty hard. I'm quite certain a large portion of our regulars aren't there either. Blocho mentioned doing 300 films a year, a pretty heavy number, but less than 1 a day.

Though as blocho also pointed out, 1 film is less than most people consume in TV, or in more modern terms, YouTube, TikTok and general social media/games. Hell, gaming for 3-6 hours a day is probably considered more normal than watching 2-4 films a day, but it takes the same time.

I remember the guy who has the Guinness world record for seeing the most films (I think it was 25,000 about a decade ago - has Flavo beaten him?) just got there by watching 2-3 films while his wife caught her TV shows. Thinking it back, Flavo's 4 film a day is not that excessive if most are seen during working hours, as while I would never do it myself, 3 films would generally be half a working day, so no wonder he's not losing family time.

[blocho]

It's a worthy question why people are often surprised by the rate of movie-watching of us film nuts when they spend the same time on TV or gaming. Especially in this era when the distinction between TV and movies has never been less meaningful (for most people, it's all just streaming content).

For the average random person, our habits might be more outre on the basis of what we watch rather than how much we watch. I know a lot of people who would never watch anything old. "Old" is a category with shifting boundaries, but I've definitely had friends tease me for watching anything from before the 1990s. For some people, 2-4 hours a day on movies isn't surprising; it's 2-4 hours a day on movies they would never watch.

[Onderhond]

A "movie" still implies a different level of commitment than TV. Binging three 30-minute episodes may take just as much as watching a 90-minute film, but it's still a different experience.

[matthewscott8]

A "movie" still implies a different level of commitment than TV. Binging three 30-minute episodes may take just as much as watching a 90-minute film, but it's still a different experience.

Yeah I agree with this, I can sit down and put the news on or a random cop drama (I have Scott & Bailey on at the moment) and it requires no engagement. It's not the same as sitting down to The Burmese Harp.

[Ebbywebby]

Honestly, the extremes of this forum recurrently make me feel less sheepish about my own rate of consumption (typically 35-40 features a month), which I certainly consider embarrassingly excessive. I hide most of my habit from social-media friends, except for the four or five people with a similar disorder. The others don't care, and I only alienate them in talking about it. I've spent much more of my life immersed in music fanatics, and I find that realm a lot less isolationist and off-the-path.

I feel burned out maybe once or twice a year, but it lasts just a few days. It's usually after I've been cramming films for some reason, like the KG leech or a temporary channel freeview on cable. More than four hours of film in a day wearies me, especially because I don't watch too many "fun" films. Sustaining that rate for a string of days is even worse. But if I were manic about participating in this forum's ridiculous volume of challenges and tournaments, I'd definitely burn out. I also think I would burn out if I maintained a gigantic watchlist. If I had some enormous list of 2,500 must-watch movies, I'd just sigh and think any film watched was another trivial drop in the bucket. Too depressing.

I do feel like I'm sloooowly running out of interesting films to watch. I'm not eager to see more than 8-10 new movies a year nowadays, and I'm slowly exhausting my supply of unseen classics. If the ICM site continues to exist long-term, there's a day of reckoning coming when the appeal of remaining films becomes joylessly academic and I'll have to be strong, resist all competitive attitudes and be content to watch my rank sink. I wouldn't call that "burnout," but simply hitting the bottom of the barrel and moving on. I used to know "everything" going on in music, but I went slack on new music around 2010 and steadily feel frustrated about that. I know I'm a lot colder toward contemporary music trends for the past 15-20 years, but I'm sure that I'm missing out on some good acts that require some extra digging. I'll probably swing back to music someday.

[gunnar]

I think film burnout is a thing, though it depends on how you define it. I'm one of those who often watches 5-6 films in a day, though it isn't necessarily every day. My setup isn't the same as flavo's, though. I thought it was funny hearing a discussion of feeling old in your mid-30s, though I certainly understand that. I'm 53 now and have been retired now for 5 years so I have plenty of time to watch films, especially since I don't have kids. The quantity of films that I watch, though, only really dates back a couple of years to when I first started participating in challenges. I think it is the competitive streak in me that led me to increasing the number of films that I watch. I went through a brief period of watching movies in quantity 10-15 years ago while participating in challenges on the View Askew board, but I stopped and moved on to other things when I got close to 500 films for the year in July and only watched a handful of films the rest of the year.

I feel some burnout on occasion in terms of the quantity of films I watch. When that happens, I change focus to some of my other hobbies and reduce the number of films that I watch. In October 2021, I watched over 200 films for the One Film from Each List Challenge. The next month, I took a break and watched 16 films for the month, but got back into it in December with the Documentary Challenge. I was feeling the same kind of way after the March challenges this year, so I took a step back for the first couple of weeks in April and averaged around 1 film per day while catching up on a lot of reading that had stacked up.

I have a number of other hobbies/activities that I participate in and while movie watching is probably the main hobby that I am pursuing at the moment, I wouldn't consider it my main hobby. I've read over 100 books every year since at least 2000 and at least 150 books per year each year since I retired, though I've mostly switched to audio books in the last decade. My record in one year is 250 books, but many of those were shorter books in the 200 page range as I read things like Ken Holt, Rick Brant, Tom Corbett, and other genre series. I've also been collecting and reading comic books/graphic novels since 1977 and probably have around 100,000 in my collection. I average reading around 15 manga volumes every month as well. I have been cutting down on my comic purchases over the last decade as my interest in new comics has waned. I still collect a few titles and try to fill in gaps in older series that I collect.

As for other activities, I also keep busy with sports, playing tennis, softball, and golf during the warmer months. I used to play basketball a lot and coached basketball and softball at my school for over a decade. I also helped with stats for the football team. I regularly watch sports on tv, usually the local teams, but occasionally others.

I can see a point where the volume of movies that I watch gets reduced as I switch focus to other hobbies. Maybe it will be next year or the year after. Time will tell.

[Torgo]

I guess you could be called a "nerd" by some regular folks on the street

[gunnar]

The preferred term is geek.

I've never hid my interests in comics, movies, manga, etc. nor really ever gotten blowback, namecalling, or whatever for it. I did have a number of students who had an interest in manga discuss manga and anime with me. Maybe my interest made it easier for them to be open about it, though it has certainly become much more mainstream in the last 15 years. I also have the sports background so who knows what effect that adds to the mix.

[PUNQ]

The first ever movie podcast I listen too and I get a mention (BTW, it's pronounced "punK")! I enjoyed listening to this discussion because it was very relatable.


Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?
If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?
Do you think film burnout is caused by watching too many films?

In conclusion, for us movie extremists, a movie burnout is practically just watching less movies a day or taking a few days off.

But yeah, there are periods I take less enjoyment while watching, but I'm not sure that's an effect of watching too much or just the mood of the day/period because of real life stuff.

Since I do chronological era related watching, a lot of films do feel a little same-y. That's why popping on a modern movie does help freshen the mood up if the style of film gets too monoton.


If no, do you think you could ever be at risk/have you ever worried about possibly falling out of love with films?

Never impossible, but I've gotten to 1951 in film history... I've got more years to go than I'll ever get through. So I'll never run out of stuff to watch.


Is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far?

Too much of anything is not good for you, but watching movies might me one of the more harmless of obsessions to have.


What is the best advice you would give to someone who feels like they are falling out of love with film?

What works for me is having a "project" to focus it on. A reason beyond just watching. Be it a genre, era, actor/director. That's always had a motivational effect on me.


Would you still enjoy cinema as much if you watched 4-5+ films per day?

I'd still enjoy cinema if I watched that little


If you could, would you like to have the same set-up as Flavo?

What a revelation that Flavo watches more movies than I do! My record is 2050 feature films in a year (plus perhaps 600 shorts). I've got to up my game from now on!


And finally: Is film burnout even a thing, or is just adult people deciding to focus on other hobbies?
Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies?

Sometimes it's just wanting to do something else. Get a little variation in life. For me it's still screen hobbies. Video games, a Nintendo Switch with too many games in the backlog because the film obsession usually wins in the end, or watching pro-wrestling, but I burnout quicker on that since there is so much of it from all over the world available and I don't know how to limit myself.

[AdamH]

Here is the episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSUety ... l=icmforum

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[Tasselfoot]

I didn't listen to the podcast, but based on everyone else's comments and my own thoughts...

Yes, I've had burnout on films. I really started to get into cinema about 10 years ago, and when obsessed, I tend to watch 700-1000ish features a year. I think I've had 2 periods where I mostly stopped watching movies and instead focused on other intersts, only to come back to films again. I know early in the pandemic was one of these times for about a year.

My personality is one where I absolutely get addicted and obsessed with one thing, and am incredibly goal oriented about it. Usually it's video games, where I've reached #1 in the world in 4-5 different games as a result, only to almost immediately lose interest after achieving the goal. With films, since there are always new movies and always new lists and goals... I haven't ever fully lost interest.

I've worked remotely since 2007 (and 4-day, 32-hour workweeks since 2021), and tend to have little spells of downtime throughout my day... which means I get 10 minutes of movie watching here, 20 minutes there, sometimes 30 seconds. But basically, movies are my default; if I have nothing else going on, I watch a movie. Last year I spent about 1500 hours on movies, about 1500 hours on video games (sometimes both at the same time). I also bowl a lot and spend time with my partner and family. Being very introverted... I don't do a TON of outdoor activities or interactions with others; I like my movies and games.

But without the goals and lists, I would be a lot less interested in movies; they give me focus and direction to my watching (and something to obsess on). I do worry that I enjoy less of what I've been watching of late, but there's always hope that the next list or next goal will have more stuff that I like (such as Sitges).

[Fergenaprido]

Just finished listening (on YT since the old service I was listening to stopped). Cool to hear some new voices.

Join the Conversation

Have you ever experienced "film burnout", i.e. feeling like you have lost the love for film/do not get the same enjoyment from them anymore?
Yes, on occasion. Happens every now and then where I just can't be bothered to watch anything. I might switch to shorter tv episodes or reading, or I might dive deeper into my spreadsheets instead. I do set a variety of film-related goals each year, so if one starts to feel like a burden there are plenty more for me to switch to.

If yes on the former, what caused it, and did you manage to get your passion for cinema back?
A variety of causes, but they usually culminate in a loss of joy and motivation for watching films.

If no, do you think you could ever be at risk/have you ever worried about possibly falling out of love with films?

Is film burnout perhaps just a sign of our film obsessions going too far?
No, I think those are two separate things. But I'm also not at the same level as the podcasters; I average 1 film a day in a good year.

What is the best advice you would give to someone who feels like they are falling out of love with film?
Watch fewer films and only focus on what you think you'll like.

Do you think film burnout is caused by watching too many films?
No. Too many of the wrong films. And "wrong" will be different for each person.

Would you still enjoy cinema as much if you watched 4-5+ films per day?
Probably not. Unless they were all great films, it would become a chore. And even if there were great, as someone alluded to in the episode they would start to blend into each other and I wouldn't be able to remember/distinguish them. At that points, it's just mindless checkwhoring.

If you could, would you like to have the same set-up as Flavo?
Working from home? Or something else? Working from home has its pros and cons. I didn't hear much about flavo's specific set-up to know if I'd want it or not.

And finally: Is film burnout even a thing, or is just adult people deciding to focus on other hobbies?

Bonus: What are your fall-back hobbies?