Today I had the pleasure of accompanying my 5 year old to the movies. I didn't particularly enjoy the feature film but I always enjoy watching the reaction it elicits out of my child. It's also an experience to watch movies with other children. Their pleasure is always so honest and uninhibited. It's refreshing.
I remember the experience of going to the movies as a child. The delicious treats at the snack bar, standing for the national anthem (now I really am aging myself), watching the previews, and most of all just being carried away to another place and time. It was magical.
Now the theatre has lost some of it's allure. Yes I still enjoy the treats but I must be aware of the calories each one contains. The previews are enjoyable as I love a good trailer but they have become formulated and predictable. Not to mention about 70% are now in 3D which now become the standard for most films. I mean - if you can make Step Up 3D that pretty much opens the flood gates for any old tripe to be made into 3D. And in doing so, allowing the theatre to charge more money no matter how bad the film is.
But I digress...
The magic has died a little since I was a child. The films were always larger than life with Dolby and THX surround sound. The images were far superior to anything we could get at home. Now, most of us have big screen HD televisions with the same type of sound systems. We don't need to go any further than our own living rooms to enjoy a good movie. And with the dawn of 3D home television we have created a new standard in home entertainment.
Where does it stop? We as a society have such a desire for the next new thing we are slowly killing the magic because we over-expose ourselves to it. Technology has advanced to such a degree it has become common place. Having a computer was once considered a privilege. Now it's a right. Microwaves were expensive now we can't seem to live without one. We joke about 'remember when we had to use a pay phone to call away from home' but the reality that we can't seem to live without our cell phones is quite frightening.
I am not going to say I don't appreciate all of the advances technology has made. I wouldn't be sitting in my bed typing this on my laptop via my wireless network if I didn't. I am just wanting everyone as a society to appreciate what we have here and now without waiting for the next big thing to come around. I think that's part of my problem. I am always anticipating the next big thing - not just in regards to technology but in regards to everything. I am not living in the moment and enjoying today. I am always looking to the future and anticipating what is to come. The next holiday, school starting, buying a car, even the release of a movie on DVD. I need to learn to live in the moment and realize what I have now. I have to realize that what I have, where I am and who I am is enough.
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