Monday, October 27, 2014
Movies Theaters: Down, but Not Out
Movies are motion pictures that are broadcast on televisions or in movie theatres. While you can wait for Netflix to have the movie you have been wanting to see, I believe that actually going to a movie theatre provides a better experience for you. One reason for this is because movie theatres are (generally) quiet and without distractions. When you watch a movie in a theatre the experience is overwhelming. The audience is enclosed in darkness and the visuals and the audio of the movie adds to that overwhelming experience. So unless you can get a big screen TV with surround sound, you can't recreate that experience in your home. Also movie theatres are a cultural need. A new movie comes out and everyone wants to be the first to watch it, so they line up outside of movie theatres for midnight screenings. This is because movies come out in theatres first so there's no choice, but to go to movie theatres if you want to be the first to watch it. Sure you can wait a couple of months for Netflix to get it, but the only point of it would be strictly for entertainment. People start talking about the movie the first few days it comes out. Once months have passed that movie is no longer relevant, so talking about said movie will no longer be relevant. Also movies have a set start and finish while televisions do not. Let me explain, movies are guaranteed to have an ending so the viewer knows that the movie will have a conclusion. Television shows however, can run pretty much forever as long as the show has the ratings and fanbase to back it up and during the shows continuation, it might lose a couple of fans. Let's take General Hospital as an example. The show began and 1963 and is still airing today with a total of 13,170 episodes as of October 24, 2014. I can guarantee you that between that time span of 51 years, the show has lost a couple of fans. I think this is because the audience grows tired of the same cast, the same setting, and the similar plots and trust me, General Hospital is bound to have a couple of episodes that are exactly the same. Movies however, are a one time experience. There is only one of each movie. There is only one Singin' in the Rain, there is only one West Side Story, there is only one Ghost and the list can go on and on.
Radios: The Unity of the Community
History:
Today in J1 we learned about the history of radios. Back when radios were invented they were very popular. One big reason it was popular was because listening in on the radio was a communal experience. It allowed groups of people to get together and listen to your favorite show on the radio. Also, radios reported breaking news which was new back then since they could report on something that was happening at the moment. An example of this is the Hindenburg crash in 1937. Here's a link to a video with the radio broadcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ad9tholMEM
Demassification:
After the Golden Age of radios, televisions began to emerge. At first they weren't that popular because only the rich could afford them, but as television sales began to rise, radios were on the edge of their glory because everything radios did, television did better. This led to more people watching television and less people listening to radios. Television conquered radios and radios have never again reached the top.
Today:
Well today radios are pretty much useless. By useless I don't mean completely useless. Radios are just more obscure and the purpose of them have diminished. Most people now use radios to listen to music on their way to work or to school. I don't think I've ever seen anyone sit next to a radio and wait for a certain broadcast. Sure there are some radio channels that don't play music, but most of them that I've seen are either religious channels or NPR. While I do think that radios can't compete with television, I do believe that radios are a necessity for traveling because radios are portable and most of them, if not, all of them are wireless. So overall I believe that the usefulness of radios have been reduced, but why wouldn't it? They're competing against television and the Internet.
Today in J1 we learned about the history of radios. Back when radios were invented they were very popular. One big reason it was popular was because listening in on the radio was a communal experience. It allowed groups of people to get together and listen to your favorite show on the radio. Also, radios reported breaking news which was new back then since they could report on something that was happening at the moment. An example of this is the Hindenburg crash in 1937. Here's a link to a video with the radio broadcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ad9tholMEM
Demassification:
After the Golden Age of radios, televisions began to emerge. At first they weren't that popular because only the rich could afford them, but as television sales began to rise, radios were on the edge of their glory because everything radios did, television did better. This led to more people watching television and less people listening to radios. Television conquered radios and radios have never again reached the top.
Today:
Well today radios are pretty much useless. By useless I don't mean completely useless. Radios are just more obscure and the purpose of them have diminished. Most people now use radios to listen to music on their way to work or to school. I don't think I've ever seen anyone sit next to a radio and wait for a certain broadcast. Sure there are some radio channels that don't play music, but most of them that I've seen are either religious channels or NPR. While I do think that radios can't compete with television, I do believe that radios are a necessity for traveling because radios are portable and most of them, if not, all of them are wireless. So overall I believe that the usefulness of radios have been reduced, but why wouldn't it? They're competing against television and the Internet.
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