A Busy Person's Guide to the AFI 100 List

If you've been keeping up with the Film Archive, Visual Film Diary's Instagram, and weekly blog posts, you'll most likely have noticed that the films featured on VFD are mostly classic movies with recognizable titles. But did you know that almost every movie featured on VFD is included in the AFI 100 list? 

What, you may ask, is the AFI 100 list?

The AFI is the American Film Institute, an organization dedicated to the preservation of American motion picture heritage. The AFI does a lot of cool stuff to promote the art of the cinema, including an award series aimed at honoring important players in the American film canon, and running a conservation program to preserve film and educate others about its cultural significance. Also, very famously, the AFI releases fascinating, unique lists that sort important American films into fun categories, like the AFI: Greatest Movie Musicals list, the AFI: 100 Years of Film Scores list, and the AFI: 100 Greatest Heroes and Villains list. I first ran into the AFI when I found its Greatest Stars list while perusing Wikipedia, and ever since I've looked to its lists for inspiration when trying to learn more about which American films made the deepest cultural impact, and why.

This year I set an initial goal to watch 100 films. I quickly changed this goal to be more specific. Instead of trying to watch 100 films, I've decided to attempt to watch the entire AFI 100 Greatest American Films list. If you are, like me, someone who is interested in film history, or even just someone who loves movies, I would encourage you to make this same trek through the over one hundred years of films that are included on this list. Along the way you will encounter not only some of the most beloved films of all time, but also some hidden gems. I recognize, of course, that watching 100 movies in a year is not an easy thing to do. I get that- I'm a college student and I have more than one job and a social life. For this reason, I've compiled a list of ways to make your film-watching journey as smooth as can be. Let's take a look:

I chose to use the AFI's 1998 list of Greatest American Films, but this is definitely not the only list the AFI offers. They release anniversary lists every few years that feature different lineups of films, some with more recent releases (obviously the list I'm using does not include movies made after 1998, and there have been some very important films made in the past nineteen years). If you're more interested in sticking to a particular genre (say, comedy), it may be more up your alley to go off of a list designed to fit that genre (say, the AFI: 100 Funniest American Movies of All Time list). I wanted to get a full range of genres and stick to the big, broad guns, so I went with the classic list, but it's up to you!

This is probably the most difficult step, because I know from experience how expensive it can be to try to track down movies. Here's what I would suggest: If you're interested in collecting movies regardless of their overall sentimental value to you, I would recommend purchasing movies from Amazon before watching them. While this sounds like a gamble, it's a much better investment to spend around $10 to own a movie forever than to spend $5 to rent it once. While some of the classic films featured on the AFI lists are available on Netflix (and it's always worth checking Netflix), most are not. When there's a movie I want to watch, I first check Netflix, then Youtube, then Amazon Prime Video. If I can't find it there, I check the libraries I have accessible to me, including the Free Public Library in the town I live in, and my college's library. If I still cannot find it, I check to see how much the DVD is on Amazon, and compare it to how much the DVD is at my local video store (which sounds like a super outdated term, but they exist!). 

I never spend more than $10 on a film, whether I'm seeing it at a movie theatre, renting it, or buying it online. I like to think of myself as a ~thrify gal~ who doesn't have an unlimited supply of money, so this point is crucial. Luckily, there are ways to avoid paying for films that don't include pirating. 100 years after a film's release it goes into the public domain and will definitely be available on Youtube- this can really help with the older films on the list. And, once again, always check Netflix and Amazon Video for free rentals before paying!

It may seem challenging to watch a movie every few days, or even every day. The fact is, if you wanna bust through 100 movies in a year, it requires some planning and dedication. When I started working my way through the list this year, I tried to watch at least two films a week, one during the week and one on the weekend. This was easy for me to do, as I was taking a film class that had one screening a week. But even when my film class ended it wasn't hard to find time during the week to fit in a shorter film, either in an afternoon following class or work or on a Friday night spent at home. During the summer it's even easier to find times to watch films. 

Truthfully, it's not as difficult as you would think to watch two movies a week. Think of how much screen time you spend on your phone or laptop a day, not counting watching films- probably more than the two hours it would take to cross one off the list. If you schedule accordingly, it's completely possible to fit two movies in, which, with 52 weeks of a year, would put you over the amount of films necessary to complete an entire 100 films list. 

I like to end my day with a movie before bed, either watching alone on my laptop or on the TV with a friend. Planning movie dates with friends has become a weekly occurrence for me, and helps me keep on top of watching classics I want to see, as well as sharing favorites with people I love.

For me, half the fun of watching movies is keeping track of all the classics I've seen. That's the whole reason why I started this blog! Over the past few years I've experimented with several different ways of keeping track of the films I watch; last year I was all about recording the opening credits on my Snapchat. This year, I started out keeping track of the films I've seen on a list saved onto my phone, and then decided to start an Instagram to showcase film stills from the movies I'd watched (hence the term Visual Film Diary). It's imperative and rewarding to track your progress when chasing any goal, so why should watching 100 films be any different? 

Fun ways of keeping track of your film viewings include keeping a good, old-fashioned list, either on your phone or in a notebook; designing a little notebook dedicated to journaling and collaging photos and thoughts from the movies you see; starting a blog (hey there); starting an Instagram (again, hello); buying and displaying the films you've seen on a shelf; starting a Pinterest board and saving images from the movies you see to it; and printing out the list and crossing out movies as you go.

The list I keep on my phone of films- and I always keep the date!

Visual Film Diary's Instagram (follow us!)

ABOVE: VFD's Pinterest Board (follow us!!)
BELOW: A printed out version of the list; highlighted in yellow are the films I've seen, and highlighted in pink are the films I own. Also note the prices I write on the margins- always keeping track of money!

My movie shelf, arranged in alphabetical order, as well as the marquee I use to publicize my newest blog entries. Also note my Lolita glasses :)

There are many reasons why it's valuable to watch, learn about, and discuss classic films. That's sort of the AFI's mission statement. It's also why I don't just watch the movies, cross them on a list, and move on. It would be pointless to spend a year watching 100 movies just to say you did. Instead, spend a year watching 100 movies and reading up on them, learning more about their production, their message, and why they are considered so important to society. Analyze them. Read up on film theory. Talk about the films with people you know. Read reviews of the films from when they came out, and then read reviews of the films now. Watch documentaries about them. Learn about the actors and directors. Listen to podcasts about film history. Learn about the historical context that these films came out of. Challenge them- heaven knows that there is more than one controversial film on the list. Keep a list of your favorites and your least favorites. Create a rubric for scoring movies if that sounds fun. Once you've seen them all (yay!) make a Buzzfeed-esque list of the films with your own rankings of best to worst. Appreciate them. Go out and see them if they're playing at cinemas near you. Most importantly, don't just watch them to watch them. Watch them because they're important- because they really say something about society, and have, in their own ways, influenced the cultures we are a part of. And know, no matter what, that you don't have to like these movies- that it's entirely possible to watch a movie that a group of film educators thinks is important and wonderful and to think it sucks, or that it's problematic, or that it's got a dark history behind it. Know that important movies aren't always good or ethical- and figure out for yourself what that means.

So go forward and watch films! Keep track of your progress, and make sure to read between the lines! I promise you that it will be a fulfilling, life-enriching quest. And I'll be right there beside you, watching and blogging. Happy screenings!

Note: I am a great lover of world cinema, not just American movies. Obviously the AFI 100 list includes some of the most important films ever made, but by NO means is great cinema limited to American cinema. American films, in particular Hollywood films, would never have come into existence without the great influence of world cinema, and some of my favorite films of all time are not American films. It's important, during this crazy jingoistic political reality we live in, to understand the importance of other cultures and societies, and to recognize their great influence on America, including their significance in helping to establish American popular culture. My specialty area of study is American pop culture, but I want to make it very clear that we cannot appreciate American films without understanding the greater influence of world cinema.