F R I D AY, J A N U A RY 0 5 , 2 0 0 7"New Yorker" Laments Bad Old Days OfMoviegoingDavid Denby is one of the few film critics I read regularly.</p><p> But hiscurrent piece in the New Yorker is an oddly out of touch lament for thejoys of movie-going.</p><p> What has him scared? The video iPod, for starters.Denby finds out that when he watches "Pirates of the Caribbean: DeadMan's Chest" on an iPod that it's a very unsatisfying experience.</p><p> Healso insists that young people are agnostic about how they watchmovies; they don't care whether it's in a theater or on TV or a portableDVD player or a tiny iPod.</p><p> Strangest of all, after speakingly lovinglyabout the joys of going to the movies, Denby writes:At poorly run multiplexes, projector bulbs go dim, the printsdevelop scratches or turn yellow, the soles of your shoes stick tothe floor, people jabber on cell phones, and rumbles and blastsbleed through the walls....</p><p> As these theatres age, the gold leafdoesn’t slowly peel off fluted columns.</p><p> They rot, like disusedindustrial spaces.</p><p> They have become the detritus of what seems,on a bad day, like a dying culture.All of this is quite wrong.</p><p> It's true, young people don't care HOW theyget a movie.</p><p> They don't care whether it's downloaded or on VOD or viaa DVD or on cable or Netflix or at a movie house.</p><p> But everyone caresabout the pleasure of watching it.</p><p> Will some 12 year old obsessivelywatch "Pirates of the Caribbean" for the umpteenth time on an iPod?Sure, I suppose.</p><p> But that very movie is one of only THREE films inhistory to make more than $1 billion at the box office.</p><p> Clearly, everyoneand their mother went to see it properly in the theater.For years now, people have spoken about movies they wanted to see inthe theater and movies that were "rentable," ie they'd wait a fewmonths to see them on VHS or DVD.</p><p> But it's not just the desire to see amovie that makes one a must-see in the theater.</p><p> Everyone -- including12 year olds, perhaps ESPECIALLY 12 year olds -- knows that aspectacle like "Pirates" HAS to be seen for the first (and second andsometimes third) time at the local cineplex.</p><p> No one thinks they can waitto see it on an iPod and think they've had the same experience.</p><p> Whatworks best on iPods are sitcoms, shorts, music videos and otherbite-sized bits.</p><p> Will some people watch full length movies on them?Sure.</p><p> But virtually none of those will be first-time viewings.</p><p> People willNext Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G .</p><p> C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: "New Yorker" Laments Bad Old Days O...http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-yorker-laments-ba... 1 of 37/28/09 1:24 AMFAV O R I T E L I N K SAmericablogFive O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's BlogThe Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPNRadioCine-Blog -- George Robinson's BlogDocuments On Art & Cinema - DarylChin's BlogBrucie G's Wondrous Blog OfAdventure and Mystery -- BruceGreenspan's BlogB L O G A R C H I V E▼ 2009 (17)▼ July (3)1939 -- The Greatest Year ForMoviesSwimming Bans Those Hi-TechSuits!Best Movies Of The Year -- TheMaster List► June (3)► May (1)► March (2)► February (1)► January (7)► 2008 (86)► 2007 (781)► 2006 (2412)► 2005 (5)C O N T R I B U TO R SBiboyAaronMichael in New York POPSURFING.COM: "New Yorker" Laments Bad Old Days O...http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-yorker-laments-ba... 2 of 37/28/09 1:24 AMPOPSURFING.COM: "New Yorker" Laments Bad Old Days O...http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-yorker-laments-ba... 3 of 37/28/09 1:24 AM
