Back in my youth the local cinema, the Rosum, had one screen. So at any one time there was one film on offer and if you didn't care to watch that one you found something else to do. There were, of course several cinemas around at that time so you always had the option of 'going to the pictures' somewhere in a different part of town. I don't remember much about the films but I vaguely remember the progamme having two parts with the main film as the second part. I do recall tubs of ice cream and bags of sticky popcorn being sold by a lady carrying a tray with a strap that looped around her neck. I also remember the national anthem being played at the end of the evening during which you were supposed to stand and listen, though many simply stood and left. The national anthem was played right at the end of an evening's TV viewing too. I wonder if anyone stood for that if they were still watching.
TV back then would have suited Mr Ford well with it's one channel and any colour you like so long as it was black (and white). A second channel was added at a later date by means of a set-top box with a clunky switch that let you choose the one you wanted to watch. Even when years later the number of channels had doubled again to four it was still relatively simple to make a choice.
I wonder what the illustrious car maker would have made of iTunes and the complication it adds to selecting a film. Apple's film rental system is convenient: I can download a film, I have plenty of time to watch it, and I don't have to return it or face a surcharge. What with the trailers right there a click away and the chance to see what the critics, and indeed the average punter, made of each one through film review sites, I have everything I need to make an informed choice. Well that's the theory anyway.
There can be such a thing as too much choice, and definitely too much information. I've known films where the critics and joe punter have given a rating well over 90% and I've struggled to make sense of the film. Equally, there have been films I've enjoyed a lot with very low ratings. Sometimes the ratings confirm the hunch, sometimes they just confuse. Today they confused. It should not take that long to pick a film - but what if you want avoid downloading another lemon or missing out on another hit (even if you've never heard of the film or the actors in it).
Well.... what's the worst that can happen?
By far the worst thing is nigh on two hours spent sticking doggedly to a film that even after 30 minutes was going nowhere - 90% ratings can be wrong. Go with the hunch, pick the film, and download it. If it entertains then be entertained; if the film bores you to tears turn it off and do something else. The main thing is to do SOMETHING. Something, that is, other than spending an age comparing form on a couple of hundred films.
Henry Ford may have limited the choice but he sure made deciding a lot easier.
