Netflix: I’ll Put It in My Queue

And that’s very contrary to my old habits. Instead of regularly attending high school, I spent most of my youth hiking, hanging out at the beach, or sneaking into movies at the mall. There was no thrill like being the solitary (and gleefully non-paying) audience member watching first-run hits like Westworld, or Tommy. When I was a kid sneaking into those movies, I’d sometimes watch the same film or double-feature twice—or pop in right in the middle of something (or only watch the last third of a film) before watching the entire film all the way through. And these darn DVDs give me the identical, haphazard, start-and-stop multi-viewing experience.

The eclectic mix of selections in my Netflix queue also gives me a sense of viewing the unexpected—or taking in odd, random pairings. ’Way back when, while I was killing time and hiding out before the next showing of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, I’d end up accidentally watching Deer Hunter, Coming Home, Barry Lyndon, or The Wicker Man—and being blown away, even if I didn’t understand the films.

Now I’m in the midst of an arbitrary sequence of films—including 70s gems like Shampoo, California Split, and The Long Goodbye; encompassing brilliant, timeless Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli fantasies; while never forgetting classic films by masters like Bergman, Fellini, Fassbinder, Truffaut, et al. I toss in a little Keaton, some screwball comedies with Jack Lemmon in drag, and I top it all off with TV nostalgia like H.R. Pufnstuf, or The Thunderbirds. And that’s pretty much the recipe for me becoming a shut-in.

I hear people talking about movies, and instead of saying, “Yeah, let’s go on Tuesday,” it’s more, “Cool, I’ll put in my queue.” Or worse yet, “Yeah, I’ve already got that in my queue.” Netflix has added a whole new approach to casual chatting about films—especially when one only knows the sketchiest of details about any given film. Instead of merely expressing curiosity, or admitting one hasn’t seen a film, a dismissive “It’s in my queue,” implies one knows all about it already.