Week 6: Part 1 Response

There is no denying that the internet has revolutionized new media and had an effect on every one of us. It is a technology so powerful, we are able to experience all types of media in the one place, canceling out the need for so many modes of entertainment. There's no doubt Hollywood cinema is struggling, with the dependence people have on the internet to provide them with entertainment, ticket sales and DVD releases are decreasing week by week and soon, Hollywood is going to struggle. 


At the moment, Hollywood and television are doing okay - it's what they're expecting in the future that makes them nervous. As it gets easier to illegally pirate film & television, more people will learn to do so - alas the beginning of the end of any cinema and television profit. Of course it is illegal to copy DVD's and upload on the content on the internet, but it is way too easy to get away with committing this crime. It happens so often and anonymously that there is no reason for people not to do this besides sacrificing your own morals. Personally, I think the internet is killing Hollywood. Cinema cannot rely on merchandise for every film. While several epics release a franchise of toys, posters and other memorabilia, a lot of films only release a DVD - and if it happens to be on the internet, earlier, people aren't going to waste their money on something they can have for free.


The only thing I can see Hollywood cinema holding onto is the fact that some old-school people, like myself, enjoy the concept of going to a cinema and sitting amongst a group of strangers and watching a new movie on a bigger screen. While we're all guilty of watching at least one movie on a pirated DVD or online, I'm sure I'm not the only person who wouldn't mind spending a few dollars to watch a new movie in a cinema for the first time. It's a concept people will look back on and wonder why we, a group of strangers, congregate together to watch a new film in a room - but for now, all we can do is wait until we all have a cinema in our own television set - whether we still pay for it or not, Hollywood will be around but the cinema will not.