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Do you go to the movies much, or mostly watch videos at home?
By Gary | August 7, 2008
I was sitting here recently watching an old "I Love Lucy" rerun. I was a small child back when the original series aired. (I'll be 61 this month.) So just as a nostalgia kick I find it fun to watch a rerun once in awhile.
One of the things I thought about during a scene when Lucy, Ricky, and the Mertz's were watching television on the big 1950s console TV set was the impact television has had on the movie industry. When TV first began growing in the public's interest, many in Hollywood feared the movie industry would be destroyed. Why, Hollywood studio moguls reasoned, will someone pay money to sit in a theater to watch movies if they can get their entertainment for free at home.
Though television, and the further advances to VCRs and now DVRs and DVD players, has changed the way people view movies, it hasn't yet killed the film industry. But with ticket prices constantly rising and theater audiences dwindling, the movie industry -- particularly movie theaters -- continues to suffer.
Today's family with entertainment bucks to spend generally looks less at theater tickets and more at installing elaborate home video and home theater equipment -- everything from special home theater rooms to popcorn machines to even fancy furniture and home theater carpet and lighting accessories.
What about you and your family? Still go to movies? Or do you, like WE generally do, wait for a film to come out on DVD then rent it to watch at home? (We've even joined one of those online DVD rental services and love it. I won't mention which one, but it rhymes with "book flicks.")
It would be ludicrous to suggest that television will become less popular than at present, but perhaps satellite TV, computer networking, and the Internet will keep the shape of television constantly changing. It would be equally ludicrous to suggest that the Hollywood movie industry will ever "die" as a result of home theaters and other home entertainment options.
But certainly what we could say is: Even in hard economic times, there are probably far more entertainment dollars being spent in America than we can imagine. Every media venue seems to get a slice of the pie.
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