Basically, in New Zealand, the cinema industry has gone the same way as most of the retail industry - large, amorphous, foreign-owned and soulless.
Gone are most of the small independent cinemas with those remaining tending to show the same Hollywood originated crap as the big chains.
When looking for a film to go to the same old rubbish appears at all the cinema chains at the same time.
Why is this?
The chains are obviously connected with the industry machine and this is predominantly American. They have a vested interest in forcing the latest offerings on consumers before they go to video.
They also assume that anyone wanting anything else will buy or rent videos or watch via paid TV.
The problem with this assumption is that it's not necessarily true.
I for one don't like watching films on TV screens or computer monitors. I like the big-screen and theatre experience.
Other major cities around the world have lots of small cinemas showing non-American films, documentaries, older classics and generally a wealth of cinematic offerings. Why can't we have this here in a city the size of Auckland?
I think I'll join the film society again.
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