📘 Part 3: Films and film industry

This episode's vocabulary

To prevail (verb) - to get control or influence.

Vogue (noun) - a fashion or general liking, especially one that is temporary.

LED (noun) - abbreviation for a light-emitting diode: a type of diode (= a device that controls an electric current so that it can only flow in one direction) that produces light.

OLED (noun) - abbreviation for organic light-emitting diode: a type of diode (= a device that controls an electric current so that it can only flow in one direction) that contains an organic compound (= a chemical that combines two or more elements including carbon) and produces light. OLEDs are used in screens to produce very bright, clear pictures.

Projector (noun) - a device for showing films or images on a screen or other surface.

On the cheap (phrase) - if you get goods on the cheap, you get them for a low price.

Extortionate (adj.) - extremely expensive.

To jack up (phrasal verb) - to increase the price of something suddenly and by a large amount.

To replicate (verb) - to make or do something again in exactly the same way.

Convention (noun) - a large formal meeting of people who do a particular job or have a similar interest or a large meeting for a political party.

Culinary (adj.) - connected with cooking or kitchens.

To fall out (phrasal verb) -

Fall out of favour (phrase) - to become unpopular, to lose support.

Theatre (noun) - a cinema.

Medium (noun) - a method of communication or entertainment, for example, television, radio, or the internet.

Diversity (noun) - the fact of many different types of things or people being included in something; a range of different things or people.

On offer (phrase) - available to be bought or used.

Single-shot (adj.) - (of a film or part of a film) made in one continuous shot (= a short piece in which there is a single action or a short series of actions).

Take (noun) - the filming of a scene (= small part of a film).

Inconsequential (adj.) - not important.

Questions and Answers

M: Which film genres are most popular in your country?

R: I'm not sure any one type prevails over the others, to be honest. People enjoy all kinds of things here. However, you do see a lot of advertising for superhero movies, so I guess those are still in vogue.

M: What kind of movies should be seen in the cinema to be fully appreciated?

R: That's a good question. I'm not really sure, to be honest, since most LED or OLED screens are now just as good as cinema screens, despite being smaller. Oh, and you can get a home projector on the cheap very easily. Maybe movies with particularly amazing special effects, which can use the sound system well. Though, I can't think of a clear example right now.

M: What can cinemas do to attract more people?

R: Well, they could be cheaper for a start. Some of them are absolutely extortionate in terms of ticket prices, and then they jack up the prices of the food and the drinks, things like that. I'm not sure it's worth paying all that money for an experience that lasts a few hours, which you can replicate from the comfort of your own home just fine.

M: Do you think people can learn new cultures through movies?

R: Well, partially, yes. Though, there will be things that you can't possibly get from a movie that require direct experience, like social conventions and practice, or culinary experiences, which are also part of the culture. But the surface-level things you could, well, that you see could be covered by movies, sure.

M: With the increasing popularity of streaming services, what do you think is the future of cinemas?

R: I think they'll probably go the way of the radio and similar types of media, to be honest. A few will stick around, but they'll fall out of favour more and more as time goes on.

M: In what ways has the film industry changed in the past few decades?

R: Well, in general, there's been a decline in theatre audience sizes as new forms of medium have developed. It's a shame because more positive developments have happened, like a rise in the diversity and of genres on offer and different techniques, like single-shot takes and films from different cultural perspectives.

M: How do films influence our culture and the way people think?

R: I mean, that's as varied as the films themselves. I mean, some movies are completely inconsequential. Look at Avatar. That movie made billions at the box office, but nothing really changed. Whereas, by contrast, poorly funded and low-performing movies about queer people influenced people to reconsider their support for things like equal marriage rights.

Discussion

M: Right. Thank you, Rory, for your answers! So dear listener, film genres, different kinds of films, or film genres like horror films, comedies, and science fiction. And Rory told us that I'm not sure any one type prevails over the others, so one type is not more popular than the other ones. So something prevails over something else.

R: Yeah, it just means that it's not more popular or does more than the others. If it prevails, then it's stronger. But I don't think one does prevail over the others, because you see adverts for everything these days.

M: True. Superhero movies are quite popular. Or I can say in vogue. Vogue? Meaning, well, they are popular, fashionable, okay? For example, action movies are in vogue, or, I don't know, like black skirts are in vogue. Certain kinds of movies should be seen in the cinema or at the cinema, because we have all these effects, right? And Rory told us about LED or OLED screens. What are they?

R: Oh, LED and OLED screens are just different kinds of screens. What you see at the cinema is something that's really different, because on a TV like this, the image is displayed on the screen, whereas in a cinema it's projected by a projector, funnily enough.

M: And we say that cinema screens, they provide us with this extensive experience, but we can have a home project, okay? So we can organize our small cinema at home and perhaps at the cinema we have amazing special effects, which can be appreciated because cinemas have these sound systems. Okay? So we talk about special effects and professional sound systems. We may not have them at home.

R: But you could get a home projector on the cheap, which just means it's really cheap or inexpensive to buy.

M: Yeah, you can also say that they have powerful sound systems at the cinema, and they have immersive experience. Okay? So kind of you are immersed in a film, so you can't have it at home if it's not like a full-size home cinema you have. The prices are extortionate.

R: Yes.

M: Which means like super expensive. And it's like negative, like, extremely expensive. So the price of a cinema ticket is extortionate. Right? And that's true for some cinema houses.

R: Cinema houses? What century are you from?

M: What do you call it? Like cinemas?

R: Just cinemas or theatres. Cinema house. Like the picture house.

M: Ah, like theatre? To go to watch a movie, a theatre?

R: Yeah. A theatre or a movie theatre.

M: Oh, the movie theatre. Yeah. Okay. So we are talking about cinemas or the movie theatres. Yeah. So cinemas can make their tickets cheaper. If they jack up the prices, what do they do?

R: They just bring them up to really high levels.

M: Jack something up? In this context, increase the price. That's also disapproving and very informal. For example, when tourists arrive, the restaurants jack up their prices, like jack up their prices, increase their prices suddenly. And cinemas jack up the prices of food and drink. So popcorn is really expensive. Ooh, popcorn with caramel.

R: Oh my...

M: Rory, if you were to go to the cinema, would you usually eat some popcorn and Coca-Cola?

R: I do, yeah, but I will not give the brand of drink because they are not paying us for advertising.

M: And you can say that I'm not sure it's worth paying all that money for a cinema ticket. Okay? It's worth paying, or it's not worth paying. I don't think it's a good idea. It's just not, it's not worth the money, because you can replicate the same experience from the comfort of your own home, okay? From the comfort of your own home. And replicate? So copy. Right? But dear listener, not with the movie theatre ambience. Ambience? Like environment. Not with the enhanced audio-visual technology, okay? But if you do have a home cinema, because these days there are some, like, really high-tech home cinemas.

R: Even if you get a projector, it's cool. I'm sorry, I'm really big on this. I bought a projector, and I'm so happy with it. I absolutely love it.

M: Wow. And do you have, like, the speakers, like big speakers? And like for the sound effect?

R: I have a speaker. It doesn't really give 3D sound, though. I suppose I could buy something for that, but I don't want to.

M: Yeah, because I have... Well, the screen is big. I have a TV, and the screen is quite big. And also I have like, four speakers, and they're quite big, and they are situated in four corners of the room. So I have this kind of, like, different noises from different places. It's so cool.

R: That is quite cool. Although it might be scary if you have a horror film on and something starts moving around behind you.

M: Cutting-edge audio-visual technology, dear listener. Cutting edge? Like modern. Audiovisual? Audio, listening and watching. Yeah, like a cutting-edge audio-visual film-watching experience. An interesting question about cultures, learning new cultures through movies. And that's true because we do pick up some ideas about different cultures through movies.

R: What kinds of things can you learn about different cultures through films specifically?

M: So for example, dear listener, the latest film with Leonardo DiCaprio is called Killers of the Flower Moon. Actually 2023. It's an American epic Western crime drama film. And this is about a specific thing. So it's set in Oklahoma in the 1920s and this film is about the members of the Osage community. Oh, I don't know how to pronounce it.

R: Oh, Osage.

M: Osage. Sorry, yeah. Osage community. I didn't know anything about this situation. I didn't know anything about this Osage community. This kind of like tribe, and what happens there? And there were like murders, and pretty much everybody died.

R: Well, maybe not everybody, but a lot of people that could have got that land, yeah.

M: Yeah, due to a corrupt local government, right? And I learned about their culture, about what was going on. Yeah, I understand it's a film, but still, kind of I learned something, and I read something about their community. So I did learn about their culture and about the things that were happening. You see? So I kind of like, through a movie, with the help of Leonardo DiCaprio, specifically, I learned about their culture, which is interesting. So I think this movie is a very good example, and also other movies can show us social conventions. What do you mean by conventions?

R: How people behave, or common understandings of how people behave.

M: Yeah. If a film is based in Canada or New Zealand, you understand, you could understand social conventions in this culture. Culinary experiences, what people eat. Yeah? So different parts of a culture. Streaming services, we mean such services as Netflix. Yeah? Or like TV, I don't know, YouTube, and lots of people might choose Netflix, for example, instead of going to the cinema. And Rory told us that some cinemas will stay or they will stick around. So if something sticks around, it stays, but some cinemas will fall out of favour. Fall out of favour? Like people will stop going there. People will stop enjoying going to the cinema. And I think more people will invest in home cinemas, in projectors, in enhanced audio-visual technology at home. A decade is 10 years, and here we use Present Perfect. So the film industry has changed over the last two decades. Over like the last 20 years. And you can say that there has been a decline in theatre audiences. Theatre means cinema audience. So there has been a decline in. So not so many people go to the cinemas.

R: It seems like that. What do you think?

M: Yeah, actually, cinema houses were full.

R: You have got to stop seeing cinema houses.

M: The last couple of times I went to the cinema, it was full. Like it was packed. Lots of people go. And people go to the festivals. For example, they organize this, festival of, I don't know, Tarantino movies, or the festival of Japanese films. And like, people go and, like, I couldn't get the ticket. Can you imagine? It was full. And we also have these nice cinemas, and the halls are nice, the atmosphere is nice. It's in the centre. So people actually go there to just, I don't know, hang out, to have fun. And at this specific cinema, everything was full.

R: Oh, wow.

M: So you know, it depends. Yeah, maybe in your country it's different.

R: Maybe there's been a revival.

M: There's been a revival of cinemas.

R: Cinema attendants. Oh, wow, that's definitely a Band Nine collocation.

M: Cinema attendants.

R: And you can say that new forms of medium have developed. So what do you mean by new forms of medium?

M: Well, there are different ways to watch things now. You can watch them on your phone, you can watch them, I think even on the tiny smartwatches. And how you can see them as well. We already talked about LED and OLED televisions, although that's for watching it at home. In the cinema, there are things like 3D viewing or enhanced 3D viewing. There's another kind as well. I've forgotten the name right now, but it's like a total experience, where you feel things as well as see them, and there's smoke and fog and what have you. That's crazy.

M: The diversity of genres means different kinds of genres or kinds of films. What is inconsequential?

R: It has no consequences.

M: For example?

R: Well, it's so small or so insignificant that you don't need to worry about it.

M: Inconsequential. Why do you choose words which are difficult to pronounce, Rory?

R: Because if it's difficult to pronounce, you'll have to work on the pronunciation and develop your band nine-level pronunciation.

M: Inconsequential. Inconsequential, dear listener. Inconsequential, not important. Like most of what some people say...

R: Most of what Rory says is inconsequential.

M: Inconsequential. Yeah, yeah, I wanted to say that.

R: I knew. I knew that you were gonna say that. No.

M: I didn't. You said that.

R: I know, I know, but it was funny.

M: Right, dear listener, make sure to watch the film I told you about. Killers of the Flower Moon. It's pretty long, and maybe don't watch it in English, because there are all sorts of accents. Or maybe watch it in English with subtitles. So, yeah, a very interesting movie, okay? And DiCaprio is great. It's amazing, like as always, you know? And it's what, it's Scorsese Martin.

R: Martin Scorsese.

M: Scorsese film.

R: Yeah, it's not obvious how you should pronounce that name, to be honest. But it is Scorsese. I've heard it a lot.

M: So although I don't like Westerns, I did enjoy this film. Okay, dear listener? So yeah. Ooh, and Robert De Niro is there.

R: Robert?

M: Also pretty cool. Robert. Like French.

R: Is he French?

M: No, I don't think so. No. What do you call him? Robert, Robert, Robert De Niro. How do you say it?

R: Robert De Niro. No?

M: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

R: I guess so. That's how Americans pronounce it. But that doesn't mean it's correct.

M: He's 80 years old, dear listener. Wow. And he's so cool in the film. And DiCaprio is 49 years old, and he is also pretty cool. Sweet. So this is your homework. Okay? Like, do it for IELTS. Thank you very much for listening, and we'll get back to you in our next episode. Okay? Bye!

R: Bye!

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