Next Countdown: decade, or something else?

Tools    


What kind of countdown should we do next?
48.28%
28 votes
Decades List (2000s, 2010s)
51.72%
30 votes
Anything Else (Comedies, Noir, Foreign, etc.)
58 votes. You may not vote on this poll




Or even 1940s Foreign Language Slashers Directed by Women to ensure there are enough countdowns to last a lifetime.
How about 1940s Foreign-Language Slashers Filmed in Colour and Directed by Women!

Do we even need the polls now?



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
Oh my. Still close, but what a turnaround. Decades was winning by, I dunno, half a dozen early on? Something like that.
If the genre wins this, how are we deciding what we are voting on?



I haven't voted, but I'm OK with whatever's decided.
__________________
Check out my podcast: The Movie Loot!



If the genre wins this, how are we deciding what we are voting on?
I think we'll take suggestions and see what there's any kind of plausible support for. Ideally a smaller number of options is better, since otherwise we split the vote and a lot of people might be bummed out.

If it turns out we have genuine interest in, like, a half a dozen, then we might have to eschew the straightforward poll and do a ranked choice thing.



rbrayer's Avatar
Registered User
Speaking of other polls, is there any value in trying updated versions of the decades polls? I don't know when they were done, but it'd be interesting to see how people's feelings may have changed about say the 90s or 80s.



I think so, yeah. There seems to be a broad consensus that we want to do the more recent ones first, either because we haven't yet or because it's been awhile. But the 80s/90s are getting up around 6-7 years each, IIRC, so they shouldn't be far behind.



I vote something else....noir...


My take on foreign language films is it's a bad idea doing one general one we'll just end up with all the classics. If you are going to do it it should be split between Europe and Asia



Yeah, maybe so. We'll argue on that bridge when we come to it.

Whatever the argument is, though, I want to preemptively note that all these choices are trade-offs: it can't just be exclusively about what makes the most sense taxonomically, because if that were the goal you'd do every single country individually and hardly anyone would participate. It's a balancing act between a reasonable categorization and generating sufficient interest and a high number of ballots. A list can reduce its legitimacy through either, not just the former.



Yeah, topics that only generate twenty-five or thirty participants aren't especially useful. Make a thread for that, get all the opinions and loves from those interested.
__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra



Yeah, maybe so. We'll argue on that bridge when we come to it.

Whatever the argument is, though, I want to preemptively note that all these choices are trade-offs: it can't just be exclusively about what makes the most sense taxonomically, because if that were the goal you'd do every single country individually and hardly anyone would participate. It's a balancing act between a reasonable categorization and generating sufficient interest and a high number of ballots. A list can reduce its legitimacy through either, not just the former.

I think that's a bit of an overreaction....realistically if we drop down to 50 titles for some countries you've only got less than 15 nations

Japan
France
Italy
Germany
China
South Korea
Russia
Spain
Poland
Sweden
India
Mexico

If you do a general hall with all the foreign languages....it's going to end up being 75% Japan/France which in my opinion would defeat the purpose



My take on foreign language films is it's a bad idea doing one general one we'll just end up with all the classics. If you are going to do it it should be split between Europe and Asia
As I detailed in THIS POST earlier in the week you can extrapolate from the decade lists what the likely pool is for a Foreign Language list. But even without many surprises it doesn't mean it isn't a valid exercise.

I don't know that you are going to generate a list that 60 or 80 or 100 MoFos are going to participate in that isn't going to give you "the classics". If you want to make a personal list and share it of great, underrated movies in your estimation that more people should see, wonderful! You should absolutely do it! But I don't see how one of these site-wide exercises is going to make that happen? Even if one or two of those types of titles I guess you have in your head were to then make the general Foreign Language list my bet is you'd still be disappointed about the order and that Kurosawa and Fellini are so prevalent.

Not sure what you are hoping will happen?



I think that's a bit of an overreaction
It would be if I were saying we'd do that (we obviously wouldn't) but it's actually just a hypothetical to establish the trade off in principle. This is indicated by the part before the bit you bolded: "if that were the goal."

If you do a general hall with all the foreign languages....it's going to end up being 75% Japan/France which in my opinion would defeat the purpose
I'm not sure whether it would, both because I might take the under on that number, and because you can make a case that most of the best foreign cinema has come from those places. That's arguable, at least, and I'd expect people to (politely) argue it.

Neither here nor there, though, since as mentioned above the only point of the post was to establish that these trade-offs exist, and therefore any argument that's premised only on one taxonomy being more rigorous than another is insufficient.



As I detailed in THIS POST earlier in the week you can extrapolate from the decade lists what the likely pool is for a Foreign Language list. But even without many surprises it doesn't mean it isn't a valid exercise.
Agree on both counts, though I'd encourage people not to underestimate the power of surprise in generating interest for these things.



I voted for another Comics List now that the scene has changed massively in the past 5 years.
And it will continue to change. I don't think the trend of comic book/superhero movies is dying anytime soon. As dated as THIS list may seem now only a handful of years removed, the same will hold true for a list made now. In 2025 somebody new will be looking at it thinking how silly it is that more recent movies aren't in the mix. Again this is a distinct advantage the decade lists have over the genre lists. New genre films come out every week. The '70s and '80s and '30s are contained entities. Your depth of knowledge and taste may change, but the pool of eligible titles never does.



The MoFo Top 50 Pre-1930 Countdown: The List

A lot of MoFos didn't want to do a Pre-30s (mostly silent film) Countdown. They though those movies were boring or too old. Some MoFos wanted to include the Pre 30s in the 1930s Countdown that I hosted.

Even though the Pre 1930s had a lighter ballot turnout, I'm so glad Chyp decided to host it. For some of us MoFos it was one of the most rewarding countdowns we did. IMO the site needs a balance of populist countdowns where we cheer our favorite movies...and also more focused countdowns where we can delve more deeply into film sub-categories like we did with the Pre 1930s.



The trick is not minding
The MoFo Top 50 Pre-1930 Countdown: The List

A lot of MoFos didn't want to do a Pre-30s (mostly silent film) Countdown. They though those movies were boring or too old. Some MoFos wanted to include the Pre 30s in the 1930s Countdown that I hosted.

Even though the Pre 1930s had a lighter ballot turnout, I'm so glad Chyp decided to host it. For some of us MoFos it was one of the most rewarding countdowns we did. IMO the site needs a balance of populist countdowns where we cheer our favorite movies...and also more focused countdowns where we can delve more deeply into film sub-categories like we did with the Pre 1930s.
It’s a shame that Silent films don’t get enough love, much like documentaries but to a larger degree. I just watched Cobra, with Rudolph Valentino, and it was decent. Not great, but not terrible. I plan on watching The Eagle next, also starring Valentino, and supposedly better as well.



It’s a shame that Silent films don’t get enough love, much like documentaries but to a larger degree. I just watched Cobra, with Rudolph Valentino, and it was decent. Not great, but not terrible. I plan on watching The Eagle next, also starring Valentino, and supposedly better as well.
I hear ya, and thanks to the Pre 1930s Countdown I discovered a new passion for old silent films



I am glad we did a Pre-'30s List. But only thirty-one people participated and it yielded a Top 50. I know it was fun for the handful of folks who took part in it, and CR you in particular always do an admirable job of setting out to watch and discover new films. But the fact is most people here are simply not going to do deep dives, be it a lack of time, resources, or interest. Works brilliantly for the Hall of Fames but most don't put that kind of effort in.