“Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash, we have very little reason to be interested in them.” –Pauline Kael
The movie culture is dying.
While there are weekends and perhaps opening nights wherein
we see long queues, it is ever so rarely and if they are there, it means a new
blockbuster is showing in town. It is undeniable that streaming websites such
as Netflix and Hulu contributed to the progressive decline in movie attendance.
After all, why pay an exorbitant amount for a single movie when you only pay a
meager sum to access a movie library with diverse titles? However, rising
cinema tickets and streaming services are not the only two reasons why
cinephiles turn away from the movie theater. Much like anything else, a
multitude of factors have caused the further deterioration of movies and as a
result, diminished the entire movie experience. Back in the day, Saturdays were
made for children matinees, summers had several blockbusters and there was
always a rainy day screenings. Unfortunately, the modern day movie-goer has
perhaps become rather cynical in his or her selection of movies as all of these
once-considered cinema staples are now obsolete. Instead, they have been
replaced by blockbuster after blockbuster which in turn, would cause the
Cineplex to play the same title for an opening weekend---and constrains people
to relegate to home media for the lack of options. Do not get me wrong, blockbusters
still feed the cinema business and keep it afloat. However, a series of
blockbusters do not really give movie-goers a wide movie-selection for which
they can refine their film preferences with. Indeed, movies have gone
mainstream and resultantly stale insomuch that it affects those who consume
them. In any case, if you have found yourself planning your next movie weekend
and are currently scouring the Glorietta Cinema Schedule, here are a few of the interesting
facts why not a lot of people might share your weekend plans:
Rising movie prices
Back in the day, an elementary student’s
daily allowance would be enough to pay for one movie. Indeed, going to the
cinemas was not so much of an expense back then with tickets costing us less
than a hundred pesos. Theaters were lenient on what food you can bring as well
even going as far to allowing patrons to bring their rice meals inside. However,
those are all things in the past. A movie excursion nowadays, thanks to
ballooning movie budgets and more expensive projection equipment, is
significantly more expensive. Features like IMAX and 3D screenings would even
set you back further and for posh screenings such as Director’s Theater and the
like, you would be charged even more. In sum, this is to say that going to the
movies is an exorbitant expense and if you made a habit out of it (together
with your family nonetheless), it can already be considered a small luxury.
Inconsiderate movie goers
Everywhere we go, we encounter people with
no regard for others and atrocious manners. However, there is no other place
more saturated with rude and impolite people than the cinema. It seems like the
skyrocketing movie ticket prices do nothing to deter this type of audience and
it can really dampen your entire movie experience. Back in the day, movie
screenings had a strict policy in admitting small children after a certain
hour. Today, it seems like all that would bar children from attending movies is
the MTRCB rating. Unfortunately, these little tots can be quite the nuisance in
movie theaters—particularly if they get rather restless. They get impatient and
as a result would scream, cry and just be an overall distraction from the film.
The same can be said for adults who, at their age, should have known better.
For this reason, an adult’s disregard for common courtesy would be even more
aggravating than a child’s. They talk on their phones or incessantly keep it
lit much to the distraction of others. People have grown so accustomed to
seeing movies at home that they seem to have given up on all sense of good
manners. In any case, it does nothing to elevate your movie experience which
brings us to the point: Why spend a lot just to jostle with other movie patrons
who have absolutely no regard for common decency?
Home media
With the rise of re-releases of popular
movies, home media has become mainstream with more and more people opting to
wait a bit rather than spend money and time to go to the theater. After all, it
seems more economic to buy a movie release you can repeatedly watch rather than
go to a one-time screening. However, even then, movie attendance was still at
an all-time high. It was not until the advent of internet streaming services
such as Netflix, Iflix, Hulu and the like that the cinema industry took a
serious blow. That, in conjunction to the constant piracy of just-released
films has caused movie ticket sales to plummet in some areas. After all, with
the rising movie prices coupled with rude movie patrons, it would make so much
more sense for your pockets to just simply pay an annual fee than pay for a
one-time screening.
The internet
No doubt, the internet has contributed to the
steady decline of movie ticket sales. Much as television once eroded the
standard movie-going audience, the internet has largely kept people at home.
The World Wide Web is rife with entertainment options that are not as linear as
simply watching a movie. It gave rise to a new kind of audience that is
perhaps, a bit more discriminating that the movie patrons back in the day.
Today, the internet gives them a vast selection of movies and on top of that,
games as well. With the internet being a competition to be reckoned with,
cinemas can potentially see a further drop in attendance.
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