Streaming Fatigue

While inching my way through morning traffic, I thought of watching Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning over the weekend.

- RICARDO T. PAMINTUAN

While inching my way through morning traffic, I thought of watching Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning over the weekend. I remembered enjoying the first MI in 1996 — when Tom was still married to Nicole Kidman and video streaming was unheard of — and being mesmerized by its catchy opening theme (composed in the 1960s for TV by Lalo Schifrin) reminiscent of the less-popular James Bond intro.

Back then, our gateway to movies and TV shows evolved rapidly: from VHS tapes to VCDs, LaserDiscs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and eventually The Pirate Bay.

Blockbuster and the entire video rental industry (including our own ACA Video and Video City) may have gone the way of the rotary phone and Rolodex, but cinemas are very much still around, some even upgraded with IMAX and 4D technology that heightens the viewing experience. One tradition that has endured is the playing of the national anthem before the first screening of the day — a short but solemn ritual. Sadly, many moviegoers now ignore it, glued to their seats and phones, or slouching in what seems like protest. That's just wrong.

Whatever the politics, the flag and the anthem deserve our respect.

Similarly, the so-called "idiot box" has successfully reinvented itself as smart TV — aptly named, considering the range of capabilities beyond cable and free TV.

My wife used to call me "Richard-who-will-watch-anything." Admittedly, my taste in films and serials is eclectic, even as I lean toward fantasy, sci-fi, and spy-fi. But time and the rise of ICT may have changed my watching habits.