D-Box or D-Bust?

If you don’t already know, D-box is a new type of theater experience. It involves special seats that provide interaction between the viewer and the movie. It shakes, it sways, etc. The Megaplex theater at the District is the only place that you can find these in Utah. I drove an extra hour and paid about $10 more to experience this while watching Inception, which should further attest to how amazing of a movie inception really is.

‘D’ is for ‘Distraction’

Yes, distraction. Hollywood doesn’t seem to understand the root of why we see movies. It’s to escape. To project ourselves into the film and live in its story for a couple of exciting hours. Think about it. Why is it upsetting when others talk or text in the theater? Why do we like to watch movies with the lights out and the sound up? Because we don’t want distractions. The smaller the barrier between us and the movie, the better.

The D-Box seats are comparable to 3D movies. It’s a gimmick. Yes, it gets a few oohs and ahhs, but it comes at the expense of not being able to really get into the movie. It’s a constant reminder that Your sitting in a theater with other people all around.

Is it good for anything?

Yes. Like 3D, I suspect that this is a technology that has yet to be perfected. One of the others that was in the theater, Dane Thurber, made the remark that this would be excellent for video games. I totally agree. It’s not far off from a rumble pack in a controller. Video games are a media where interaction with the viewer is the goal. Something like this would add to the ‘fun’ and excitement.

As for movies, it’s not worth the extra price. I don’t expect it to catch on. Especially because the people that are willing to pay $17 to see a movie are people that aren’t impressed by gimmicks.