The Epic Downfall Of 3D…
Ever since Avatar came out, 3D has been all the rave in the entertainment industry. I looked at it as a fad that will eventually pass. Lately, however, I’ve taken a closer look and realized it’s getting more intertwined into everything and have discovered what I think is the underlying point of it all. This recent 3D craze is a massive attempt by multiple studios and companies that specialize in film and entertainment to try and put a stop to the piracy of films, and to make all of us repurchase all of our stuff to abide by this new idea. The problem is… it’s failing.
Think about it: Most of the movies coming out lately are 3D. These films usually have a basic plot with 3D gimmicks that make them only enjoyable or even really watchable in 3D. A film pirate can’t translate the 3D in to something the normal P2P site user can download and enjoy in the same fashion as the theater can unless someone does that red and blue thing which would be absurd. Sure, they can pirate the non-3D version and put it online, but it doesn’t have the full effect. Who wants to watch a non-3D Avatar? Not me. I tried before and was put off completely.
Without the 3D you begin to pay attention to how basic the story really is. Don’t get me wrong, the movie isn’t bad, it’s just way less interesting than it was in 3D. 3D movies are made to generate more money because of inflated ticket sale prices. The movie could be the worst damn movie ever made, but if stuff is flying at the screen; wallets will open wide. Studios are even quickly converting movies not even filmed in 3D in to 3D films. A recent example of this is The Last Airbender movie. It was probably one of the worst movies in recent memory and the 3D conversion made it look even worse, but people lined up in droves to watch it. The Last Airbender was so bad that it could lead to the downfall of 3D, but I’ll explain that in a bit.
This next leads to 3D home media. Since the movies can’t be pirated correctly, and the movies will soon be released to the public months after they’re in theaters, companies will now have 3D releases for new DVD or Blu-Ray systems that are the only ones that can play the discs. On top of that, the consumer will have to get the specialized expensive 3D television, that come with the probable 1, or if lucky, 2 glasses. What happens if you have 10 people over? Who wants to take turns watching a 3D movie? No one! More buying!
This passing 3D revolution was designed to kill piracy, make you buy all of these specialized discs, and buy all new equipment just so you can get the same thing you just saw at the theater.
They make you think like it’s some new thing, it’s not. 3D is old, but this strategy is just as flawed as it was before. It makes you have to buy everything all over again. New TV’s, new media players, new movies, and I bet my life on it: newly converted versions of old movies you already own! I don’t want to have to buy The Matrix a 4th time!
The industry thought all of this was a great idea. I’d go to Best Buy and see all the 3D TV’s and I just didn’t get it, and neither did most people. No one was buying these TV’s. The glasses you had to put on were heavy and if you planned on watching 3D Lord of the Rings for 12 hours whilst wearing these glasses, prepare to ice down your neck and rub your eyes until they’re blood-red. Seriously, 1 in 4 people that watched 3D TV complained of eyestrain, headaches, and the feeling that they had to throw up that popcorn they just woofed down. Plus, the majority of people who bought a 3D TV didn’t even use the 3D function on the damn thing. How many? At least 9 out of 10 people has no interest to use it at all. Not really sure who’s dumber: the buyer or the maker?
What about 3D film? It was supposed to be the next big thing in film? It was for a while, but ticket sales are falling dramatically. Why? It’s because 3D films have already been tried for decades, and they always, ALWAYS, fall. Check out this chart that shows that Hollywood has kept producing more and more 3D films each year, even though the interest has kept falling.
The 3D film and TV industry is a dying fad, and it’s drying fast. A passing fad that hasn’t worked multiple times is never going to be sustainable no matter how much money you pump into it. Sure, Avatar worked because it was the first of its kind to utilize the new technology, but films like Resident Evil 5 just shut it down like that one episode of Home Improvement that used 3D, and you had to get the paper glasses from 7/11. Did Home Improvement continue to use 3D for every episode after that? No. Because it’s stupid. 3D is dead.
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.
Contact: jeff@socialunderground.com