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May 03, 2010

Essay

Find your classmate Carlos' answer to the essay proposal in the comentario:
More and more cinemas are going to close down because people today just sit at home and watch DVDs on their TV and computer.
If you wish to follow suit, post your compositions as well.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Carlos

It is a fact that more and more cinemas in the center of Madrid are closing down. Few years ago people were in the habit of going to the cinema to watch every new film. It used to be an exciting experience that everybody enjoyed, and nobody wanted to miss.

Nowadays, however, people are getting out of the habit. Why? Because people today just sit at home and watch DVDs or downloaded films on their TV or computer.

There are some reasons that have helped the current situation. First of all, the cinema industry has changed the old traditional cinemas into multiscreen ones trying to make the business more profitable. As a result, going to watch a film in smaller screens is not as stunning as before.

Secondly, the tickets have reached prohibitive prices. As the films are delivered in DVD very fast, people prefer to wait and avoid the exasperating experience of making the effort of going to the place, paying and watching a disappointing film.

And finally, the most important of the reasons: the Internet. Nowadays it’s really easy to download files of the newest films. Of course, it’s an illegal activity but, nevertheless, everybody has enjoyed it.

In my opinion, the current situation is unavoidable. Few cinemas will survive in the centre of Madrid. Other different uses are being allowed where some of them were placed due to a recent re-cataloguing of the land. As a result, investors prefer to bet on more profitable business. The cinema industry, aware of the global bad situation, is suggesting new interesting products, as the latest 3D technology in making films, trying to recover the attractiveness of the experience of going to the cinema.

Concepción Flores María said...

It’s highly debated that nowadays more and more cinemas are going to close down. Many people today say that they’d rather sit at home and watch DVDs in comfort. However, moviegoers really enjoy the amazing experience of going to the movies.

Needless to say that the filming industry is going through a difficult time and many families and youngsters can’t afford the extremely huge cinema ticket prices. In addition, they say that they can watch their favourite DVD whenever they want without leaving home and quitting it for whatever reason. They also claim that they can eat popcorn and make comments without bothering others.

In contrast, there is another group of people who have other interests and motivations. For these, home can never replace the cinema environment and they add that the feelings you experience at the movies aren’t comparable to those felt at home. And we shouldn’t forget that a new way of cinema is on the increase, the 3D.

For these reasons, it’s clear that the cinema industry face new likes and should progress in this way. However, new likes can live with old ones without eliminating anything. Therefore, we have to be capable of satisfying every need. It seems to me that although some cinemas are going to disappear, not all of them are going to, because many of us will keep on watching films at the movie theater.

Anonymous said...

LOLA MARTÍNEZ

There is no doubt that many cinemas are going to close due to the use of DVDs, internet, TDT and piracy.

An example, in 1965 there were 8,000 cinemas and only one TV channel. In 2007 there were 2,700 cinemas, the public continued to ask for movies but the internet free download or DVDs purchase and popcorn to recreate their own cinema much cheaper than a ticket have led to this situation.

There are other reasons to leave empty seats in cinemas but the most important is ticket price. Besides this, other reasons are piracy, variety of TV channels, DVDs and lower quality of films.

To this is added the fact that young people, important audience, prefer pc games as a new form of entertainment instead of going to the cinema, as there are young people who dominate the ticket office.

A strong key is piracy, which affects Spain more than other countries.
Despite this, today the exciting experience of 3D movies works well even with seats that squeak and smell bad. The 3D movies seem to be a Hollywood strategy every time they feel they are losing public. But the 3D phenomenon can only be beneficial if consumed in moderation.

For all the reasons outlined, I believe that cinema will never be what it was before in the 60s and 70s, when it only competed with television.

But the passion for cinema is alive. Watching a movie on the cinema has a special magic. Once piracy is controlled and good movies are made, especially Spanish movies, the amount of spectators will increase again.