You know that guy at the video rental place who rolls his eyes (and may even sneer a bit) when he hands over your copy of .nightsandweekends.com/articles/04/NW0400199.php>Anchorman? That young man, with his pasty-white skin, signifying that he hasn’t seen the light of day in the last 15 years or so, is a Film Snob. He’s the kind of guy who regularly congregates with the other members of the local Film Snob Society to debate the finer points of movies that make no sense. He can go on and on about aspect ratio or the superior quality of laser discs. He talks about “monographs” and “whip pans.” And he occasionally attempts to imitate the fashion statements of Wes Anderson.
If you have a desire to communicate with Film Snobs—or you’re just curious about what the fuss is all about—you might want to pick up a copy of The Film Snob*s Dictionary. Inside, you’ll find an alphabetical listing of the actors, directors, movies, books, movements, and other terminology that Film Snobs hold dear. You’ll learn more about people whose names sound vaguely familiar. You’ll hear about movies you’ve never heard of. And you’ll learn to differentiate between Bibi Andersson and Harriet Andersson.
The authors’ style takes the book beyond just information and makes it entertaining, too. It’s clear from the beginning that they see Film Snobs as strange, antisocial beings, with bizarre tastes in film (like five-hour films that consist, almost entirely, hacked home videos). But, at the same time, they manage to mock Film Snobs while still managing to come off as snobbish—which makes the book all the more amusing.
Since it’s a reference book, it’s not necessary to read The Film Snob*s Dictionary from cover-to-cover—but it’s interesting enough that you can. I did, and I found that—no surprise—I have very little in common with Film Snobs. But I also found myself with a nice long list of snob-worthy movies that I want to check out. Now I’ll just have to head to the library and see if they happen to have any spaghetti westerns or chop-socky in stock…
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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