First off, we want to say thank you for your patience during our temporary hiatus!
Due to drastic cultural changes not only across the United States but the entire world, it was no surprise that our schedules were going to be affected in some way, and we’re very pleased to see the Cinematic Doctrine community embracing our hiatus with kindness and patience. In fact, we have even seen the Cinematic Doctrine Facebook Group grow far beyond 400 members in the last two months, and it has been wonderful to see, so thank you! And if you are not a part of the group already, it is never too late to join with the link above, just make sure to answer all the questions so the admins can accept your application!
As we return from our hiatus, we here at Cinematic Doctrine want to make you aware of some new and upcoming changes that we feel will improve the Podcast and the Patreon.
Improving the Podcast
The Cinematic Doctrine podcast has undergone many changes in the last year. That only makes sense. The podcast started just over a year ago and the first year of any project undergoes many changes, and while some have been clearly perceived by many of you, we want to go ahead and make one of them official.
Movie Reviews have changed their format from audio essays to discussion episodes. For more than half of the podcast’s life, I, Melvin Benson, would review movies entirely on my own. I would write what were essentially essays on cultural and biblical responses to movies and shows. While this format allowed for more direct, elegant topical discussions, the amount of research time required not only increased with each episode, the production process itself was simply not conducive to a weekly release schedule all handled by one person.
Prior to the podcast’s hiatus, we experimented with a Movie Discussion format as Daniel and I would discuss our thoughts on a film together (Birds of Prey, Sonic the Hedgehog). We saw the benefit of having two voices discuss the same topic as it could introduce information and nuance that simply could not be reached with a single presenter. Another express benefit to having movie discussions is hosting guests on the Cinematic Doctrine podcast, which many of you have already enjoyed during our Super Mario Bros. and I Am Legend episodes featuring Logan Sharp of The Reformed Gamers podcast and Carter Bennett of @Film_Junkie_Reviews, respectively.
As such, the movie essay format has effectively been shelved for the foreseeable future as we feel the podcast will ultimately be improved by hosting film discussions in its place (Don’t worry, we’ll continue to dive into difficult and challenging discussion topics like we did with the essays).
Improving the Patreon
To those who support Cinematic Doctrine on Patreon, another thanks is in order: Thank You! Your support truly goes a long way in helping to sustain the lifeblood of the podcast, exceeding the monthly cost of hosting fees, website fees, and all our current podcast fees combined! It has been a joy to see how the Lord provides and we are so thankful that you too are a part of this journey.
Moving forward, the Monthly Movie Poll will largely include new movies (Sometimes!). As listeners and Patreon supporters know, there is a Monthly Movie Poll exclusive to Patreon supporters. Usually, those movies are selected based on themes and the movie that receives the most votes is the movie that is reviewed at the end of the month (Like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before which won our teen-themed movie poll). But I must be honest with you: It is hard coming up with new themes every month! As such, the Monthly Movie Poll will now focus more on new movies. This will include movies in theaters, straight to VOD, or streaming through your favorite subscription app.
That said, we want to be clear on something: This is not gospel! Sometimes we may include a wildcard among new releases, perhaps a film from decades earlier to spice up the voting choices. Or, we might release a fun, themed Monthly Movie Poll that does not include a single new film! Who knows!?
And for those who are not supporting the podcast via Patreon but would like to get in on the action, you can head to the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon and for as little as $3 a month, you too can have your voice heard! There are many other perks to supporting the podcast financially such as gaining access to the upcoming monthly Patron-exclusive podcast, The CinDoc Pre-Show, as well as helping us reach our monthly financial goal of improving the audio quality of the podcast.
Moving Forward
Things may seem different, but we are prayerful that these changes will improve the podcast in the long run. Lord willing, you have enjoyed us since the Cinematic Doctrine podcast began and have been eager for these improvements as we work out the many kinks in our (hopefully) well-oiled machine.
With all that said, the podcast shall return very soon. And with that in mind, keep your podcast applications at the ready! We have been cooking up some fun episodes for everyone during the time off and cannot wait to unveil it soon!
So, until next time, stay cool!
Consider supporting Cinematic Doctrine on Patreon! As a bonus, you’ll gain access to a once-a-month movie poll where you decide a movie we discuss on the podcast, as well as early unedited episodes of the podcast!!
Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. He’s written fiction and nonfiction for over a decade with short stories featured on the Creepypasta Wiki and Wattpad. His novelette Ethereal Temptation, a teen drama with a tinge of magical-realism, can be read for free here. His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!
Cinematic Doctrine is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other major podcast apps.
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