New Year, New You: January’s Movie Theme

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to think of a new theme for January. A couple of years ago I did a theme called “Frozen in January” which was all about watching movies that took place in some frosty climate, but that proved difficult. I couldn’t find that many movies set in cold places.

I’m a big fan of alliteration, and you can see that with Awesome ’80s in April, Mysteries in May, Animation in August, and Sci-Fi in July (ok, technically that last one isn’t alliteration, but it is a good rhyme.) But I couldn’t figure anything out that worked with January.

My wife suggested something to do with the new year, and that felt right. A good movie theme needs to be able to encompass a lot of movies. I should be able to find lots of movies within that theme, and there should also be a little wiggle room. I’ll get bored if I’m watching basically the same movie over and over again.

New Year, New You could mean a lot of things. A lot of us make resolutions for the new year; we try to make meaningful changes in our lives. We aren’t always successful, but a new year brings with it hope. Maybe this year we will lose that weight, or write that book, or do whatever thing we really wish we could do to improve ourselves.

There are lots of interesting films where a character sets out to improve themselves.  Or often they don’t set out to do anything, but they find themselves on a quest, and that changes them.  Or if not a quest, they get involved in something that changes them before the credits roll. There are hero’s journeys and character arcs. I can work with a theme like that.

Journeys can also mean travel. I might write about movies in which the characters take a long trip to somewhere. I actually thought about doing an entire theme on road trip movies, but that seemed a little more limiting than I wanted it to be.

I never know how these themes are going to go when I start them. Sometimes I write about a lot of movies and have a lot of fun. Sometimes I struggle to find anything to watch. Sometimes they keep going year after year, and other times I never return to it.

I hope this one lasts.  It sounds fun to me.  I hope it sounds fun to you.