The Downside of 3-D

The tremendous success of films like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, and How to Train Your Dragon which were filmed and shown using three-dimensional technology, has led to a rush of movies and television shows trying to capitalize on the 3-D craze. Television sets that are "3-D ready" are already being marketed, and more movies that appear to leap off the screen at you are in the works. The technology of entertainment is racing ahead.

Look at the historical record:

First we had "moving pictures;"

Then "talkies" were the technology of the day;

Monaural sound gave way to stereo;

CinemaScope and widescreen came next;

"Smell-o-vision" had its (mercifully brief) time;

Dolby digital technology gave us amazingly lifelike surround sound;

IMAX gave us gigantic, mind-blowing images to go with the Dolby sound;

Now we have the latest technical evolution of 3-D.

And on and on and on. The technology of television and movie entertainment is incredible.

Too bad the content isn't keeping up.

Television still offers us things like My Mother the Car and Enos, while the history of movies contains gems like Heaven's Gate, Wrestling Women vs the Aztec Mummy, and Gigli.

Technology can take you only so far before there has to be a story worth telling and actors worth watching.

Which brings us to this interesting article from CNN online: Can 3-D Movies, Television Make You Sick? (Hint: the answer is yes, for more than one reason)

Read it and think about some of the real dogs you've seen on TV and in the movies before you run out and plunk down $3000 or more on that 3-D capable big-screen TV.

Oh, I apologize to dogs everywhere for the characterization in the previous paragraph.

Have a good day. Leave the 3-D to the everyday world, where you don't need funky glasses to enjoy it.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo