Netflix has this really neat feature. Once you’ve watched a movie or two or twelve, it starts to offer recommendations based on your viewing history. Categories like “Top 10 for You,” “Because You Watched X…” and “Because You Watched Y…”.
If you were to flip on Netflix in our house a few weeks ago, all of the top 10 recommended movies would have been for kids. And there would be additional categories like “Because You Watched Every Single Episode from Six Seasons of Fairly Odd Parents–Twice” and “Because You Watched The Adventures of Tintin So Many Times That You Can Now Recite the Entire Movie Verbatim in Both Official Languages.” (OK, I made those up. But it’s true.)
That would be because over the Christmas holidays, both the boy and the girl fell sick. The kind of sick where the best they could do was drag their sorry little butts out of bed, flop onto the sofa, cuddle up under some cozy blankets, cough and sneeze all over each other (really, at that point, who cares?) and watch TV.
Fast forward to the end of February, and it was Mommy’s turn to be sick, albeit a different kind of sick. Due to what the doctor thinks was a virus (does anyone else suspect that doctors blame everything they can’t readily explain on a virus?) I had a nasty case of dizzy spells, light-headedness and vertigo that sent the world around me spinning and me walking into walls. Doctor’s orders: two weeks off while the virus ran its course. No work, no going out, no driving–all too dangerous when you’re not sure when or how the next wave will hit.
Normally if I had the house to myself six hours a day for two weeks, I’d use it as an opportunity to continue my ongoing battle with household clutter by cleaning out the closets, reorganizing the pantry or some such activity. But since the simple motion of bending over was likely to send me falling over, I had no choice but to park myself on the couch and either read or watch TV.
So I turned to Netflix for much of my entertainment. Here are just a few of the movies I ended up watching during my forced confinement:
- Everybody’s Fine
- Friends With Money
- Jane Eyre
- Eat, Pray, Love
- Just Friends
- New York, I Love You
- The Jane Austen Book Club
Now, when Luc and I watch a movie together (once the kids are finally asleep but it’s not so late that I’ll end up sleeping through most of it), we usually lean towards an action, adventure or sci-fi flick or even a good documentary. We do share some common ground where movies are concerned and can usually agree on something fairly easily.
But when it’s just me, all alone with full control and the remote in my hand? Well, I know I like a good drama. I also like a good romantic comedy. I like to laugh. I like to cry. If I can do both during the same movie, even better. I like a movie with real women, handsome men and a solid plot. Pretty costumes are nice too.
Apparently Netflix knows this too. If you were to turn it on in our house today, the top two categories they suggest are “Witty Romantic Movies Featuring a Strong Female Lead” and “Understated Dramas Based on Books.” (And no, I am NOT making those up!)
This kind of technology is pretty great. It certainly makes choosing a movie faster. And I do understand that Netflix is just trying to “enhance my viewing experience.”
But does anyone else also find it just a little creepy?
Check out Luc’s taste in movies…
Me Woman You Man 