why I watch a movie every morning

the unexpected benefits of being a film addict

a production still from Alexander Nevsky, the film I watched this morning

When it is mid-day or so and I mention to people that I watched a film earlier that day, they are usually quite perplexed. They don't seem to understand how I could have fit a movie into my day already. After all, most people insist that they don't have time to watch movies ordinarily, be it a morning or evening screening, private or public. But I am going to insist that it is not so difficult to fit movies in as it may seem, and if you should choose to watch them daily, you will find there is a unique joy to this habit… Or… addiction, if you'd prefer to call it that.

First of all, I only have time to watch a film in the morning because I make time. I simply try my best to wake up over 2 hours before I have to get ready for the day in order to have time for it. For me, this often means getting up around 5:30 or 6 a.m. I am not terribly strict on the time I get up.

I should clarify briefly here, though: I am not advocating for some rigorous, strict routine where every moment of your day is accounted for. I have engaged with that special type of idiocy before, and I've found it to be a deeply inhuman way to live. I believe life should be somewhat spontaneous, despite our attempts to create routines. As one of my favorite authors says,

Misers get up early in the morning; and burglars, I am informed, get up the night before. It is the great peril of our society that all its mechanisms may grow more fixed while its spirit grows more fickle. A man's minor actions and arrangements ought to be free, flexible, creative; the things that should be unchangeable are his principles, his ideals. But with us the reverse is true; our views change constantly; but our lunch does not change.

G.K. Chesteron, On Lying in Bed

All this is to say is that despite the fact that I find this routine beneficial to engage with, I don't think the idea of expecting a routine to stay consistent is particularly healthy or realistic. But I would also like to remind you that if you say you don’t have time to watch movies, yet you watch 2 hour-long episodes of a TV show, then you most certainly have time. It can be a good exercise to calculate how much time you actually spend watching TV shows or Youtube videos. You may be surprised with how much time you already have. The key to having a good routine is knowing how much free time you have in a day, being conscious of it, and being flexible when changes need to be made.

coffee and film belong together

Regardless, I typically get up sometime around 6 or so and make myself a pot of coffee I can drink before starting my film. I, like all of humanity, suffer from a certain condition when I first awake. It's something like a mild concussion or amnesia. It's not likely that I will be able to think of a movie to watch this early in the morning, let alone remember what a movie is. This is why I keep a running list of priority movies that I can simply glance at and choose from. Before I put a movie on this list, I also make sure I know where to find the movie. I don't want to engage in the ridiculousness of the way movies are now constantly shifting between different streaming services in the wee hours. So, sadly, my little morning routine does require some research in order to be operable.

I simply choose a movie from this list that I prepare ahead of time. This way, I can be prepared and flexible.

What tends to surprise others more than the fact that I watch movies in the morning is that I insist on the benefits of watching "depressing" films in the morning. In total sincerity, I would like to insist to you that there is potentially wonderful benefits that come from engaging with fiction— that may not be particularly uplifting— first thing in the day. For me, watching something like a Soviet film (which is, more often than not, quite depressing) first thing, puts my whole day in perspective. Sure, I may have troubles or worries wrapped up in my schooling or work, but I also don't live in a time or place where the threat of the gulag is an imminent and constant threat, where people simply "disappear," and talking about their disappearances might make you disappear too. I am grateful that I live in a time and place where censorship is not running rampant and and I can freely engage with great art from all different cultures at my own discretion. All of these reminders of just how many things I have to be grateful for put my day in perspective. It reminds me to be more kind and patient throughout the day.

Of course, the films need not be depressing. In fact, they need not be films. I think part of what makes watching movies in the morning so beneficial is simply that it entails the act of listening to and engaging with a story first. Before I have even gone about my day, I am reminded of the existence of other people, the varieties of their experiences, the finitude of existence, and also the pure pleasure of storytelling. I think one can experience much the same joy from reading, say, a short story every morning.

In fact, I think reading is surely a bit of a superior morning activity, as it can be its own form of meditation. I think film viewing can be too, but typically only with certain movies (Tarkovsky, etc.) Allow me to indulge in another quote,

“I believe that reading and writing are the most nourishing forms of meditation anyone has so far found. By reading the writings of the most interesting minds in history, we meditate with our own minds and theirs as well. This to me is a miracle.”

Kurt Vonnegut

Yet I would insist, to some extent, that something like a TV show does not achieve the same effect. I think the problem with eating a few episodes of a TV show or playing a video game first thing in the morning is that it isn't something that can be completed in a single sitting. If I watch a really great movie, I can simply enjoy contemplating and reflecting on its perfections throughout my day (I have gotten through many "boring" moments by simply remembering scenes from the movie I watched and turning them over in my mind). But if I watch a really great episode of a TV show or play a really great level of a game, I am simply filled with the urge to return to this piece of media later that day. Instead of being able to take what I had learned from that story and applying it throughout my day, I am more often than not obsessing over what will happen in the next episode, etc. Of course, having something to look forward to throughout your day is not at all a bad thing. I just think it is far more rewarding to have something already done.

watching TV makes me want to watch more TV, and watching TV characters watch TV also makes me want to watch more TV

The fact that a movie can be consumed in one sitting is rewarding in more ways than one. It also always gives me something to talk about. If somebody asks me what I've been up to that day, I can essentially always keep the conversation interesting by simply mentioning the movie I watched that morning. In fact, those who have gotten to know me well sometimes make a habit of asking me what movie I watched that day. You can't achieve this same level of topical variety if you simply play video games and watch TV. When somebody asks what you've been watching or playing, you will probably only be able to say the name of whatever piece of media you still have 50 hours left to finish.

That may seem like a superficial reason, but I would say that it isn't, really. It's simply a way of giving yourself a shortcut in conversations to talk about what is interesting to you and then seeing if the other person is interested. So, even though I may not watch anime TV series like so many people my age, I can still relate to them when they talk about anime by bringing up whatever animated film I have seen recently. I can relate to and converse with people who are interested in all sorts of topics, from history to psychology, simply by trying to connect them with some movies I have seen. I've never read that famous book "How to Win Friends and Influence People," but if it says anything of worth, it must be that movie knowledge makes for consistently great conversation.

Should you start watching movies in the morning? Maybe. I certainly don't think it’s for everyone. In fact, I have never met anyone who actually shares this peculiar habit. But I do think the idea of doing something fun, engaging, and complete-able every morning is something everyone could benefit from. Rather than just having fun in the evening while dreading the workday to come, doing something such as this in the morning gives you something to look forward to as you go to sleep. So, if you've read this far, I would like to urge you to find something such as this to do in the morning. Rather than putting all the pressure on your evening-self to have all the fun, take some time in the evening to be prepared for the next day, and take some time in the morning to do something that will actually relax you and remind you to enjoy life. Maybe movies won't be that activity for you, but I would like to humbly suggest you try it as a placeholder until you find something else.