movies/tv Is it really too late to watch any movie/series?

[Splashee 28,566]

As an example, if I were to watch Steven Universe today instead of when it came out, it wouldn't matter, as it is as good now as it was then.

So it doesn't matter, as long as you are willing to enjoy it, not letting spoilers or opinions from others ruin your own experience

[KatonRyu 1,033]

It's never too late to get into anything, the only thing that might be a problem is that a lot of things you might consider spoilers are openly talked about by everyone else because it's been years. But most series I watched I've gotten into years after they finished, or at least when they already had a large number of seasons. IN all honesty, though, I don't care if a series still has a living fandom. Aside from with MLP and Pokemon, I don't usually engage with the fandoms of series I like at all.

[Samurai Equine 52,062]

Obviously for the sake of simply viewing things and having your own personal enjoyment, it's never too late to watch anything. It might be hard finding certain things. Not every streaming service is going to have EVERY movie and TV show ever created. The older and more obscure something is, the harder it will be to find. And there might be times where you MIGHT have to consider piracy as an option~? Maybe? (At your own risk, of course. I can't condone or encourage it for your own safety, and in other countries it can be VERY dangerous to even try to pirate stuff. So proceed with caution, use your own judgement, support the official release whenever you possibly can, etc.)

For me, the only time I need to worry about it being "too late" s when I want to see movies that are vintage or super old. I really, REALLY want to watch those old detective movies. The who-done-it's. The clue-following, drama filled, hard boiled, film noire, suspenseful thrillers of back in the day~! Problem is, I didn't grow up in those years. It can be hard to research some social commentary about it; it can be hard to know where to get started. I don't know what the world was like back then. I don't know how the average person felt about the film back then. Movies don't come with history books that say "Back when this movie was made, the world was...".

Thanks to Google, however, I can almost get a better picture. If I know what year the movie came out, I can research that year. I can find out what else was being released at that time. If I'm lucky, I can get ticket sales. I might be able to find out what kind of behaviors were socially acceptable, fashion trends that were going around, common slang being used, etc. I can find most of the info I need to install the right mind-set while watching the movie.  It's an element people take for granted, but not every movie or production is timeless. Some really are a product of their time, and we need that reminder that the world was very different. But if I can make a counter-point to that argument, the shelf-life of movies, TV shows, and so on is actually bigger than you think it is. The world really doesn't change that much in 5 or 10 years after it came out, maybe more. The only time you need any social commentary is when something is really old, past your generation. Or if you took a long break from pop culture, and you're trying to get back into it, but you feel like you missed a lot. Still, I think the latter is easier to overcome than the former.

Edited July 25, 2020 by Samurai Equine