>
> --- In [email protected], "authfriend" <jstein@>
> wrote:
> > --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <no_reply@>
wrote:
> > > --- In [email protected], Bhairitu <noozguru@>
wrote:
> > > > shempmcgurk wrote:
> > <snip>
> > > > > I have to imagine that the advent of this technology
> > > > > is responsible for the drop in movie box-office.
> > >
> > > That and a general level of fear in America.
> >
> > Uh, no, not fear.
>
> Judy, I will answer this because it was short and
> I wound up reading the entire reply in the preview
> window before I could get to the Next button. :-)
>
> But also because it's a matter of opinion, one on
> which you and I disagree, but on which a lot of
> other people do agree. One of the things that,
> *without exception*, every American who has visited
> me here in France has remarked on is the comparative
> levels of fear in the two countries. We're talking
> dozens of people, from all walks of life.
>
> When you visit a foreign country, the first things
> you notice, naturally, are the things that are
> different from home. But after a few days, as you
> get used to the surface level of the new country,
> you start to notice the things that are *missing*.
> No Starbucks every block or so. Very few SUVs and
> unconscionable gas-guzzlers on the road. That
> sort of thing.
>
> Well, in my experience and in the experience of
> literally all of my American friends, one of the
> first things you notice in France, even in a big
> city like Paris, is the comparative absence of
> fear. In the general population, and in yourself.
>
> It's a remarkable realization, one that I can
> only imagine you haven't felt personally, or you
> wouldn't have replied so definitively.
>
> An example, directly related to theater attendance.
> The last time I was in L.A., I wanted to see a
> movie so I went to Westwood, the area near UCLA
> just filled (in my memory) with bustling crowds,
> nice restaurants, and movie theaters. Well, I got
> there, parked, and started walking around. There
> were no crowds, even though it was a Friday night.
> The restaurants were near-empty. So were the movie
> theaters; no waiting on line to get in, and when
> you did, you found yourself sitting in a half-
> empty theater.
>
> I couldn't help but wonder why, so I asked. It
> turned out that about five months previously, the
> crowds (at that time) had gotten so big on week-
> ends that Westwood had become a kind of "where
> it's happening Mecca" in L.A. Everybody would
> show up there to see and be seen. Unfortunately,
> those who showed up one weekend included members
> of two rival L.A. gangs, and they got into a
> shooting war. One bystander was killed.
>
> Five months later and the place was still empty.
> That's the kind of fear I'm talking about, not
> (as you possibly thought) fear directly related
> to 9/11 and terrorism.
Ah, I see.
*In general*, Americans
> are fearful about going to public places on a
> level that is generally unheard of in Europe.
However, you cited as an example of this kind of
fear a public place at which violence had actually
occurred. That's not terribly surprising.
The U.S. *does* have a problem with violence and
has had for a very long time, and certainly in
more violence-prone areas, fear of violence
affects how folks conduct their lives. Whether
the behavior constitutes an overreaction to the
actual danger or is simply a prudent response to
circumstances is another question.
Your L.A. example sounds like an overreaction.
On the other hand, once people start avoiding
a place because an incident of violence had
occurred there, it can be self-perpetuating:
people avoid it because violence is more likely
when there aren't a lot of people around.
But you mentioned "a Starbuck's on every corner."
I'd suggest that if the level of fear were as
overwhelming as you suggest, there would not *be*
a Starbuck's on every corner because they wouldn't
have any customers.
> Does that, *in addition to* the easy access to
> cable/satellite TV and rental videos, affect
> the number of people going out to see movies,
> Well, duh.
I think you're generalizing wildly about fear
of going to the movies based on that one example.
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