3D?

Is it fab or fad? Are the glasses the poison dart or the accessory of necessity? By now, all but the Amish have seen the latest iteration of 3D. People want to check out the newest technology that everyone is talking about, but does it have staying power? No. 3D will always be a niche market for 2 or three movies a year. While producers want to incorporate 3D into their movie it’s simply too distracting for the viewer. The last time I saw a 3D movie in the theater I kept wondering when the next character or prop was going to be thrown at me and I pulled myself out of the story over and over again. Movies are simple, just tell a compelling story. Did you ever think Schindler's List was good but if only it were in 3D. Some stories don’t need color and what’s more some stories don’t even need dialogue. What is the only hope for 3D? The NFL and Sports Center. I would put on glasses for 15 minutes of NFL highlights to see a bullet pass fly at me or a John Elway style helicopter touchdown, but that’s about it. I can’t even foresee beer chugging manly men with the silly glasses especially since Bud Light has decided to not air their commercials in 3D due to the injuries during testing.
The only hope 3D has is to lose the glasses and give the viewer the option to turn it off and on like Closed Captioning. Until that happens we should all push for more and better resolution which will give us the realism that 3D tries to mimic.

Jason Troyer
Denver, CO