Media & Movie: English Vocabulary List

a film made with qualities thought to appeal to award voters, often overly dramatic or prestige-focused

"The film was obvious Oscar bait."

"The historical drama about World War Two was obvious Oscar bait with its serious subject matter and big speeches."

an actor, film, or genre seen as likely to fail commercially

"The actor became box office poison."

"The actor was considered box office poison after three consecutive movies lost money for the studio."

to damage a movie's credibility by adding an absurd or unrealistic scene

"That scene will nuke the fridge."

"The director's decision to add a talking squirrel in the serious drama threatened to nuke the fridge entirely."

so engaging that you can easily watch many episodes in a row

"The show is bingeable."

"The new Netflix series is highly bingeable and I watched all ten episodes in one day."

a movie, show, or story that makes people cry

"Tearjerker makes audiences cry."

"The tearjerker ending made the entire audience cry as the dying father said goodbye to his young daughter."

to watch something awkward, bad, or embarrassing for humor or entertainment

"We cringe-watch bad reality shows."

"My friends and I love to cringe-watch those old talent shows because the performances are hilariously terrible."

a movie, often romantic or emotional, aimed primarily at a female audience

"Chick flick targets female audience."

"He reluctantly agreed to watch a chick flick with his girlfriend but secretly enjoyed the romantic story."

a genre of fiction that focuses on the lives, relationships, and personal growth of women, often with a lighthearted or romantic tone

"Chick lit is a genre of fiction about modern"

"She enjoys reading chick lit because the stories are funny and relatable."

a literary or media subgenre blending romance and fantasy elements

"The book is a romantasy novel."

"The romantasy novel combined a sweeping love story with magic dragons and an enchanted kingdom."

sexually explicit written or visual content, often found in novels, fanfiction, or media

"She reads smut on her Kindle."

"She secretly read romance novels that her friends dismissed as smut but she found them entertaining."

a book or list filled with insults, rumors, or gossip about others, often kept secret

"The mean girls created a burn book."

"The mean girls kept a burn book filled with insults and gossip about their classmates."

a digital comic designed to be read vertically on screens

"She reads a webtoon every morning."

"She read the webtoon on her phone every week as new episodes were released in full color."

a movie or motion picture

"Let's see a flick."

"We decided to relax at home and watch a classic flick from the golden age of Hollywood cinema."