Over at DesignTechnica, Doug MacLean wonders whether all the emphasis on expensive home theater systems with digital surround sound and high-resolution displays is leading to worse and worse films being made:
So many movies are produced more like extended music videos than films or merit. The booming audio and bright video are part of the movie, unfortunately often in lieu of story. These films are designed to be viewed at home on a high end home theater. The MTV generation used to fast paced loud sights and sounds has translated to the movies made by Hollywood and this has moved over because of the availability of high quality home theater equipment. As a culture we are being pushed to expecting high quality audio and video at the expense of content. The expectation of quality in movies appears to be diminishing rapidly. How a film looks and sounds is becoming more important than what the movie has to say or the production values used to say it. As I speak to people about this many are adamant about the need for all the bells and whistles a DVD can provide. Some will not even consider a disc of what they feel is lesser production standards. Film as an art form started out has humble flickering images on a wall. We have come a long way from then but we should not allow the technical advances overwhelm the love of enjoying a film for the sake of the film.
