If you love to watch and talk about movies, you have come to the right place.

But wait! This site will also urge you to think — a real health benefit however you may perceive it.

The mission of Movies on Chatham is to learn more about films, film making, film communication, and audience reception through dialogue (in writing and through in-person discussion). Thus, our exploration is a collaborative effort. Our “augmented reality” environment encourages close reading and critical thinking.

How Do We Do That?

First, we are amazingly (alarmingly?) accessible to all. Our public audiences range from film scholars to amateur film critics and fans — anyone who enjoys watching stimulating and inspiring movies, who is also open-minded and curious about human diversity.

Next, we offer information and ideas without concern for perspective. That’s because we document our sources of information.

Further, we believe all ideas are good ones if offered and received with respect.

And, we have questions; we are curious people, and we ponder issues great and small.

Got that? Okay, this is our first question:

Do Movies Influence?

Do you ever wonder

. . . if films influence viewers’ behavior in real life?

. . . what and how films communicate to particular audiences?

We wonder about these things too.

In pursuit of answers, Movies on Chatham has a three-pronged focus:

1. We socialize and watch a movie together;
2. We discuss and learn from each other; and,
3. We research and write behind the scenes.

Pioneer with Us in Watching and Discussing Movies

Our mission at Movies on Chatham is to serve as a useful resource for those who wish to enjoy, experience, think about, and discuss motion pictures with others.

Movies on Chatham manifests this commitment by writing articles that offer background and commentary to enhance the movie-watching experience.

Further, we manage a web-based archive of our monthly issues — our anthology of film criticism.

Central to the mission at Movies on Chatham is encouraging our present, in-person, movie group toward dialogue that produces greater understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of films — and toward the discovery of how and what films communicate.

Further, it is our vision and expectation to serve diverse audiences outside our Movie Room through the technologies of the World Wide Web.

Content Creation and Distribution is Essential to the Mission

From the outset, our short essays and long-form articles have presented both context and theme direction to foster critical thinking and discussion.

Our writers are not only investigative journalists, but also academic theorists who produce well-researched articles, often connecting to theories and other publications of popular and scholarly merit — in addition to managing our base collection of reference materials.

We invite you to use our material, but if you do, please give us credit.

APA 7th citation example:

• Cota, L. (2016, Jan). American graffiti: How time flies when you’re cruisin’. Movies on Chatham.  https://moviesonchatham.com/2016/01/time-flies-when-cruising/

The vitality and complexity of film as a medium of communication (as well as an artistic expression) is revealed through the leadership of the editorial staff.

By offering theoretical concepts alongside practical, from the films we watch we are building a scaffold toward greater understanding of their cultural reflection and influence.

But, we DON’T want you to “Leave the Thinking to Us!” . . . or to “Them”!

Toward Achieving Our Mission and Goals

Movies on Chatham recognizes:

• That group expression and discussion is essential to exploring ideas and interests generated by cinematic traditions beginning in the late nineteenth century and continuing today.
• That cinema transcends physical and emotional boundaries and involves multi-modal expression informed by contexts, cultures, and history — reflecting issues and narratives of their times.
• That our commitment to film study enlivens and informs our evolving understanding of the traditions and communications of our world.

So, after all that, we summarize:

Movies on Chatham creates a venue for learning about films and film making that encourages exploration and critical thinking, while being accessible to public audiences ranging from amateur film critics to film scholars to enthusiastic film fans.

And, one more thing . . . Click here to answer our next question (hint: It’s related to our featured image at the top).

REFERENCES

Reeves, T. (2019). Filming locations for La La Land (2016) in Los Angeles. Movie-locations.com.  http://movie-locations.com/movies/l/La-La-Land.php