Jul 12 2010
better fake movies than real 3d television
So, okay, sometimes a company can come up with some “innovation” in their product, and I think it’s pretty silly. Like, say, yogurt in a tube. The only kind of tubes I like are the ones that are in a series and fueling the internet. For the public record, I categorically condemn all dairy tubes.
Anyway, enough about tubes, because that is not the point. The point is that 3D television is really stupid and is going to fail so the world should stop telling me to get one.
I devised this hypothesis in the same highly scientific manner that I use for many conclusions: shouting at lifestyle reporters on CNN. A few months ago at some consumer tech conference (CES in January, maybe?) every lifestyle editor in the world seemed to be telling us that 3D televisions are the FUTURE, and the FUTURE IS NOW.
Complaint the first: What are you going to watch on your 3D television? There are a few obvious things that could possibly be improved by 3D vision, in the abstract. Sports, perhaps, if you are a fan. Certain movies. Nature shows, certainly. But what about all the other pablum (and I say that with love)?
I occasionally watch episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, aka “Fox Network’s Fightin’ and Cookin’”. Do I need that in 3D? Oh hell no. Not even a little bit. Do I yearn for Jenny’s giant fake eyelashes to pop out of my screen on Gossip Girl? When Michael Kors reaches up to feel a designer’s fabric choice on Project Runway, do I want his icy, pampered fingers to creep into my home like Samara with a good manicure? I think not.
This brings us to complaint the second: those stupid glasses.
Why the HELL do the consumerism powers-that-be think that something that requires very expensive glasses to use will become commonplace? Here are some questions for ya, smart guys: Will the glasses fit over my prescription? Will I need extra glasses in case friends spontaneously come over to watch something, or will we be expected to carry around our own at all time? Will you replace said glasses when someone sits on them accidentally or my cats eat them?
I am reminded of 2001 when the dude who created the Segway announced that in the future cities would be built around the personal transportation devices. Now Sony is saying that in the future our entertainment areas will be built around dumb glasses. Uh huh. Suuuuure it will.
So in short, dear reader, Jessica does not recommend that you worry about upgrading to 3D technology at home. But hey, kids are still eating yogurt out of tubes so it’s been established that no one listens to me no matter how loudly I yell at the TV.
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Speaking of Segways, this fascinating Ask MeFi thread taught me that I’ve been pronouncing “segue” incorrectly my entire life. I’ve been mentally pronouncing it as “seegh”, and just kind of thinking that it must be the root word for “segway”. D’oh.
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Here’s the fake trailer from 2007 for the fake movie Machete, which has just been turned into a real movie with a real trailer. I love the addition of Arizona-flavored commentary, but how everything basically stayed the same. You guys, I’m all over this one.
The original Machete trailer was done by Robert Rodriguez for the intermission between Rodriguez’s and Tarantino’s efforts in Grindhouse. If you haven’t seen the movie(s), you still might enjoy the fake trailers, including Edgar Wright’s Don’t, Rob Zombie’s Werewolf Women of the SS, and Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving. The latter is my favorite fake trailer and by far my favorite thing that Roth has ever done (by a long shot).
(Note: Almost all of those trailers feature swearing, blood, and possibly boobs, so don’t watch them at work.)
on 13 Jul 2010 at 8:53 am
In the future we will all have our own glasses attached to our phones to watch our movies on and we won’t need a giant screen for anything. Then my dreams of wearing around high tech goggles in some dystopian future will be complete.
I may pick up a 3D TV eventually, but I’m certainly in no hurry. It only makes sense to wait for the early adopters pay to bring the price down for the rest of us. So far I’ve managed to hold out past the the whole move to HD. I can see that I will want to upgrade at some point. If 3D is cheap enough, well they make fine HD TVs without the glasses.
on 14 Jul 2010 at 5:39 pm
I didn’t consider the impact 3D television could eventually have on dystopian future fashion, but it’s true!! Those goggles would be awesome.
Never buy in to home entertainment technology early, I think.
on 14 Jul 2010 at 5:40 pm
… why is my default conversation icon of my elf? (Who, technically, isn’t even my elf anymore.) Argh, I have internet split personality syndrome.