During the Oscars, Jon Stewart poked fun at people watching movies on their iPhones. And, yes, there is something funny about somebody watching the chariot race in Ben Hur on such a tiny screen. (I think that’s the example he used, if not, he should have.)
Here’s a link to a YouTube "movie" of director David Lynch squee’ing about people watching movies on their phones (language alert!). First, is he for real? Second, does he think people are experiencing his little movie on YouTube the same way they would in a theater? Third, he may think they have, but they haven’t.
Doesn’t it seem odd that Hollywood would make fun of any movie/TV viewing platform? Hollywood reacted negatively when televisions started showing up in homes across the world in the 1950s, but, in the long term, TV has helped, not hindered the entertainment industry. Why would they think a new screen…a new viewing option…would hurt the industry? I’m sure it’s something to do with their bottom line. The decline in the sale of CDs might be part of their fear, but TVs, VCRs, and DVD players haven’t hurt Hollywood and its sister ‘woods; instead, they’ve helped the movie industry…I bet the new screens will also. (If they ever get an e-book reader for the Touch, I’ll say the same of it…it won’t replace my books, but it certainly will supplement them.)
Today, I started watching a movie on my iPod Touch. I was shocked at the clarity and brightness of the picture, the details I was seeing on the screen that I hadn’t seen when I watched the movie at the theater, and the closeness, or intimacy, of this portable viewing. Will I always want to watch every movie this way? No. I’ll still go to movies as often as I have in the past (i.e., on the rare occasion there is something good or fun to see). I’ll still watch movies on my TV. But I’ll also continue to watch on my handheld device whenever it is the best, or only, option available. And so far, I’m enjoying it. If Hollywood has a problem with that…all the better.
As a sidebar: One problem I did have was hearing the movie, but this is a headphone issue, not a handheld device issue. I started the movie while in a restaurant waiting for a friend and the music they had playing was apparently more important than God, fire alarms, and conversation, because it was blaring so loud an explosion would have gone unheard. I have cheap, but fairly comfortable, headphones that don’t block any external sound. So instead of hearing only the movie, I was listening to the restaurant music. I guess I’ll have to look into nicer headphones. Suggestions?
In the meantime, give it a try on your portable player. And excuse this discombobulated post…I’m struggling to stay awake.