In the past decade, the number of cinemas in Hong Kong is shrinking. Fewer people go to cinemas to watch movies than before. While some people may prefer staying at home to enjoy the movies, some others still love the joy of watching their favourite movies in cinemas. What is your own preference? Do you prefer watching movies at home or at cinema? How can you support the movie industry as a movie lover? Write to the editor of the Hong Kong Daily to express your views.
Dear Editor,
As everyone realizes now, the number of cinemas in Hong Kong is decreasing gradually since fewer people are willing to watch movies in cinema. Some prefer viewing movies at home while some prefer enjoying movies at the cinema. I am writing to express my feeling and my stance of which I prefer watching in the cinema.
There are reasons upon reasons why I prefer watching movies at theatre than at home. Firstly, and also the main reason, it is that you can never get the experience from cinema at home Why, you might ask, the dark theatre creates a mysterious atmosphere; the size of the room makes it a perfect place from surrounding sound system while the ultimate screen ratio fills our sight entirely. There are no other places to experience such quality.
Moreover, as soon as the movies are released, we can enjoy them immediately, instead of waiting for the DVDs to be sold, the movies to be streamed online or to be played on TV programmes, you can get in front of others when it releases. In addition, not watching movies from the cinema might result in another problem, which is getting copyright strike. The reason people enjoy movies at home is that buying DVDs is much cheaper. It might even be free if you watch online, but as little do they know, some DVDs are pirated, some websites are playing movies illegally without getting the copyright, which can lead you to a lawsuit and cause you trouble soon enough.
Surely, you can argue that watching movies at home alone or with friends and family gives you much more freedom than watching movies at the cinema. You can fast forward, pause or even play backwards, chit-chat with others, use your phone and do other stuff while watching the film at the same time. But the reasons to watch movies are to enjoy it without knowing what is going to happen. For example, if you are watching a thriller at home and you stop all the terrifying scenes, what is the fun of it? It is supposed to be scary and terrifying. Watching thrillers at theatre gives you a not only mysterious but also horrific feeling that amp up the excitements!
Sure enough, everyone’s opinions are going to be different depending on your personality and hobbies. But still, if you have yet to try watching movies at the cinemas, don’t wait! It is also the majority of the movie producers’ income, why supporting illegal pirated movies when you can support the movie industry?
Yours faithfully,
Fong Ka Long 4A
