#get offline

I went to the cinema the other night. It was Wuthering Heights which I know everyone said wasn’t that good, and I agree, we’ll get to that later.

The audience was mostly youths (how do you do, fellow kids?), and oh my gosh.

Not only were many of them just straight up talking throughout the film like they didn’t know the difference between going to the cinema and having a Netflix night at home with friends, but they were also on their phones. So. Effing. Much.

The film may not have been amazing but are people’s brains truly that fried?

How do they function if they can’t spend a solid 10 mins without their phone’s zombifying beam of light? Are they able to learn anything anymore? How do they plan on having a job some day? I am honestly curious. How does one have any job if one can’t focus at all?

There is an episode of The Outer Limits I saw 100 years ago and am reminded of daily now, whether by another AI epic phail or by young people embracing their zombie existence. It’s called Stream of Consciousness and it perfectly describes the future we are so confidently striding towards.

As for Wuthering Heights, it missed the mark. The music was doing a lot of heavy lifting. The kid actors were quite good. The first third or so was rather good, then the whole film went cheap. So much sex, so little substance. The aesthetic was dubious, but I suppose they have to turn up the dial on those things these days.

I don’t know, man. If cinema starts going by way of Netflix writing rooms where they’re told to write for people who are double-screening, there won’t be any point in going.

And the people who retain the ability to read a book or sit and enjoy a film or performance will be considered geniuses, I guess. Like that one guy in the Outer Limits episode.