I talk a lot about how I like to consume my media thematically. I think this started in college, when I first heard about thematic reading in an education class. After that, I had a lot of trouble keeping up with my coursework, because every time I found a book that I liked, I turned it into a theme, and read books from my theme in addition to the books that were already assigned to me. It as like taking an additional class that I didn't get any credit for.

The best theme I created was "Novels In Which a Frazzled Gentleman is Likely to Show Up in a Panic, Willing to Tell His Story Only After He's Calmed Himself with a Drink, Which He Refers to as a 'Restorative.'" There was a lot of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells in that theme.

Since then, I've not only continued to read books in this way, but I also watch TV shows and movies thematically, too. I currently have all kinds of ideas for movie marathons which I'll probably never get to, but you never know. Here are a few of them.

Actor-based Marathons
This could be a multilayered theme because I might like to choose good movies from actors that you'd normally associate with bad movies. For example, it might be fun to watch all the good Burt Reynolds movies (e.g. Deliverance). Or I could watch movies starring someone I forget exists (e.g. Shelley Long). Then again, I might like to see how many Judge Reinhold movies I could stomach. (I could re-watch Gremlins or Fast Times at Ridgemont High anytime, but I'd never make it as far as Beethoven's 4th.)

Summer Camp Movies
Summer Camp movies are like Irish pubs: There are a million of them, and I can't for the life of me figure out why. I never went to camp, so it's not like I can relate to these movies, but I'll take any excuse to watch Meatballs again. Plus, I wouldn't mind seeing Little Darlings this century. Which brings us to the next theme...

Movies That Were On Showtime A Lot When I Was About 12
» 10
» Arthur
» Oh, God
» Eating Raoul
» My Favorite Year
» Silkwood
» Porky's
» 9 to 5
» Gandhi

Right now, Christa and I are beginning an ongoing movie-viewing project akin to my chronological reading experiment, wherein we watch one movie from each year that we've been alive, beginning with the aforementioned Deliverance (1972) and ending with whatever a movie from whatever year it is when we finish. We'll take turns choosing movies.

Eventually, I'd like to expand my chronological media idea to television, watching season one of a TV series from each year of my life. That would be a tough one, though.

Just like in college when my themes got in the way of my classwork, my themes are now getting in the way of my themes. I can't read because I have to watch movies, but I can't watch movies because I have to catch up on TV shows, and it's all a vicious circle that ends with me taking a walk and forgetting about all of it.

Yeah, my life is so hard.