Do gadgets ruin movies?
The BBC quotes film director Ridley Scott:
We try to do films which are in support of cinema, in a large room with good sound and a big picture. But we’re fighting technology.
Did you hear that Mr. Jobs? The iPhone ruins movies. Instead of traveling down to the local cineplex to watch films, people choose to download them online from their living rooms.
Only then does Joe Six-Pack travel down to the theatre and try to watch the film on his iPhone, while simultaneously texting his friends about the crappy projection, and browsing Rotten Tomatoes for snarky one-liners about the shallowness of summer blockbusters.
If only he would stop cricking his neck to the side when he hears the phone ring…
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Eloquent post, Jason. I find this to be the case more and more. I believe devices like the iphone are (at the risk of firing out a “Back-in-my-Day” line) ruining the magical, old-fashioned experience that is Going to a Movie. Everything today is required to be lightspeed-fast and wrapped into a neat, little user-friendly package. And at what cost? We lose the character-building experience of waiting in a hot, sweaty line to pay for an overpriced ticket and proceed to squat in dark, stickiness for an hour or two. And you know what? I love doing that! After the movie, you go to your favorite cafe and/or diner and have a p2p chat in real time about it.
That’s called reality, bubba.
However, all movie tech isn’t bad. CGI technology is making unforeseen leaps into the future. Soon we’ll be able to do things with movies so incredible and groundbreaking that it will be for us like the light bulb was for our forefathers.
The key, I think, is to reach a balance. This goes for all technology in a way. Actually, perhaps I’ll dedicate a post to that.
I’ll look forward to reading your next one,
-N
Thanks for the comment. I was going for humor in my post, but the point still stands. The inconsiderate filmgoers plague the theatres with their bright screens, etc. while the true film buffs / popcorn aficionados have to put up with it. I agree that social interaction is more important than those relatively minor complaints. I will be reading the Happy Hatchet blog with interest.