Over the last few years, the way people watch movies has changed dramatically. There are now many ways that movies are delivered to audiences.
When movies became popular in the late 1920’s it was said that stage theatre was obsolete.
Theatre did not go away and people had a choice of whether to go to the movies, or to live theater.
Although people did both, movies eventually became far more popular than the theater, partially due to the high price of theatre tickets.
In the early days of television, the number of channels was limited and was the number of movies.
Today there are hundreds of cable channels with infinite programming and "On-Demand." a way to catch movies fresh out of movie theaters.
The video subscription service, Netflix sends films through the mail or provides an Instant Play option in conjunction with wireless devices
such as the Roku. Films, like books, can be borrowed free from public libraries or rented from video stores. However, video store, such as Blockbuster,
are fast disappearing due to the advent of On Demand and Netflix.
Problems With the Current Movie Rental Companies
Many people complain that they never get new releases from Netflix. This was my experience. For monthes, I had new releases in my Netflix "cue"
and I never received a single new release. And although Netflix offers instant "streaming" of movies directly onto your computer or television
(if you have the appropriate wireless device) the movie studios won't allow Netflix or any other company to stream newly released DVDs for
many monthes after their release.
Additionally, Netflix has a very low number of movies available for streaming. If you search for some of your favorite titles on Netflix, you will
see how few if them are available for streaming. So this means that you have to put the title in your cue and wait - sometimes for titles
that never come.
Now that Blockbuster has closed all of their brick and mortar stores, their business model is eerily similar to Netflix with the same sever limitations.
Enter Redbox, a new DVD rental company that has kiosks in places like local Walgreens and rents films for $1.00. While on the surface this may
look appealing, every time I rent a movie for a buck from Redbox, I am helping to put my local video store, Scott's Super DVD Video, out of business. By
the way, Scott's always seems to have everything.
Why Would Anyone Go to a Theater to See a Movie?
Is going out to the movies dead? No way. Despite rising ticket prices, viewer inconveniences and distractions, there’s still something
magical about going out to see a movie, even if at a multi-screen entertainment complex. People still go in record numbers to see first
run blockbuster films like Avatar. Movie fans realize that seeing a movie on a small screen, without all the enhanced sound effects is
not the same as going to a theater. There’s the energy that patrons get from sharing the experience with an audience. Laughter is contagious.
The experience of seeing a movie just isn’t quite the same in a room with only one or a few people as it is in a theater full of people
unabashedly enjoying themselves.
Cinematherapy on Television
In the movie Manhattan, which Woody Allen starred, directed, which he co-wrote with Marshall Brickman, Allen said.
"This is an audience that's raised on television, their standards have been systematically lowered over the years.
These guys sit in front of their sets and the gamma rays eat the white cells of their brains out!"
Manhattan was filmed in 1979, and since then, television have gotten better in some ways - and worse in others.
In terms of cinematherapy, television is important not only for it's original films and innovative series, but for the manner in which it reflects
society's tastes . . .
Click here to learn more about important cinematherapy on television
