Cinema

Cinemas have always fascinated me.

The last time I went to the cinema I couldn't for the life of me concentrate (John Travolta as a dog with identity issues, funnily enough, wasn't quite enough to stop my mind from wandering that night... although the hamster had it's moments.)

I spent a lot of the time considering 'non-disbelief.'

Before you can enjoy fully, a movie (or any story for that matter) it has to bring the viewer, listener, whatever-er, to a point where they are entering into it in some way. It's the point when you stop being aware of the protagonist (or the aparatus being used as one) and think only of the story being told.

It's something that I find fascinating. A similar thing happens when you are in the process of remembering something. You become simultaniously at two places at the same time; vaguely unaware of your surroundings while you put yourself back in the time, place, etc that you are recolecting.

It's pretty cool that humans can do that, but the film in question got me thinking about the other side of that.

The dog had been lead to believe that he was the charater in a tv series, (truman show-esque scenario) but then a chain of events leads to him being released into the real world and suddenly he doesn't know what's hit him.

So what if our society has reached the point, or dangerously close to, that all those authors like Ray Bradbury were warning us about, or even earlier, Plato and his cave?

Society perpetuating non-disbelief to the point that we begin to loose the ability to step back and be aware of the reminants of popcorn sticking to our feet?

Has media become such a mainstay in contemporary culture that we run the risk of seeing things as they actually are?

Yesterday I went with some friends to check out a new cinema that has opened as a possible second site for the church and it was truly weird to be shown around, taking photos of theatres etc. but nevertheless really cool. (esp when he gave us a tester of their brand new imax theatre.)

But it got me thinking again about the phenominon of cinema and wondering again about that old lenon (i think) statement that it's 'the opiot of the masses.' I don't think it's true for cinema parsay but he might have a point when society looks to the media for it's grasp on reality.