Column: Things I Tell My Wife, by Matthew Knutson

“Can you believe this is our third time this week we’re going to see a movie in theaters?” I said incredulously to my wife.

We’re not cinema fanatics, but this holiday season seemed to pull us to the big screen much more often than the rest of the year.

Sera’s family is one reason why we ended up in the theater so often. While the cinema isn’t the most social activity, it was one of the few times (other than meals) we were able to get all of Sera’s large family in one room. She is one of five children, and they all have different tastes in movies.

Last year all of her siblings gathered to see “The Hobbit,” so it was necessary for us all to reunite this year to see the sequel. Later on in the week, Sera’s parents gave into the pleas of the others to see “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” Later, when Sera and I returned back to northern Iowa, we used the free movie passes I received from my employer’s Christmas party to see “Frozen.”

Here’s the deal with movies: I love the experience of going to the movies, but I hate the cost associated with it. There’s something totally special about seeing a movie in theaters that is completely captivating to me. Contrasting with that love is my distaste for watching movies at home.

I’m normally asleep within the first 45 minutes of any given movie. It doesn’t matter if it’s my favorite film or something I’ve never seen. I’ll fall asleep. Meanwhile, I’ll have no problem watching hours of my favorite television show on DVD or Netflix.

It’s clear the movie producers know the holiday season is a big time for families to come together for entertainment. It seems all the big releases come out toward the end of the year, so you naturally want to see several flicks at the same time.

Timed with the big movie releases are the award shows. The People’s Choice Awards aired this week and the Golden Globes are coming up this Sunday. The contrast between these two likely will be stark. The People’s Choice Awards bills itself as the show where your favorites are awarded based on your votes. Meanwhile the Golden Globes are decided by a select group named the Hollywood Foreign Press. None of the movies nominated for “Favorite Movie” at the People’s Choice Awards were even nominated for “Best Motion Picture” at the Golden Globes in 2013 and 2014. Clearly these award shows are aimed at two different audiences.

The sponsor integration within the People’s Choice Awards nearly ruined the broadcast for us. Jennifer Hudson brought sincerity to her humanitarian award acceptance speech, but the corporate sponsorships that worked their way into the show took away from the emotional impact. I’m not sure I would have made it to the end of the show if I started drinking game every time Walgreens was mentioned. Why does a humanitarian award need a corporate sponsor?

At least in the movies themselves the product placement is more subtle. Certainly every computer, car, and soda logo is lingered on just enough to get exposure in movies, but it beats the distracting advertising that appears on television where an ad can literally appear in a corner of the screen while you’re watching a show.

As a professional marketer, I understand the necessity, but I also expect some form of respect for your brand. I guess I’ll need to watch the Golden Globes to get that kind of class.

People love movies and television because it takes them to away from themselves and be entertained without worries. It’s quite the complex art of storytelling that can bring people together in today’s busy world, and I look forward to the good ones being recognized this Sunday.

I still remember going to the movies with Sera before we were dating to see Disney’s “Tangled,” and I’m certain at the time she was thinking of us when the obligatory Disney love song began to play.

Years later while watching “Frozen,” I knew at the beginning of the cheesy love song Sera would be grabbing my hand and reliving our pre-date date. It may have been costly seeing three movies in one week, but moments like that are priceless to me.

 

Matthew Knutson is a marketing specialist at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. Find him online at thingsitellmywife.tumblr.com.