Yanni, is my best-friend from back home in Kew-Gardens, Queens, NY. He's not a film critic or actor[actually he'll tell you he acted in the 4th grade]but he's seen more movies than I have hands down. Definitely more B movies and more comedies, so when we discussed him writing for TMA I had confidence in the fact that he knew his stuff. If there was a mastery requirement for watching movies, Yanni has certainly put his 10,000 hours in. As tradition follows, we chased down beers with a late-night movie at his place. I could always count on him to put one on that I hadn't seen in years—one to compliment our drunken state and drop the curtain on our eyelids. As it goes, I found myself inevitably wide awake at the foot of his bed watching the end credits of whatever gem he had on. While, Yanni slept at the head of his bed surrounded in an avalanche of pillows.

If you've had the pleasure of knowing him, you'll know Yanni is a giver. A giver of laughter, drinks, and good movies. Here's what my dear friend has to say on the state of affairs of TV and Film.—E.R.

Don’t you remember those Friday nights when all you wanted to do was go see a movie in the theaters? Get some popcorn and soda praying to find a good seat? Those days were not so recent, and slowly becoming a "special occasion" type of trend. Going to the movies, and even watching movies in general is now starting to slowly become a thing of the past.

Ever since Netflix went from mailing DVD’s to your homes to now putting almost anything imaginable on the web, watching movies in the theater has dramatically decreased. Other companies have also shifted to streaming their own content in competition with Netflix, such as Hulu, and Amazon.

There is a clear downward trend on ticket sales every year since 2010. Conversely, there is an upward trend for the number of Netflix subscribers since 2011. Now you may ask, "But if there are still movies on Netflix to watch, why are people watching fewer movies?" 

The real answer lies in the content. Ever since shows such as Breaking Bad, The Wire, Mad Men, Walking Dead (that are among the notable ones) started to appear on Netflix and other sources, the talk of movies quickly simmered. That transition which seemed to happen around late 2012 -2013, quickly caught on to a vast majority of the US population.

Binge watching became a new fad. This means viewers watch a countless number of episodes of a show and possibly entire seasons. Why is this something we turn to? Plot depth, character development, more organized storylines, and more importantly a lengthier timeline to tune into. More notable actors and actresses are starring in TV shows, directing them, and producing as well. Kevin Spacey 😒, Jason Bateman, Spielberg, all are making heavy splashes back into the TV show era and have been highly acclaimed in the work they have done so far.

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From a viewer’s standpoint on all of this, I used to love going to the movies, watching my favorite actors every year and then movie quality started going awry. Plots were all over the place, storylines did not add up, sequels were being made terribly; remakes were taking over because creativity was lacking. We have entered another golden age of television, and movies need to be reinvented if they want to stay on. TV shows such as Shameless and Game of Thrones were raking in all the funds to support the many seasons of content (8 so far).

It seems that people are tuning more into these shows and waiting for the development of new shows that Netflix and other companies are promising for 2018 and upcoming years. Does the data prove that the convenience of streaming services outweighs the movie-going experience? Would better movie quality bring people back to the cinema? This poses another question, that if HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax had the option to stream their content in theaters would people start purchasing tickets to a season premiere or finale of their favorite show?

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Do you prefer streaming at home over going to the movie theater? Leave your comments below!