The ‘cinematic experience’ is so much more than just watching a film. It is a wonderful opportunity to detach yourself from the constant concerns in the world today. It is your chance to become fully immersed in a world where the only barrier is the screen. Where you get to experience emotions of wonder, suspense, drama, or love; escaping from the repetitive cycle of day-to-day life and connecting with those you care about. People all across the world used to crave this remarkable cinematic experience. How would you feel if you never had another opportunity to experience something like this? Now, as we approach the light at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel, an old-fashioned cinema service for films can no longer be designed to serve a modern digital audience. Or so we are told.
Cinemas are barely surviving the pandemic. It has been more than two years since thousands of cinemas were forced to close, with no plans to reopen anytime soon. Tyneside Cinema, for instance, managed to raise £73,000 to prevent them from closing down permanently during the pandemic. At a time when jobs were being culled and a steady income was most desired, fundraising became a grueling task. It was impossible to convince people to invest in something they couldn't access. People are now waking up from the pandemic’s slumber only to see the devastation caused by streaming services. Haven’t cinemas suffered enough? Releasing films to streaming platforms such as Netflix or Disney after only a few months in cinemas has led to a dramatic decrease in the profits made at the box office. The Financial Times published an article showing that “In their second week, box office revenues for simultaneous release films fell by a median of 57 percent”. Essentially, the profits gained from films released simultaneously in cinemas and streaming were 57% lower than the profits made from films that stayed devoted exclusively to a cinema release. This will have drastic repercussions on the cast and crew behind those films, especially on the jobs of those working in the cinemas. Our lives would not be the same without movies, and those who produce them have a duty and responsibility to provide us with them. Surely, we owe them the right to a secure, well-paid job, that won’t be affected by the ever-expanding streaming services.
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These days, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between films produced straight to streaming services and films headed to the cinema. It’s as if the cinematic experience has finally grown up and left home. The cinemas, where films grew up, are left empty. Naturally, you might believe that streaming services are an ideal replacement for cinemas. They have absolutely no drawbacks. The comfort of your own home and the swift access all provide a great experience. Right? If you believe this, then I am sorry to inform you that you are one of many who have fallen victim to the grand illusion of the streaming empire. The Guardian reported last year that 60% of households had access to a streaming service during the first lockdown, up from 49% the year before. On average, the public watched video content for five hours and forty minutes a day, an increase of almost an hour compared to pre-pandemic levels. From this, Brits spent three-quarters of their waking hours watching TV or online videos in 2020. Needless to say, these statistics show that streaming services have entrapped you and everyone you know into a zombified form of entertainment. In an age of streaming, it is easy to buy into the facade of a magical wonderland plugged into your television, luring you to fall prey to its charm. However, pulling back the curtain reveals that it is merely a marketing ploy to withdraw money from your bank account and place it in the hands of these voracious corporations. Streaming services have deceived you into an unhealthy binge-watching addiction only to profit from their global money-making scheme, which has tragically caused the cinema industry to collapse.
Streaming services like Disney and Netflix are taking over, but they cannot match the incredibly beautiful, elaborate, and immersive experience offered by cinemas. After you step into the world of cinema, no matter who you are or where you're from, everything you've ever known gets left at the door. This is where the popularity of cinemas grew and a yearning for freedom and escapism was created. Video games provide a similar experience – stepping into a world that isn't your own and becoming someone who doesn't share the negative weights that burden you. Many parents expressed concern when video games first began to rise about the danger they can cause to children who are constantly exposed to violence and gore. Despite the danger of video games, parents overlook the violence and extensive screen time of streaming services that children can access. A recent Metro article shares that according to the new study, only a quarter of children under two, and one in three aged two to five, are meeting international recommendations for screen time. With cinemas, on the other hand, appropriate films can be shown and screen times can be maintained. There is no doubt that most people would prefer – if given the choice – to be someone else and forget all their problems, and today, the movie theatre provides the easiest way to do this. As powerful as the films they show themselves are, the true spectacle of cinema resides in the relationship between the viewer and the motion picture. It can clearly be shown that when you're at home, sitting on your sofa watching TV, you're in and out of limboland, getting dragged back and forth through this apparent ‘immersive’ experience countless times as you answer the door, make dinner, or leave the room. In this sense, these self-indulgent corporations will never be able to rival a theatrical release. Cinemas offer a greater experience than streaming services are destroying.
Despite the abundance of entertainment options available to us today, cinemas are undoubtedly one of the most superior ways to free yourself from fears, worries, and insecurities. It has been scientifically proven that when people visit the cinema, they lose the pressure that intensive social interactions bring. Cinemas provide a way to engage in social interactions while focusing on something other than the actual interaction itself – focusing on the film. This effect the cinema bestows upon us allows people to live healthier lives. According to a report by the Journal of Psychiatry in late 2018, regular trips to cultural attractions, such as the cinema, can help lower the risk of developing depression by up to 48%. How is it possible a form of entertainment that has the potential to provide support and even save lives goes concealed from the general public? Anyone smart enough to take advantage of this healthier lifestyle opportunity would gladly pay the small fee. As a result of ignoring this great place of freedom and comfort that cinemas have created, we have invited the leviathan of streaming services to begin their demolition process. In addition to squeezing the life out of the film industry, their actions have destroyed the novelty of cinemas through the conjuring of their own desert of loneliness and suffering that, frankly, won't benefit anyone. There’s no doubt that during the pandemic everybody’s mental health suffered significantly and without such remarkable experiences as the cinema, people are left to suffer from a lonely streaming subscription service collapse into. Essentially, rather than wasting hours watching TV, you could spend it exercising, reading, and interacting with friends and family; all of which are important for an active, healthy lifestyle. There is nothing wrong with having fun, but spending a couple of hours at the cinema every once in a while is far better for your health than being glued to the television for hours on end.
Ultimately, it is evident that streaming services have been thrown into the spotlight, while the cinematic experience has been discarded into darkness. A once wondrous opportunity to free the mind from the ever-pressing concerns in the world today had been closed as people futilely searched for an alternative. Will we triumph and restore cinemas to their once-renounced glory? Or will we all inevitably fall victim to this inhumane obsession of relentless binge-watching sourced from the streaming empire?
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