So I saw “Gravity” over the weekend. More importantly, I saw “Gravity” in IMAX 3D and in about the third row. So yeah, I can only highly recommend it. It was an unbelievable experience.
But as much as I enjoyed it, I couldn’t help but wonder: Would I have enjoyed it as much had I been watching it on my laptop, phone or just on TV? Which led me to think: Is “Gravity” really that good?
If I have to be watching it in a specific way, in a specific place, then is it really a great artistic accomplishment? Or are these extra-textual embellishments covering some fundamental flaws of the film?
The answers, in order, are yes and no. Yes, “Gravity” is still an amazing film and no, the venue you choose to watch a film has nothing to do with the actual quality of the film.
Which is to say, it depends on what the film wants to be, what the filmmaker is trying to accomplish and ultimately, how much you as an audience member value your viewing experience.
With people gaining the ability to watch films on their smartphones and computers and all the other fun, Brave New World-y type stuff, many alarmists have been going off about how it’ll be the death of art, how we’re losing our appreciation for “art in person” and just generally being luddites and lame-os.
Now is there still value to seeing films in theaters? Definitely. But making this choice isn’t innately better than watching it however else you might like to, and since now we can make this choice, it means more and more, film production and consumption are becoming increasingly democratic and dialogic in nature.
In the case of “Gravity,” Alfonso Cuarón was making a movie for the big screen. Plain and simple. He set out with the goal of producing a film that works best and is most effective when viewed in a theater. And he succeeded. He created one of the most powerful theatergoing experiences I’ve had.
In this case, and in other cases, the exhibition becomes a part of the art form and this idea is only possible because of how many venues we have available to us now. For the majority of film history, theaters were the only place to see movies. Level playing field, nothing was being said by the choice, because there wasn’t a choice.
Now, thanks to the fact that filmmakers are able to produce for small screens, filmmakers have a choice. The ability to add dimension to their work by tailoring it to certain spaces ultimately puts more power in the hands of the artist: They can create a casual or even more intimate piece that is served by personal or home viewing, or like Cuarón, seek the majestic and aim to strike awe on the big screen.
These are factors that Stanley Kubrick never had to think about, but they’re ultimately empowering. It’s another way for artists to make the art they want. More than that, it gives us as an audience the power to determine our own viewership in a way we haven’t befor and affords us a way to communicate with the filmmaker.
By choosing to see “Gravity” in a theater, you both validate Cuaron’s decision to plan for that scale, and agree to engage his work on his terms. However, if it isn’t convenient for you, or you decide it isn’t worth it to you to make the effort, you can also watch it in whatever other ways you’d like, eventually.
In making these choices, we decide whether or not to totally commit ourselves to whatever work we’re watching and get to decide on what level we want to be involved with the film. Going to see “Gravity” the way I did put me deep into the film’s experience, which was incredibly rewarding and the right decision, because I went into it looking to get that much out of it.
Other people might not. For them, seeing it on an iPhone might be able to get them what they want from it. Neither way is better than the other. It all depends on what you’re looking for, what the filmmaker was looking to do and how well the two sync up. And, as “Gravity” demonstrates, when they do, the results can be breathtaking.
For those of you looking for amazing in-theater experiences beyond “Gravity” (which you really, really need to see the way it’s intended—it’s so worth it), WUD Film will be showing my favorite movie, “Upstream Color,” next Thursday and Friday at the Marquee. So definitely get to that if you want to be cool.
Do you think all those whippersnappers with their phones are ruining art? Wave your digital cane at Austin, email wellens@wisc.edu.
