Instant Access of Movies

The Instant Gratification of Home Movie Watching

Going to the movies was once a part of American culture. Families piled in the car to go to the local drive-ins and dates headed off to the theater to watch a flick on the big screen. Syracuse University professor Robert Thompson says the idea that you go out to eat and then go to a movie was a common American activity. “People outside the big cities don’t have much to do. Going to the movies is one of the major things people do," Thompson added.

But many people today enjoy watching a movie within comforts of their home. According to the Washington Post, this makes the gratification of watching movies instantaneous, and while this has become a more popular trend, businesses are taking advantage of this by allowing people to choose movies at home with just a click of a button.

The Kinsey family in Dewitt is one of many families who frequently watch movies On Demand through their cable provider. “We don’t really go to the movies too often, usually when there’s something that’s advertised on TV that catches our eye, we discuss it and see if we want to take a peak at it," Darlene Kinsey said. The On Demand feature provided by Time Warner allows customers to choose from the newest releases as well as movies arranged into categories.

Syracuse University student Rohan Mascarenhas says whenever he has time he prefers to watch movies at home on his laptop. He says because Netflix allows him to receive movies in the mail or download them from, he watches about three movies a week. “Their selection is a huge draw because Netflix has foreign movies, old movies, classics and new stuff, and you get it all from your laptop, you don’t have to go anywhere," Mascarenhas added.

While this instant access to movies at home would appear to threaten theater’s business, the Washington Post says theatergoers are not completely gone. The Washington Post states that while theater numbers dropped in 2006, they now seem to be leveling off. Thompson attributes this to theaters' ability to bounce back from new technology threats. “Weekly attendance at the theaters has never gone back to pre-television numbers, but by raising the price of tickets, Hollywood continued along just fine," Thompson said.

Continuing along is what local theaters like the Manlius Cinema are doing. Manlius Cinema owner Nat Tobin says he personally welcomes customers to each show to keep them coming back. “We try to provide them with an atmosphere in which they feel more at home, where they don’t feel processed in and out of an institution," Tobin said.

Although Tobin says there’s nothing like watching a movie on the big screen, companies like Netflix, CinemaNow and Apple will continue to market products to this generation of home moviewatchers.