A review of Films of Yesteryear

Dear Dharshan,

Upon reviewing your online self in the form of the Films of Yesteryear blog, I can say that it was a pleasurable and enjoyable observation. I appreciate your efforts in terms of applying the course teachings, but also on a personal level.

Content & Clarity
Your blog posts give a brief summary of what the feature film is about, which I appreciate you keeping short and sweet without giving away vast amounts of details. I admire that every post has a personal story and connection to the film regardless if the film has a high rating or not. For example, you mentioned your personal connection to the film Forrest Gump and why it’s deserving of a high rating for you personally. Same goes for your Top Gun review; you explain your personal bond to it with certain family members, despite it not having the highest review. That personal touch made it feel like I was also learning about you directly and helped maintain engagement. Moreover, your personal story never overtook the review, which is pivotal to your blog; you sustained a good balance of both personal and professional writing in your posts, well done!

Moving forward, I think your personal touch could be elevated if you described your rating system somewhere on your blog. For example, I noticed you rate a film according to ‘film projects.’ Forrest Gump has a “10 out of 10 film projector must-watch score” and while I do understand that it is meant to be similar to rating a film with stars, I think explaining or clarifying your rating system would help elevate your personal style. Your writing tone is personal and unique, and your attention to detail and uniqueness is even present in your rating system, so I think it deserves to be well understood by everyone. Aside from recommending some small grammatical fixes, your writing is enjoyable and well understood. Finally, if you want to express yourself even more, maybe add a small section describing a specific or favorite scene in the film (without any spoilers), and add a picture alongside it to help engage the interests of the audience further. 

Content & Audience 
I appreciate your efforts to engage with your audience in every post, and I can tell you even mentioned these efforts in your process posts. You mentioned that you added a section where fellow readers can leave their thoughts on the film; I appreciate this even more because you give them a prompt at the end of each review. You directly speak to your audience, ask them questions, and invite them to engage with yourself and others. This makes your online self appear as inviting, sociable, and friendly. 

Moving forward, consider adding this engagement, or something similar, with your audience on your homepage and welcome page. Making your engagement cohesive throughout the blog would strengthen it further and make it super enjoyable even from the start. I would suggest perhaps making the links on your welcome page appear different, such as to become a Youtube preview window or even a photo! 

Overall, your efforts are evident in the details of your blog and I can tell you enjoy what you are writing about – which is a hard thing to do when creating an online self. You are considerate in your writing and even in design (as mentioned in your process posts). I look forward to visiting your blog as it progresses and best of luck with your content!