My Home Entertainment, Essay Example

Home entertainment is a form of domesticated film, radio or video experience. It forms a crucial part of human entertainment life today, where people have left the habit of visiting cinema halls or theaters and get the real entertainment at home. The cinema experience to most people is the large screen with a three dimensional feature. Most people today, watch videos and movies at home through televisions, laptops or desktops. Some have even made small cinema halls in their homes, hence increasing the entertainment excitement.  The motion pictures technologies are involved in several social contexts. At the time when VCRs were invented, television at home and the theatre experience were two different entertainment contexts. The theatre was considered a public entertainment while the television, a domestic entertainment. However, with time television became the central image of entertainment in most American living rooms (Joshua 81). A family or group of friends and neighbors could be found gathered around a television set watching a favorite show.

With the introduction of movie videos, most people started seeing going to public theaters as a theatrical experience of many people and not as a movie experience. This is because they had the opportunity to watch and get entertained by a similar video from the comfort of their houses. However, due to the boredom or solitude in the house, theatre halls become the only option. Watching a movie, particularly a funny one, in a crowd is more entertaining than at home alone. The comments made at cinema halls and movie theaters add more entertainment to the movies.

Lately, the joy of watching movies at the comfort of one’s home and couch has outweighed the advantages of going to movie theaters. Such people find the context of theaters relating to sharing as irrelevant to them and the movie itself (Joshua 83). They consider the theaters to be crowded, and sound and images on the screen are better reproduced in the home television sets than the theater screens. Watching videos from homes is free of the public life hassles since there is freedom to do anything. Pausing the movie in times of need like receiving a call, going to the bathroom is possible. The position and manner in with one gets entertained at home is also comfortable. Curling up on a sofa or bed is one’s choice as compared to the one position seats of theater halls (Joshua 84). It is also evident from the recent movie theater scenarios that moviegoers have divided attention. Their reasons for going the movies are not straightforward considered as one. Some people go with children who need their attention, as well. Some meet friends who they prefer talking to during the movie session. Therefore, cinema halls have lately become rather noisy than before. Metrics of rowdiness have been associated with public entertainments (Joshua 84).

Home entertainment apart from being exciting and peaceful at one’s home comfort, it has some dark sides. Getting to watch certain movie genres that have not been permitted in the public places is possible. This is not a disadvantage to most adults, however, to children; it is bad since it can influence them negatively. The continued watching and accessing such movie genres has to some extent led to the introduction of new and exciting movie categories. Traditionally, the principle categories shown to the public were action, drama and comedy. Home entertainment is capable of accommodating the entire family in the same living room, different from movie theaters that have two sections for grown- ups and children. Apart from movie watching for entertainment and relaxing, home entertainment gives parents easy time with the children. In cases when children get cranky, videos can aid in helping the parents do other chores in the house. Entertaining kid videos like cartoons tend to keep the children out of trouble and keen on the television (Joshua 86).  Pornography got a substantial boost from the shift of movie entertainment from theaters to homes (Joshua 87). Adult videos have been fit for home experience even in early days since most intimate events are featured in them. However, the domination of home entertainment in the movie industry has led to the production of nasty and pornographic movies. This is because it is accessible to the interested only, and not the entire public.

Some argue that home entertainment has made people exposed to certain activities they could not have  experienced in public theaters. For instance, certain intimate movies and reality television shows, give people the insight to know new ways of doing things. Trying new things out is not harmful and might be beneficial to some people. News about the world and its daily incidences can only be got at home through television (Joshua 93). Therefore, getting entertained at home is more advantageous than going to movie theaters, where only a given variety of shows can the watched. At home, on the other hand, one is free to watch all sorts of shows and movies. From the world’s news updates to reality shows to intriguing movies, are all present. Getting exposure to different entertaining shows gives one chance to experience the varying life perspectives. Home entertainment also gets appealing when one is busy, but needs to watch a favorite show or movie. A show can be watched while one is cooking or eating but still gets the hunch of the story line (Joshua 94). In theaters, eating is possible, the main snack being pop corns, which is also possible at home. Moreover, a variety of foods can be taken while watching a movie.

Getting entertained at home has climbed a high notch in terms of technology, places of entertainment, devices and platforms used for entertainment. Apart from the television in most living rooms, devices like tablets, laptops, desktops and even certain phones are utilized in entertaining people. Televisions are today seen as decor devices in living rooms, which have limited uses like watching shows of national or world significance like campaigns and elections. Shows of personal interest are watched in private devices like laptops, desktops, tablets and phones. Again, such shows are better watched at private places like one’s bed room. Using laptops and desktops, streaming of the shows is essential which is only possible through certain websites. Therefore, the modern home entertainment experience is more comfortable and easily accessible since everything can be done online and at any time.

Home entertainment being diverse in its content can be watched and accesses through numerous ways and almost anytime. Unlike, theater movies, where there is a stipulated day and time for watching a certain movie. Entertainment from home also depends on the place one is, and the device one utilizes for watching. For instance, one can watch shows from home country channels at their stipulated times from the local television channels. However, shows from international countries can be watched online by live streaming. My watching as an international student, therefore, is quite different from the American citizens. American shows are entertaining and exciting, but Chinese shows also entertain me and cannot afford to miss some of them. Watching my favorite shows can take place in my bedroom or living room. Technology has enhanced my home entertainment experience since I can watch movies and shows on the television, laptop, tablet or desktop. On televisions, I can watch shows of importance like the last American elections. Through the use of HDMI cables, I can watch shows from the television on my laptop or desktop. The connection between the two devices enables this. Shows of personal interest, like the Highs and lows and silver space sterling shackles can be accessed through my desktop or laptop (Azndrama). This is only possible after streaming the episodes from websites that can either be private or public. I am able to watch news clips from Hong Kong  and other Taiwanese variety shows through YouTube (YouTube). American entertainment shows, for example, glee and jersey shore can be accessed through online channels (Channel 131). This home entertainment experience is quite different from the traditional experience since my entertainment is principally through online streaming. This is more enjoyable and entertaining because everything is done at the comfort of home. No public hassles are required, and destructions are to the minimum. My experience is also instant and reliable as I do not have to wait for a given show in front of the television at a certain time.

Works Cited

Azndrama, 2012. Web. 10 December 2012.  Available at: <http://www.azndrama.net>

Channel 131, 2012. Web. 10 December 2012.  Available at: <http://www.ch131.com>

Joshua, Greenberg, M. From Betamax to Blockbuster: Video Stores and the Invention of Movies on Video. The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England, 2008

You Tube, 2012. Web. 10 December 2012.  Available at: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOlpdd7y8MI&feature=b-mv>