Since there is YouTube and Facebook has added video clips, I’ve not had to go to any movie theater. Grab a bag of homemade popcorn, get a soda pop and sit back at home and watch performance entertainment without paying a dime.
Like so many kids, I was excited by the cowboys’ riding horses or police cars chasing the bandits. The shootouts were quick and neat just like the war reenactments. The good-looking stars would be a cowboy one week then a detective and then a WWII hero without a scratch.
Then the multi-plex widened the screen, increased the sound and gave the audience what they wanted. The acting violence of wrestling, roller derby and football were replaced by special effects.
Giant waves sank cruise liners, tall building caught on fire, tornadoes were more devastating than what Dorthy participated in. Buck Rogers could not have believed the Storm Troopers or gotten a ride on the Enterprise.
Even the cartoons came to life. Now good-looking young people wearing spandex could look shocked and angry in CGI. To fill the space between wonderment and bad dialogue, there were explosions. Everything blew up. Spectacular turned into performance art for plays and rock concerts and television commercials.
Perhaps the video games have done this or we are so bored that only a flash, bam and fire can get our attention? Throw in a bunch of skin and you got our attention.
Now and again, I’ll check some old films on YouTube and am surprised at my reaction. What seemed harmless fun and excitement of the time, must have been brutal. How many horses died or were injured on those cowboy movies. The cavalry charges, even in real life, were carnage and the movies showed it all as the audience cheered. How many ‘cuts’ were made to drag off the carcasses? Did their names make the credits?
Is it age or I’ve seen it all before or you can’t shock me anymore, but I’m not interested in ‘Action’ films. Make believe fantasy of exploding cars or airplane crashes or graphic depictions of snuffing one another, has not been able to duplicate what is on the nightly news.
No need for an expensive film crew and set. Everyone has a camera now.
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