Artifact 10: Internet Distraction, Movie-Going and Addiction

I picked the article, "Out There in the Dark, All Alone" by Manohla Dargis.  The article talks about the radical change in how Americans "go to the movies".  A statistic in the article states that 90 million Americans went to the movies each week in 1948.  This number is much higher than the 23 million who currently go to the movies each week.  Why?  Well the author says that because of the new ways we can access movies, it's no longer neccessary to run out and see a movie more than once.  Back in the 40's, people had to see a move they liked twice because they would probably not ever see the movie again after the theater stopped playing it.  Now we have ways to access any movie, at any time, through technology.  For intstance, people can now watch movies not only on their tvs, but on their computers, ipods, cell phones, etc,. 

To define some terms used in the article:

• on-demand era - the current time period in which people can instantly access movies and other media using the internet and other technologies.
• modernity - not oldness, newness or novelty
• cinema - from the Greek word kinema which means motion and emotion

In my view, it is totally understandable why people don't go to the movies in such large numbers anymore.  I mean think about it: you go to the movie theater and spend 10 dollars or more for a ticket. You then spend an additional 15 or so dollars on the overpriced snacks offered there. After this, you go into the theater to find a seat, but if you don't get their early there will only be the crappy seats left, the ones that nobody wants.  Also when going to the movies, one risks being seated next to someone who is A. talking through the movie, B. making a bunch of noise with their snacks, or C. fights you for the armrest.  Of course there are many more scenarios that could negatively affect your movie going experience, but these should do for now.

So why do all of that to see a movie when we have a plethora of other options for movie viewing?  There are so many ways that we can access movies now, that sometimes it doesnt make a whole lot of sense to actually go to the movies.  It makes sense to watch movies in the comfort of your own home, not only because it is comfortable, but because we have the ability to see a movie more than once, very cheaply.  So I definitely understand why the numbers of movie-goers have gone down.  It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense if they didn't.