I never thought that I'd be saying this, but here we are. Do we actually need movies anymore? I went to the theater three times thus far this year. The first was to see the Dune sequel. The second time was to see Deadpool & Wolverine. And the third movie I saw on the big screen was Alien: Romulus. I used to love going to the theater and seeing movies. However, now it just seems more comfortable to watch them at home. At least there, I can control the subtitles and when I want to go and use the bathroom. I guess I might be showing my age here too. But...here me out.
Let's take a look at my beloved Star Trek. First off, Star Trek TV looks amazing, and it borders on movie quality. If I didn't know that I wasn't watching a movie, I'd assume that an episode was a movie. That's how good it looks. The same goes for Star Wars, Foundation on Apple TV, and Game of Thrones as well as its spinoff, House of the Dragon. All of these shows look ridiculously good, and by having a greater length (cut up into bite-size snippets of one-hour), you end up with a much larger canvas on which to tell your story. By contrast, it almost feels like "movies" with a run-time of two hours have become...obsolete...is it cruel to say that?
Anyway, I'd like to pose that question to you, if you want to answer it in the comments. Do you think movies have become obsolete? What was the last movie you saw in a theater, and was it worth the experience and the expense? What do we lose as a culture if we all agree that the common experience of attending movies in a theater is no longer worth it?
I still haven't gone to a movie in a theater since the end of 2019. I don't see any need for it. The slight improvement in the picture or sound isn't worth all the extra costs, time, and effort. Of course I go by myself so if you're doing it as a social thing that's probably different.
ReplyDeleteWe go to the theater all the time and watch movies at home. I don't think the movie is obsolete but movie theaters soon will be. A 4:00 movie will start with ten minutes of commercials, the the movie theater ad, then one preview, then another commercial - all before the movie finally begins at 4:15. I go to the movies to skip the commercials! And I want the movie to start on time. I think that alone is going to drive people away from the theaters.
ReplyDeleteI don't think they're obsolete. The paradigm is shifting, though. It used to be that it was cheaper to go to the movies than what the movies replaced--theater. Now it's very expensive. And home is much more comfortable. I don't think we'll lose movies, but I think the way we consume them will likely change.
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