If you enjoy watching films you’ve probably heard of Letterboxd. No doubt you’ve come across a film student asking if you have it, or a video of a celebrity listing off their “four favourites” on some red carpet or other.
Launched in 2011, the platform has steadily grown – with a significant peak during the pandemic – to host over 26 million users. Its largest age bracket is 18 to 24 year olds, so students surely make up a lot of those numbers, and the fact that it has a free version with minimal ads contributes to its appeal. At this point, can you even declare yourself a cinephile if you’re not on Letterboxd?
I decided to discover how students use the app and what they make of it. A large group of students responded to my survey designed to garner student-user habits and opinions – here are the results.
It’s no surprise that over 70% of responders claimed they were frequent cinemagoers. Gen Z are the group that attend the cinema most often, and the boxes for ‘film student’ and ‘part of a film-related society or organisation’ each had 20 ticks. There are several cinemas to choose from in the centre of Manchester alone and tickets only cost the equivalent of a couple of pints. The high volume of student cinema-supporters responding to a survey about Letterboxd is to be expected.
Nearly 90% of respondents said that they tracked every film they watched, and only three people said that they never leave star ratings; most always do. Writing reviews, however, is more split: 39% typically share their thoughts, but 47% do so ‘sometimes’ and 14% do not.
A few people commented that they are put off leaving reviews because they are “too shy”, “don’t feel clever or funny enough”, or they fear their long, in-depth analyses would get “made fun of in this era of declining media literacy”. Although several people mentioned that their love of film discussion makes the platform attractive, fear of judgement appears to put some people off. One responder explained that instead of directly contributing to the discourse, they “leave a like on reviews that speak on behalf [of] my feelings”.
There are diverse and divisive opinions out there about how Letterboxd ‘should’ be used. I came across a Substack post that apparently lists “Every Annoying Letterboxd Behaviour”. The first method shamed is “like-whoring by writing tweets instead of reviews” which the author claims is “an abuse of the platform”. On the other hand, second on the list is “doing the opposite by writing a dissertation”; according to the author, if you do this you should “start a blog” instead.
In the face of comments like this, the pressure to leave a review of the ‘perfect’ length and ‘correct’ type of critique starts to ramp up. Your confidence to post your opinions may start to diminish.
Almost 45% of the survey respondents that leave reviews said the sort of thing they write depends on the film and how they felt about it. Two people appear to prefer serious reviews and find “tweet format, funny one-liners” annoying – though they admit they deserve a laugh from time to time.
Conversely, another expressed distaste for people that take Letterboxd “too serious[ly]”: “I just wish people could chill a bit and continue using it as the silly little film rating app it is”. Two others mentioned a tendency of Letterboxd reviewers to miss the “concept of fun” and enjoyment when it comes to niche or camp films. Even if a film is “politically or technically bad”, reads one comment, “my overall viewing experience matters more”.
All survey respondents but one read other people’s Letterboxd reviews, but if they write their own the order in which they do those things is varied. Nearly 50% leave their own reviews before reading others’, leaving 40% doing the opposite and 10% doing a bit of both. Perhaps the ½ star review for 2001: A Space Odyssey that reads “too much monkey business” was inspired by the top 5-star comment on the film: “the monkey thing was cool”.
Letterboxd brings all sorts of opinions and interpretations together. It appears some users wish everyone else would use it in the way they like, whether that be taking analytic reviews seriously or letting comedic comments slide. Personally, I find that this range of perspectives and discussions is part of the platform’s charm.
There are a range of ways to engage with the Letterboxd scene. You can log films casually or religiously, get recommendations, curate lists, and edit your top four. One respondent said they do “use the watchlist function like my life depends on it”. Another said they simply find it “satisfying to see all of the movies you’ve watched tallied up all in one place”. A few respondents also mentioned how they like to look back on their own reviews of the past and see if their opinions have changed.
Its social media format is unsurprisingly a big hit, with 77 of the 83 students surveyed following friends on the app. 39% said at least 10 of their friends use it, 11 people claimed 30-50 of their friends did, and two people responded “all of them”.
One person commented that using Letterboxd is a “great way of building community” and another said they use it as an avenue to keep up with friends via the films they watch. At university, especially in the first few weeks, Letterboxd profiles can inform first impressions and potentially kick off friendships.
I recently read an article about logging films on Letterboxd while the credits roll at the cinema. Of the survey respondents, 88% said that they log films as soon as they end or minutes to hours afterwards. Of those that write reviews, only around 16% wait for a couple of days and let their thoughts marinate before arranging and posting them.
Letterboxd is an online platform. This means it is instantly and easily accessible from your cinema seat or living room sofa, and it connects people around the world. At the same time, it is actively shared offline, causing the interactive side of the platform to spill into real life. For students in particular, Letterboxd can be an icebreaking tool for connection. It can spur cinema trips, movie nights in, and healthy debates. “I love Letterboxd” was a common phrase among the survey’s comments, once with three exclamation points and once in all-caps; its popularity among students is undeniable.
