My own private Jane Austen Film Festival took place in my living room over the course of several months.\u00a0 It wouldn’t have been possible without Netflix.\u00a0 I worked my way through every adaptation of Jane Austen’s work and then into obscure British television documentaries about her life.\u00a0 As soon as the movie, “The Jane Austen Book Club” came out on\u00a0DVD, \u00a0I watched it too.<\/p>\n
I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about not patronizing my local theaters.\u00a0 We have several\u00a0nice ones nearby,\u00a0but I haven’t been lately.\u00a0 I thought I’d miss the companionable experience of seeing a story unfold along with a roomful of other people, but so far I haven’t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s clear why fans of special effects blockbusters choose to see them on\u00a0big\u00a0screens, \u00a0and friends who work in the movie industry maintain that comedies are best seen\u00a0in\u00a0theaters, where\u00a0communal laughter enhances the funny, still\u00a0I find all kinds of rationale for watching at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We’ve heard it all before – about how the inconveniences outweigh the once-shared theater experience.\u00a0 I love movies as much as ever, but the theater experience itself has been diluted, with multiple (smaller) screens and multiple distractions inside, so it’s rarely an experience equal to the nobility of the old movie houses.\u00a0 Theater owners blame movie-makers.\u00a0 Movie-makers blame – well I can’t keep up with the list of all the people movie-makers blame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I worry about historic theaters and will do whatever I can to help preserve the architecture and honor their place in our nation’s history.\u00a0 Once preserved, these buildings need to be re-purposed because the movie industry won’t be able to keep them alive.<\/p>\n
Future media is here, with growing audiences who watch on various small screens, including hand-held devices.\u00a0 Whatever comes next in the area of personal delivery of entertainment content, it doesn’t appear that traditional theaters will be a major force.\u00a0 It’s an uphill battle.\u00a0 They make much of their profit from concessions and we hear nothing but complaints about the price of the food and drink.\u00a0 They add commercials to run before the feature, and we hear complaints about the commercials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We’re fast approaching the time when all new movies will be released simultaneously via several media, with theaters only one of the choices.\u00a0It is crucial that everyone connected with creating entertainment – movies and television and music and all other kinds of performances and educational content –\u00a0be compensated for all the ways we choose to watch.<\/p>\n
Right now, waiting a few months for the\u00a0DVD to come out works just fine for me.\u00a0 When I hear about something I want to see, I immediately go to my computer and add the title to my Netflix Queue.\u00a0 But on any given afternoon when I’m sick of my own company, there’s still the matinee around the corner.\u00a0 I wonder how much longer that option will exist.<\/p>\n