Hey Fellows Insomniacs...WeAreAwake Board Has Been Found!!
Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2004 9:19 pm
Found this great news article...about two of my "fav" internet forum boards too
Phillygalinutah
Cult movie fans find homes on the Internet
By Kathleen DeGuzman
Teentime Correspondent
October 8, 2004
Forget about The Evil Dead, A Clockwork Orange and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. A new breed of cult movies has been spawned through fan sites and message boards on the Internet. These new followings range from those with fussy obsessions with the films of Wes Anderson to people claiming to have "found" themselves through Lost in Translation.
To get a glimpse of these fan bases, just visit any major movie Web site, such as the Internet Movie Database or Rotten Tomatoes, and head over to their forums, where you're likely to see topics posing questions like "Can someone PLEASE explain Donnie Darko to me?" or "Who's your favorite Tenenbaum?" Discussions such as these can bring out the fanatical sides of people, dissecting the tiniest details of movies others wouldn't even imagine taking into consideration.
The Internet Movie Database, which provides a particular message board for all movies, serves as a lively outlet for cult movie fans. Followings that have built up as a result of a movie being popular on home video find even stronger legs online.
For example, the 1994 cerebral hit man movie The Professional didn't make a huge impact when released in theaters, but has gained a dedicated following online thanks to the release on DVD four years ago of the uncut international version known as Léon. The popular topics on the IMDb board dedicated to Léon range from a discussion of the symbolism of milk in the movie to debates about the prospects of a sequel.
Ghost World, a teen movie for those who hate teen movies, is another online cult favorite. The 2000 movie starring Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson as two angst-ridden recent high school graduates is filled with lines like "I can't relate to 99 percent of humanity" and "Everyone is too stupid" that are often quoted online. Already having a strong fan base due to the comic book of the same name, Ghost World is topped with an ambiguous ending that is likely to keep fans talking for years to come.
On a more obsessive scale, there are even entire Web sites and forums that provide niches for individual cult favorites. One of the most active is Yankee Racers, a message board dedicated to director Wes Anderson's movies (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums). After spending a few minutes browsing through these boards, you'll discover people expressing their excitement at finding the same striped dress Gwyneth Paltrow wears in The Royal Tenenbaums on eBay and write-ups on the similarities between Anderson's films and the works of author J.D. Salinger.
Although it is rather popular on its own terms, Lost in Translation has a unique following of online insomniacs. In the forum for a fan site of the movie, aptly called WeAreAwake.org, members recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of the film's release and shared stories of how they found solace in the movie. One member even takes pride in having seen Lost in Translation in the theater 17 times.
In the age of technology we're living in, the Internet has replaced water-cooler discussions for spreading the word on certain films, and in the process, has given new life to movies that may have faded from the minds of regular moviegoers. Under the veil of a monitor and a keyboard, fans of cult movies can safely exult in manifesting their obsessions online.
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