Chapter 16
Outliving Celluloid: Cinema in the 21st Century
In This Chapter
Charting changes in cinema-going, technology, distribution and more
Tracing the effects of new technology on viewing patterns
Considering what happens to distribution and copyright when media converge
The first decade of the second century of cinema was one of dramatic and rapid technological change. During this period, film-making transitioned from a physical, chemical process to an almost entirely digital one, the Internet revolutionised distribution and viewing practices, and the blockbuster business model came under increasing strain. But those who predicted that cinema wouldn’t survive these changes were left eating their words.
In this chapter, I explain these technological changes and explore their effects upon the cinema experience in all its developing forms.
Revising Rumours of Cinema’s Death: Still Watching, Just Differently
Way back in the 1990s, you barely opened a magazine or newspaper without encountering an article proclaiming that cinema was dying or already dead. Even clever literary theorists such as Susan Sontag joined in, arguing that each new wave of audiovisual technology had so eroded ...