Introducing Film Twitter Slack

Film Twitter. They say if you’ve heard of it, you’re in it. And if you complain about it, well, boy howdy, you’re in deep.

For the uninitiated, Film Twitter refers to a kind of movable feast of Twitter users who discuss movies. Some would say it’s comprised of all film critics, others might contend it’s just those other critics over there. Or maybe it’s filmmakers. Or publicists. Or fans. Or all at the same. To paraphrase Potter Stewart: even if you don’t know what Film Twitter is, you know it when you see it.

I complain about Film Twitter a lot (on Twitter, naturally). It all started back with the release of Man of Steel, when I couldn’t check Twitter without being bombarded by conversations of the film before it came out. I’m not all that scared of spoilers. Any movie that gets wholly spoiled in a sentence probably doesn’t have much going for it.

What bugs me is the Socratic dissection of a film I’m not ready to delve into. I prefer to see movies fresh and form my own opinions. If I could time shift these Film Twitter tête-à-têtes and experience them after I’ve seen the film, that would be lovely. But there isn’t an elegant way to do that without reading the tweets in the first place (yet).

So what to do? Clearly those who see movies before the general public can aren’t going to stop the chatter. And I’m not going to unfollow a community that I love reading. So I put together a thing: Film Twitter Slack.

With the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens upon us, I can feel Film Twitter ready to explode with excitement. They’re going to have a lot to say about it. But I don’t want to hear it, not until I get a chance to see the film.

So let’s try to move the conversation somewhere else. Let’s see if Film Twitter, who simply must talk about these movies before their release, can move the conversation elsewhere. Let’s try something new.

Slack, for many people, is a place to get work done, but it’s also great for community chat rooms. Users can coalesce in channels around different ideas and talk to their heart’s content. It’s not public, but I’ve made it dead simple to allow lots of people to join the group. All you have to do is go to this landing page and enter your email address. You’ll receive you invite instantaneously. That’s it. You’re in.

From there, well, let the conversations begin. New channels can sprout up, films can be argued ad nauseam (while keeping it civil, of course), and the whole community can join the fun…when they’re ready.

Let’s see how this goes.

How to Join Film Twitter Slack

1. Go to the Film Twitter Slack signup page
2. Enter your email address
3. Check your email and follow the instructions from there

I’m not collecting your email addresses or anything. I never see them from this form. Once you’re in the Slack group, your email address will be visible to other users, including me, so choose the address accordingly.