"Was IMDB/Jeff Bezos powerful enough to put an end to an entire culture (because that's what IMDB boards were, a culture)? Is it a generational thing--where movies and television as a whole got so bad, so damn damn bad, that those of us old enough to have discussed cinema and series that mattered were willing to say, Enough? I moved on to Twitter for comment-making and away from the entertainment industry."
That is an interesting question, Diggory. IMDb made it clear they wanted posters to use social media instead of the boards. For some that may have worked, eventually, especially if they were already a regular user of social media. But my sense was that many preferred message boards to social media for discussing film and TV. On Twitter you're limited to a mere 140 characters, and to one's followers are to converse with. Likewise, on the latter, with Facebook.
There are a few other sites with message boards out there, some that've been around for a while, where you can discuss film and TV. But judging by appearances, that isn't where most former IMDb posters went either.
I do think, in general, those who prefer boards are older, say 30+, and everyone's catering to a younger crowd. I doubt the loss of emoticons has had any significant impact. I admit I grew attached to IMDb's, and still sometimes use the BB code for my favorites, because a lot of people here were on IMDb and understand them. I've noticed there are others who do it as well.
Hopefully you found something else to provide you with visual beauty during winter and early spring. But, you have the set back now to watch in the fall. Like you, I've only rewatched the first 3 seasons of Homeland, for Damian Lewis's performance. The first two seasons are my favourites. Kudos to you for learning a new language, and be able to write show snyopsis!
Which Bronte sisters PBS crap? Never heard of The Tunnel and now will have to look it up out of curiosity, but it sounds like I'm not missing anything.
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DiggoryVenn (89)
7 years ago
I would put the age of IMDB subscribers truly wounded by the discussion boards' death at around 40. I sincerely do not know who the audience for movies today is--and I say this as a Youtube Red subscriber for the past year, who has watched only one, and perfect, film: a documentary called "Kedi" (Turkish for "cat"). I reviewed it on IMDB; it'll probably be nominated for an Academy Award. Other than that, all of Youtube Red "Originals" are meant for teenagers--and teenagers not of high intelligence, or even of average intelligence. (I subscribe because it allows me to play my playlists offline.) Getting back to being "wounded"... I think the intellectual genocide of IMDB boards closure still has people numb. It was an act of violence. Say what you will--it was an unprecedented act of cyber-violence people are either denying, trying (as I am) to find substitutes for, or sinking into non-virtual depression (and silence) about. I do not think the effect of this worldwide ANTI-THESIS to net neutrality has yet to manifest itself ONLINE in ways that can be quantified. Back in March, PBS Masterpiece ran a two-hour film about the Brontes. They made each sister except Anne incredibly ugly and repulsive; the film was basically about Branwell (the sisters' alcoholic brother). The Tunnel is a half-English, half-French series that launched last year, gratuitously violent and fatigued, with a heroine basically a French remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It airs on PBS on Fridays. My affinity for France and the French language goes back many many years, so translation was not difficult for me. It wasn't a thing I discussed on IMDB because--well, there was no reason to. But for example, I have turned to Youtube's French language programming since IMDB's closure...and found some of the best true-life crime series I never knew existed before IMDB closed. I have found tons and tons of British-produced documentaries on scads of topics: present-day social issues as well as WWI st
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DiggoryVenn (89)
7 years ago
as well as WWI studies. By the way, MovieChat apparently has a character-limit too, longer than Twitter's 140, but nowhere near IMDB's limitlessness. (It is why the previous reply was not broken into paragraphs.)
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