The Podium-Novelty and the iPad
Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 8:27PM The Podium
The Podium is an internet symposium where we give one person the stage to voice an opinion of their's on cinema. Do you agree? Disagree? Comments that agree must include a hearty "HARRUMPH!", and you can show your disagreement with a "RABBLERABBLE COUGH".
Novelty and the iPad
by Alex Lyons
While I don't have one yet, fairly soon the iPad will be held by these hands and movies will be viewed on it.
This notion is mixed with equal parts enthusiasm and skepticism. Thus far, no piece of mobile technology has changed the way I prefer to watch movies. While convenient, most agree that watching films on such a small scale is not the preferred way to go about watching JAWS. That said, however, there's something appealing about being able to access JAWS wherever you are in the world, providing there's a 3G network, and/or Wi-Fi in the neighborhood.
We now live in an age where owning media doesn't serve the same purpose. Previously, one would buy a DVD in order to access a favorite film whenever they pleased, available for viewing on a whim. The Internet has ostensibly eliminated the need for a physical, tangible product, and given us the ability to access our favorite films whenever we want, wherever we want, providing we have the latest and greatest tech. As of right now, that tech is the iPad.
Even before it hit shelves, one of the selling points of the iPad was the alleged "great" movie watching experience. With Netflix 'Watch Instantly' available to US customers, cinephiles can gain instantaneous access to their beloved films through Wi-Fi or 3G, with little to no load times. And if streaming films wasn't enough, they can also rent and/or buy them from iTunes. Sounds great.
The reason for my skepticism is such: I've been excited about watching movies on something other than a TV or Theater before, and every time, I've been let down. But it's my fault.
The prospect of watching movies on my phone was once appealing, but I did it a couple times and the novelty seemed to wear off. Fast. This is the problem, I think. Novelty.
It's a novel idea to have perpetual access to your favorite films, geography be damned, but without a proper viewing experience, the novelty loses substance, and just becomes a cool idea, without any real gravitas.
Movies being such widely consumed media, it's understandable why so much effort goes into getting them into every format possible. People want to access them any way they can. The downside, however, is that while a quick buck can be made, all your left with is novelty, and a shit viewing experience.
Films are made in 35-70mm (or HD) for a reason: They are meant to be seen big. While smaller TVs have sufficed in the past, we see bigger and better TVs with sharper resolutions hitting the market annually in order to simulate the theater experience at home. It seems to be what people want.
Contrariwise, people also seem to want movies on their mobile devices. It's what's novel, not necessarily practical, or conducive of a great viewing experience.
We will always watch movies they way they are meant to be seen, be it at home or at the cinema. Big and loud.
What changes is our access to movies, and this trouble with novelty. We can access films on our laptops, our phones, and our iPads, and while novel, it's not as exciting as we make it out to be. Or hope it to be.
We always want the next thing, but we let novelty disrupt our judgement. Novelty doesn't necessarily mean good, even though it can be refreshing.
Though, I suppose it's nice to know I can watch JAWS whenever I want, almost anywhere in the world.
--Alex
Alex Lyons is a writer who studied English and History at the University of Guelph, where he acquired keen insights into late Victorian history, and its literature. This education, of course, serves no purpose here. Alex still lives in Guelph, and thinks of Jack the Ripper often.
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Reader Comments (6)
HARRUMPH!
Completely agree!
I think anything that can get people interested in actually buying and consuming films is probably a good thing, but the promise of anytime anywhere media still hasn't really been realized (though ipad is a step in the right direction).
HARRUMPH, Alex. I often tell people that films are made to be seen in the theaters. At least the first time. That's the experience the director and cinematographer are planning for.
With regards to the novelty thing, I had never thought of that, but I totally see your point. I'm never an early adopter of new technology for that very reason. I figure other people will try it out and if it's not really valuable, I'll hear about it as soon as the novelty wears off.
GREAT JOB!
I agree, as well. Even if I download a movie onto my iPod, I usually end up watching it on my TV rather than on the device itself, and just link it up. Don't get me wrong, there is some convenient aspects of having this. I take the train down to Seattle every other month, and that is a two-hour endeavor. Having Repo! The Genetic Opera or Shaun of the Dead ready to watch is a luxury for those of us who can't sleep in travel. And I commute, 50 minutes both ways, to university. Nothing wrong with keeping the latest episode of Dirty Jobs ready. But, and I think this is sort of what it comes down to, that isn't ideal. You're stuck on a train, or on a bus, or in the car. You're stuck in the waiting room, or at a meeting, or in class. You've got something to pass the time, but inevitably, you'd still rather be watching it at home on your TV.
Of course, all said, I prefer watching movies on my laptop, directly in front of my face, than having to watch movies on the crappy old TV that came with my apartment which is less than a foot wider than my Macbook, and I am sitting six feet further away when watching it. But that's because I have a lame TV.
Thanks for the kind words, everybody. No dissenters so far! I was expecting some more "RABBLERABBLE COUGH"
HARRUMPH!
I've been excited about watching movies on my iPhone and (my wife's) iPad. Having only done it once, on a plane, I recently realized that it's that novelty—and the tradeoffs of such convenient, ubiquitous availability—is why i haven't taken to the medium more. As much of a movie lover I am, this position sums up why I'm not more "addicted" to movies on all devices. (It's about quality, not quantity.)
HARRUMPH fo sho! And Andrew summed it up nicely - we want quality over quantity. For a long time, I had a 19" TV, and I thought I was going blind watching movies on that sucker. I can't imagine anything more unappealing than watching a movie on the 9x7 iPad. actually, I can. it's the iPhone.
nice work Alex!