MATT'S EDITORIAL 17/9/2014 - Films are boots and TV shows are wellies
Many people are blaming the downfall of popularity of films and cinema to the restlessness of our generation. How do we expect a bunch of kids raised in a world where everything is one click away to sit in a screening room and watch a five hour movie by the likes of Lav Diaz. Heck, it's hard to keep them from checking their facebook on their phones every ten minutes - well, at least all we have to deal with nowadays when sitting in complete darkness in a room full of strangers is the bright glare from android screens. Remember when those buttons on the phones made that awful clicking sound, and text was still the main form of communications between human beings?
Yes, it is true - people nowadays have less patience when it comes to, well, just about everything and anything. Heck, even I am far from being the most patient guy in the world. Nevertheless, when I watch a film - or when I read a book for that matter, I become entranced in this other world and will admit that I am quite tolerant to the point where I can watch just about anything. I did start getting obsessed with film when I became acquainted and infatuated with silent films at an early age, where narrative structure had a tendency to go at its own pace and where you might end up watching a DW Griffith production that lasted over four hours.
No matter, that is just me. I will admit that there have been times when I watched a film on my computer and did work at the same time - work that didn't require any writing, perhaps just logistic stuff on my website or technical auto pilot stuff on FRED Film Radio. But I will admit that on some occasions I even used two computers, one on which I watched a movie and another one on which I carried on with my work. That is not the ideal way for me to watch a film, but I can say that I have no problem in incorporating films in my everyday life in any way I can.
Getting back to the matter of patience, I am all for the internet. I am not a purist. Internet has knocked down some serious geographical and political barriers. Within the film culture context, it has given us VOD and even some great treasures on public domain available whenever we want it, wherever we want it. At the same time, however, people nowadays seem to be more eager to watch TV series than films. I don't watch TV series, I have no time for them - I have chosen to watch films on rotation because it is much freer in many ways. I find that even the best of TV series are following methodical structures, based on a methodical series of hooks that are in turn shaped around network needs for TV ads. Also, there is a comforting element in the familiarity of the characters. Every film is like a new pair of leather (or in my vegetarian case faux leather) boots or high heels that needs to be broken into - upon wearing off we switch to a new pair and start the process all over again. TV series on the other hand are like wellies - you break into them once and you will probably have the same pair for a few years.
How do we promote cinema to future generations? Well, the common sense would be to incorporate social media in the picture. That has been the theme of many industry talks at festivals and continues to be a topic that mostly fails because most people who know and love cinema don't particularly know how to use the internet to their advantage. A synergy between the two platforms is needed. I for one can tell you that for me, it's very simple. Every time I go to the cinema, I seek to treasure every aspect of the experience. I look at people's reactions. I like to see people applaude a film, but I also like to see them leave. I like to see them wriggle with disgust at gory sequences, teary eyed from laughing hard or from sobbing softly. I have even taken to liking hearing critics huff and puff in disappointment, even with films that I greatly enjoy - and I usually enjoy whatever I watch. One time, I was at a screening and some guy pissed against the wall. Another time, a classic, some other guy vomited all over the aisle after a director's emotional introduction to a screening of his film. I like to see people getting angry at kids chattering in the back rows.
What point am I trying to make? TV may own the hell out of social media interactions. But the more human and direct interactions take place in a screening room, and if we learned to get more used to open up and become more tolerant of other people then we would appreciate a cinematic experience in a much more complete way. In fact, could it be that the real downfall of cinema popularity is because we are progressively all hating each other more and more?