A change is in the air in the entertainment industry. 2D is out and 3D is in, both within the movie theaters and in the TV manufacturing business. I’d like to think that I am a person comfortable with change but this 3D thing is just not for me.

One of my earliest memories of 3D was watching an excerpt from Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” at Universal Studios in Florida when I was a teen. And let me tell you, it was enough to ward me off of 3D for a good long time. Fast forward to 2010 and the 3D version of “Alice and Wonderland.” Tim Burton, in all of his films, creates characters that look a bit strange and can act in sinister ways. Why exactly then do I want such creatures in “touching” distance of me? The whole idea of 3D is just too real. Even if it weren’t scary characters that were being seen, I still have no desire to be part of the action taking place on the screen in that way. I want to be entertained, not be part of the entertainment. The main argument I pose against 3D centers around where the line between entertained and entertainer falls. 3D is quite a coup for theaters and TV as the belief is that this development is going to bring younger viewers into the fold and along with them more cash. But why risk losing older audiences who are clearly invested in 2D and all it has to offer in order to gain younger audience members who may or may not be so enamored with the entertainment industry in its current form of delivering movies and shows to us mostly by TV and movie theaters? After all, aren’t the older audiences are typically the ones with more disposable income to buy the movie tickets and the big screen TVs? I heard stats on the radio recently, stating that many young people aren’t even buying televisions anymore.  From where we stand right now with 2D-3D development, it seems only logical from a logistics standpoint that 2D will have to remain in some form for the forseeable future.

3D was tried in the 1950s and 1960s to only mild acclaim, fizzing out after a short period of time. Where is the guarantee that this time the concept is going to stick? I would ask the executives of the movie/TV industries to closely examine the colossally quick move that is being made toward 3D domination. As one of your loyal 2D followers, this request deserves your consideration.

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