About Me

WatersWams is a site all about films. Donald usually is not too contrarian in regards to his taste in film, but he sometimes may be a little extra critical of popular films that he feels are not up to snuff. This site will not be film reviews, (for that visit his column in Northern Review, Waters Review), but rather this site will tackle issues in the film scene as a whole. It will look at the current media landscape and Donald will provide his take and analysis on the issues at hand. Conversations with professionals in the field will also be included in these analyses.

The founder, Donald Waters, has been invested in the world of media from a young age. While he just recently got into analyzing films and television from a critical perspective in the last few years, he has been in love with the process of creating a television show/movie since he saw the original "Toy Story" as a kid. Pixar is his main passion, but he has since developed a strong appreciation of all types of films from all types of different companies. He writes reviews on the social film discovery site Letterboxd, and has a column in his University's (Ohio Northern University) online paper called Waters Review. On Waters Review, he gives his opinions on current film and television projects with slight analysis. In the end, he gives the pieces he covers either a thumbs up or thumbs down rating.

There are a few truths about the entertainment industry that Donald holds to be self evident that must be established for this site to completely connect. The first is one is as follows: story serves the most important role of any given piece of art. Story is king. Every single aspect of a movie or television show or book or every song in any album should serve the purpose of contributing an overarching story. Without a story, there is no movie/television show/book/album. Story should be considered as the top priority to people involved in the productions of auteur/studio films alike. The second truth is not as obvious but should be heavily agreed upon. That being, critics play a very important role in the media industry. For many people, a critics' opinion is the word of God. A popular critic's opinion may very well be the sole factor that brings life or death to a film or series. The third truth is more of an ethical one, Donald heavily believes that critics should be spending more time seeking out pieces of content that they like, that may not be so popular. While dogging on the latest Marvel products are admittedly fun for him to read and write, he wants every critic (including himself) to give some time to independent creators to see if they are worthwhile. There may be some hidden gems to be found. While it's far from an indie project, Donald took a chance and saw "The Bob's Burgers Movie" in theaters. After liking it so much that he saw the film 5 additional times, Donald can confidently say that it is one of the best movies of the year.

Donald takes film criticism very seriously and follows journalists quite closely. There are a few that he looks up to and these individuals have helped him develop a sense of what makes a good film and how to analyze media from a critical perspective. Sean Fennessey immediately stands out as an obvious influence of Donald's. He is the critic Donald looks to when he is looking to see a blockbuster film himself. Fennessey's podcast "The Big Picture" is one that he listens to every week, and is very useful for him to keep up-to-date on the latest films. Amanda Dobbins, the cohost of "The Big Picture", is also involved in Donald's film watching decisions. He finds that his taste sometimes lines up with her's more than Fennessey's. Another podcast by the Ringer podcasting network called "The Watch" is how Donald keeps updated on his endless television series watchlist. Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald, the hosts of "The Watch", are very entertaining and know how to convince listeners to check out a show. The final journalist that Donald reads frequently is Armond White. White is generally looked down upon in the media industry, (he was recently kicked out of the New York Critics Circle for harassing Steve McQueen.) However, when one actually sits down to read his writing, they usually find that he brings up many good points. He often champions movies with smaller audiences, which Donald strives to do as well.

Donald hopes that readers will gain new insights and a better understanding of the media world by reading this site. He also hopes to provide a soapbox for smaller creators who normally would not have a platform. By interviewing professionals, looking at trends closely, and having an unbiased viewpoint of current events, Donald hopes WatersWams can be a reputable source of entertainment analysis.