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We've learned nothing, in 3-D!

Have we forgotten a lesson we learned only fifty some years ago? The lesson: 3-D films can’t sustain an audience.

Film author John Belton states, “By late 1953, the 3-D craze had begun to wane, beset by technological problems produced eye strain and headaches in spectators, a growing resistance on the part of moviegoers to wearing special 3-D glasses…by the end of 1953, 3-D had given way to Cinerama like wide screen filmmaking, in particular Cinemascope.” (Belton, 2005, p.311)

The audience was assaulted by 3-D physically, mentally, and emotionally. An assault like this hadn’t been seen since the likes of the Lumiere’s (No.653) Arrival of Train at La Ciotat (1895) or Edwin Porter’s A Great Train Robbery (1903). In these films the audience thought they were being run over by a train or shot by a Caballero in the fourteenth and final sequence of the latter film. The audience was intrigued and craved more once they realized their safety in the comfy seats of the theater. What differs from watching the Lumierie’s and Porter’s early works and what audiences see today? Won’t we abandon 3-D again? How about the eye strain and headaches that are caused by the “3-D experience.”

Whether Avatar (2009) takes home the Oscar for Best Picture this Sunday or not the reality is 3-D has been tried and has failed! The attempt to take the audience out of our iPods and iPhones and to put us back into the comfy theater seats shows we have forgotten what we learned just fifty seven years ago.