Moleskine Film & TV Journal: a diary for series enthusiasts
7.3.2022
Translation: Megan Cornish
The Moleskine Film & TV Journal is designed to be a log of film and TV experiences. I use it as a mindfulness prompt to avoid future Netflix flops.
Sometimes, watching films and TV is overwhelming. Before the last few seconds of my favourite series have even flickered across the screen, a new countdown starts down in the bottom corner and – wham – I jump headfirst into the next epic instalment.
To counteract this temporarily mechanical consumption, I’m testing out the Moleskine Film & TV Journal. It’s part of the Passion Journals range, which, according to the Italian manufacturer, is designed to be a «personalised record» for hobbies and important moments. Can I use it to better organise my film and TV experiences?
From iPhone app to page
The A5 notebook is grey. It has a hard back, two bookmarks on the spine and an elastic band to fasten it. It’s delivered in a grey cardboard box accompanied by a thin companion book and a host of grey and white stickers. There are almost 400 pages for me to record my thoughts on my Netflix, HBO and MUBI experiences.
I’ve been documenting the films and TV I’ve watched for a few years now, but I’ve just been doing it on a plain old list in the Notes app on my iPhone. The Film & TV Journal offers an alternative vessel for this habit, which I’ll be doing by hand for this test. So, I pick up my pen to record the films that I’ve watched in recent weeks.
The first pages of the journal contain information, fun facts and tips about the world of motion pictures. Two further pages list the world’s biggest film festivals. Then there’s a list of genres, filmmakers and award-winning titles.
Creating watch lists and recording experiences
I started making notes on page 24. That’s where the watch list starts. I soon thought of a few films that I’d been wanting to watch for a while, including «Fallen Angels» and «2046» by Wong Kar-wai. The Hong Kong cult director’s filmography has long been a fixture on my to-do list. I enjoy recalling them and noting them down. It makes me want to curl up in front of the TV even more.
The watch list stretches over the next 10 pages – I have space to list 280 films and series in total. Page 34 is dedicated to «All-Time Favorites». Without hesitation, I write down the Swedish-Danish crime gem «Bron» and the American family epic «Succession». Reading through the different categories, I note that I could watch more documentaries.
The core of the journal starts ten pages later. From here onwards, I can spend two pages at a time recording my experiences of each film. I kicked things off with Stanley Kubrick’s «Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb» – the first film I saw this year.
On the left side, I noted general details about the title, year, director and other information. I thought it was particularly good that I could record when and where I watched the film and who I watched it with. On the right side, the notebook leaves space for further thoughts and assessments, where I can add cinema tickets, stickers or photos.
This section has space for 70 films – as I’ve resolved to watch one to two films per week, this part will be full in about six months.
The «Movies» section is followed by a section for «TV Series», which has the same format. A double-page spread provides space for recording one series, so this part should take longer to complete. After all, I’d take much longer to write about six seasons of Game of Thrones than I would for an average film. Moleskine should have taken this into account and could have made the film section longer.
It’s no coincidence that I’m using the English terms, by the way. The journal is only available in English. Finally, the back of the notebook offers some free space. The back cover has an inner pocket to store stickers, Post-its or other pieces of paper.
Enjoyable mindfulness
I made an interesting – albeit not entirely surprising – observation when filling out the pages. When it comes to good films, like the recent «Licorice Pizza» by Paul Thomas Anderson, my thoughts almost flow from the pen by themselves. As for others, not so much. I don’t want to spend any extra time or paper on them.
Maybe the journal will help me to avoid similar titles in the future. However, it remains to be seen how many Netflix flops I can avoid. When I’m flicking through the streaming library, the grey notebook does actually sometimes come to mind. Until now, I’ve resisted my impulse to binge the whole of «Tinder Swindler» on Netflix.
Generally, filling out the Film & TV Journal is a wellness exercise. The catch is that it takes time and motivation. Barriers that aren’t always easy to overcome.
But if you decide on this practice, you don’t have to use the Moleskine version. You can also achieve mindfulness with a beloved other notebook. However, the Film & TV Journal is a nicely designed starting point to put your thoughts in motion – or a good gift for your favourite series junkies.
Verdict
I enjoyed testing out the Moleskine Film & TV Journal. Filling out the pages solidified the titles in my memory. Mentally ticking off films and series that I’ve seen was helpful. Writing down my experiences of films also felt like an appreciation of the titles and the work that went into them. So, if you’re a film fan, you enjoy writing and making diary entries appeals to you, I can highly recommend the Film & TV Journal.
«I want it all! The terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles!» – these words spoken by an iconic American TV celebrity could have been mine. It's a take on life I also apply to my job. What does this mean in concrete terms? That every story has its charm; no matter how small, large, exciting or trivial. The more eclectic the mix, the better.
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