The IMAX Experience

I’m a Millennial and I don’t like going to the movies. I am the stereotype that worries film scholars.

The difference between me and other potential movie-goers is that I’m not a cinephile. Generally, I don’t even like movies. I love television, but films take up too much time and concentration. That is why, when I do make plans to go to a movie theatre, I prefer blockbusters. In fact, the last films I’ve seen in the theatres were either Pixar (because I do love some Pixar magic) or huge blockbusters (Iron Man, Transformers, etc).

Furthermore, I prefer to spend a couple more dollars to see these blockbusters on the IMAX. If I’m going to commit the time to be entertained, I want the explosions to be outrageously good. On special effects, Tryon writes, “…these effects are invariably marketed in terms of their novelty, their ability to present unprecedented experiences for audiences, an assertion that seems specifically designed to lure audiences back into movie theatres” (40). As Tryon suggests, I am the demographic that goes specifically for special effects. I don’t necessarily need a great story; I can see those on my own television. I want spectacle.

On the otherhand, specifically speaking of IMAX films, Tryon argues this spectacle creates a sense of hypermediacy, or the notion that an audience is aware of the spectacle’s spectacularity. Though I may be aware of the movie magic involved in creating an IMAX film, I find it more immersive than a traditional viewing. I believe Millennials have grown up inundated with advanced technology and immersed in images. I would argue my generation is less accepting of traditional film as fully immersive. In fact, nothing bores me more than an older, less bombastic film, such as Citizen Kane. I can appreciate it as an artifact, but it is not entertaining. I, like my generation, prefer the IMAX experience to truly overwhelm my senses and force me to forget everything else around me. In fact, that’s exactly how Millennials need to be entertained in an era of media saturation.