Cinemas and the American life

Cinemas have gone a long way. Less than a century before crank-operated projectors and black and white silent films, movie-watching experience has reached unimaginable heights further stimulating the whole entertainment experience.

When surround sound technology was introduced a decade ago, movie watchers hailed it as a hyper-drive to the future. Just years, even months after that 3-dimensional (3D) movies came, then computers came into Hollywood and created gargantuan space battles, uglier monsters and made pigs speak. Then digital cinema, now there is even 4D where you can watch and “feel” the movie. Charlie Chaplin must be stirring in his tomb for a chance to feature in a high-definition movie.

Aside from the on-screen developments, the movie-watching experience has also improved. Cinemas are cozier and better while the huge number of movie houses gives patrons a wide array of choices. There are cinemas for new releases, as well s cinemas for old movies.  There are cinemas in malls, universities at the center of town. There are movie houses for everyone.

At the heart of each movie, however, is the story. With the help of computer animation and technology, story tellers are able to dig deep into the recesses of their imagination and put it on the script and on film. Movies have become not only a reflection of reality, but a better version of it, where fairy tales come true and where people can escape, at least for two hours, and into worlds we can only imagine. Sometimes into the world we never imagined existed.

Despite the technology, DVD and Blue ray players and 59-inch plasma screens with cinematic sound at home, people continue to flock to movie houses and line up for premiere night. It must be about the dim light or the seats or the giant screen. For many, however, watching at cinemas is an experience not just about the movie, but the queues, the seats, the silver screen and the company.

Movies continue to fill the void that has been there since the turn of the century. Movies give people a widened view of the world around them and make them realize their existence. Movies inspire, satisfy, titillate but it also educates and motivates. There is not one single invention that has so influenced society – fashion, culture even religion – than movies. It is in the heart of the American experience and will continue to be a part of the American life.