Raw and unleashed. These may sound like buzz words for a pay per view wrestling match. However, in all seriousness, it’s important to exercise these qualities once in a while. Anniversary posts can be bitter sweet. They can be celebrations for the milestone in question. Or they can be like terrifying admissions that the well is dry. Outside of what you write about, the lingering doubt of whether you or not you truly have anything to say is persistent. And as I sit here amidst a Bank Holiday weekend in May, I’m throwing caution and all pretense to the wind, and instead trying to indulge in a little raw sentiment.

As A.I. continues to dominate our cultural landscape, I’m reminded more and more about why writing is important to me. Without wanting to sound highfalutin, but I think there’s something inherently primal in the act. For as far back as we can remember, we’ve attempted to immortalize our stories and experiences through the written word. In fact, many translations of great works of art involve transcription and written context. And in the pre-digital age, Film Critics’s reviews were a gateway into a time and place of our culture (through the prism of a film). I truly believe that despite the abundance of videos, shorts and reels that take up our bandwidth, there’s something pure and personal in a piece of writing.

And as A.I. ramps up and continues to be part of writing systems, I think a little spark of humanity will die. We will be relying on tools for our expression as opposed to doing the hard work of trying to give life to them. I’ve never bothered with Chat GPT and nor will I. In my stubbornness sprinkled with a little ego, I believe my digital chicken scratchings are fine as is (warts and all).

At the same time, writing keeps me accountable. Like anyone, I have my demons and they’ve sadly flared up in instances this year. But the one thing I have always had is my writing. Each blog post is an act of self faith that the blank page will be filled with authentic and considered thoughts. It’s never enhanced by a system or mind altering substance. Instead, I always believe that something will come, even if its at the eleventh hour or during a seemingly dry spell. And in the 10+ years that I’ve done this, that’s been a constant.

As the old adage goes, the best things come in three, so with that in mind, my final reason for why writing is important is because of the community it fosters. I may be a good old fashioned lurker (to use a bit of streamer lingo), but I truly enjoy and am humbled by the reviews that I read. I’ve also had the pleasure of interacting with some excellent folks on this site and Letterboxd. It’s been great to see the talent on display and how various people articulate their thoughts. On a larger point, this is why it’s good to not indulge in echo chambers. Reading contrasting views and opinions leads to a deeper appreciation on a piece of art or subject matter.

If you’re still here, then I thank you greatly for listening to my TED talk. I really have tried to write as spontaneously as I can. Hopefully there’s some small measure of consideration that you usually find in my other posts. But for now, I appreciate your continued indulgence. I’m just a humble man with a blog with enough ego to think my stuff is good enough to publish. I’ve hit some highs and lows in recent years on the writing front. And I would not trade a single moment of it for the world.