By Jill O’Rourke

The first few weeks of your freshman year of college will likely be full of introductions and social events, which will hopefully lead you to make new friends on campus. One of the best ways to reach out to people is through movies. If you want to make new friends on your hall, consider hosting your own themed movie night one weekend. Pink and Black has a few ideas for how to make your movie night a hit.

Obviously the most important part of planning a themed movie night is picking a theme and the movies you will show. An easy idea to start with would be to pick a few movies by a well-known, beloved actor. Stars like Audrey Hepburn and Johnny Depp have a wide variety of popular films to choose from. Directors also provide great themes. A Wes Anderson night opens up a lot of costume and decor possibilities. Another great way to go is to pick a decade and choose a few of its most popular movies. Maybe you want to show your favorite animated Disney movies from the ’90s. If you don’t want to be quite so specific, base the theme on a genre. Titanic and The Notebook would provide a great night of sappy romance. If you wait until October to plan your party, you can’t go wrong with a scary movie night in time for Halloween. If all else fails, stick to a popular series, like Star Wars and have a marathon.

Once you’ve decided which movies to show, get the word out! Ask your RA if you’re allowed to put fliers up on your hall. Knock on doors and introduce yourself and write invitations on people’s dry-erase boards. Find out if a common room is open in case you expect more people than will fit in your room. Make sure you can hook up a DVD player.

Serve relevant snacks. This can be tricky on a college budget, but there are likely a few inexpensive treats you can buy which relate to the theme. Having a Lord of the Rings marathon? How about all ring-shaped food, like donuts and ring pops? A mini-festival of Jane Austen adaptations calls for tea and scones.

Suggest a dress code or decorate the room. If you’re hosting an ’80s movie night, ask that your guests wear their best ’80s attire or dress like their favorite characters. Decorating the room can be as simple as printing out copies of the movies’ posters to hang on the wall or recreating the films’ settings through inexpensive, distinctive decorations. It all depends on your budget and how much time you have.

A great way to meet your neighbors is to bond over your favorite movies. It might even become a weekly tradition on your hall to gather for a movie or two. Poll your new friends to find out which movies they want to watch next week and pass the hosting torch on to someone new.

Image Source