David Latimer

The Streaming Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the art of films. They have greatly decreased the turn-out of those of us who go to “advanced” theatres, but they have destabilized society, have made film soundscapes unfulfilling, have subjected human beings to vertical video, have led to widespread subtitle use (on Netflix to physical television as well) and have inflicted severe damage on the Oscars. The continued development of technology will worsen the situation. It will certainly subject human beings to worse movies and inflict greater damage on the film world, it will probably lead to greater social disruption and back pain, and it may lead to increased eye strain even on “advanced” mobile devices.

The film-streaming system may survive or it may break down. If it survives, it MAY eventually achieve a low level of video quality and tinny sound, but only after passing through a long and very painful period of Hallmark moveis and only at the cost of permanently reducing films and many other television shows to engineered products and mere cogs in the engagement machine. Furthermore, if the system survives, the consequences will be inevitable: There is no way of reforming or modifying the system so as to prevent it from depriving films of dignity and quality.