# Why the hate for 3D? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 27, 2011, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506 "2011-12-27T10:10:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/21 "2011-12-27T16:21:19Z")
The biggest drawback is that is isn’t really 3d, it’s 2d+. There are no sides, no under and no over; basically a ramped up stereo-imaging thing. It mostly only works where it is gimmimcky, in your face. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/22 "2011-12-27T17:12:12Z")
I certainly don’t HATE 3-D… I just find it underwhelming more often than not. Every once in a blue moon, I’ll see an IMAX documentary in which 3-D gives me some spectacular moments. But way too many Hollywood movies that come out in 3-D have so few “wow” moments that I wonder why they bothered. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/23 "2011-12-27T17:48:02Z")
I saw \*Avatar \*twice, once in 2D and once in 3D. Maybe it’s because I have no problem immersing myself in movies, but I didn’t feel like it added much. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/24 "2011-12-27T18:05:05Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > …a stupid Corman film… But you repeat yourself… ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/25 "2011-12-27T18:31:09Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > Can we, who only have one eye, see 3D films for half the price? 😉 Preach it, friend. I’m legally blind in one eye, and wear glasses to boot. I’ve only seen one 3D movie (Alice in Wonderland) and was turned off by the darkness (OK, it _was_ a Tim Burton film after all), lower resolution, blurred movement, and general lack of effect because I’ve only got one working eye! And my local theater will only show the 3D versions of films because they’ve got the equipment; I have to travel to find the 2D versions. And then either go alone, or wait for my sister to want to see it, as she’s the only other person who feels the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/26 "2011-12-27T19:28:47Z")
Like others have posted, I only see out of one eye so if 3D becomes the norm, it will rob me of something I love to do: seeing movies on a big screen in a theater. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/27 "2011-12-27T19:40:05Z")
I saw Avatar in 3D at the movies, and watched it again in 3D on my new television.\* Like quite a few other people in this thread, i don’t think 3D adds a whole lot to the movie, and i also think it tends to be used as the main attraction, rather than as something that enhances an already-good movie. I thought Avatar was fine, mindless fun, but i didn’t think it was a very good movie in any real sense of the word, and the presence of 3D didn’t really affect that either way. And over the past year or so, every time i’ve seen a 3D movie advertised, my first thought has been, “Well, i don’t think i’ll bother seeing that.” If they start using 3D on movies that i actually want to see, then maybe i’ll change my mind, but for now i really don’t have much time for it. - I didn’t buy the television for its 3D capability; i bought it for its good picture quality. We watched our (free) copy of Avatar just after we got the TV, to test out the 3D, but we haven’t even charged the glasses once since then. They’re sitting unused in a cupboard. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/28 "2011-12-27T19:47:48Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > We saw _Hugo_ in 3D yesterday. Despite the love fest in another thread, I thought the film was meh, made worse by the 3D effect, which seemed to impose actors over a cartoonish background. The stereoscope analogy above is apt, and I’ll be glad when this fad is over. And I have a rich baritone. BOOOOOO! Hugo is a fantastic movie. And an even better book. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/29 "2011-12-27T20:08:04Z")
I’m another person who is underwhelmed by 3D. As others have mentioned, it might be because it is mostly used on schlocky, big budget movies that aren’t really that good. Spoiler alert: Avatar actually kind of sucked. I’m open to the idea that a director may someday use 3D in an exciting new way to tell a story, but so far I haven’t seen any such movie. ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/30 "2011-12-27T20:18:37Z")
I don’t think **Inception** was released in theaters in 3D, so the only movie I’ve seen that’s been released in 3D is **How to Train Your Dragon** , though I saw it in 2D. I could tell some of the parts that would have been enhanced by 3D, and I can’t say it would have made the movie much, if at all, better. The dragon flying scenes are those I’m referring to, and they were nice enough on their own. I just don’t see it as necessary, and it adds to the already high cost of going to movies (I generally just go with my nephews now…going by myself would obviously keep the cost very reasonable). My gripe with 3D is with smartphones and electronics manufacturers in general. Have we really reached the point that someone needs to watch a movie on a 3" or 4" screen, and then it’s got to be enhanced further? (Yes, we have, apparently.) On the one hand, society is being told to get the biggest, flatest, highest def tv possible to truly enjoy a movie, and on the other hand, we’re being encouraged to watch these same movies on phones that will fit in your pocket. If I can really enjoy a movie on such a small screen, why all the other stuff for the living room? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/31 "2011-12-27T20:23:58Z")
My problem with 3D is that I just stop noticing the 3D after about fifteen minutes in. If I take a minute to consciously remind myself to look for it, I start noticing it again, but only so long as I remember to look for it. Otherwise, I have exactly the same experience as watching a 2D movie. Except I still pay through the nose for it. There’s a theater nearby that is one of the rare surviving single screen theaters out there. For a while there, they were showing everything in 3D. Lately, they’ve started alternating between 2D showings and 3D showings, which suggests to me that the demand for 3D films is starting to subside, at least locally. I’m okay with that. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/32 "2011-12-27T20:41:26Z")
I can see out of both eyes, but I cannot see 3D. I can hardly wait till this fad dies like it has died every other time it’s been tried. And, just to preempt the stupidity, no, it is **nothing** like the introduction of color or sound, or stereo or surround. I’m 51 years old and I started out watching movies in the theater when they were almost entirely mono and no, they did not charge more as they added stereo or surround (citing the occasional “Road Show” presentation like _Fantasia_ as proof will just make you look like an idiot). 3D is about increasing the ticket price, and it is the first “innovation” the studios have been able to use to successfully increase the ticket price. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/33 "2011-12-27T21:15:57Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > Seems like there is a lot of it. I just got back from TinTin. It was the first film I have seen with modern 3D technology and I was utterly blown away! The objection is not to the 3D, it is to the [Uncanny Valley](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley) of CGI animation. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/34 "2011-12-27T21:38:49Z")
I don’t know if this fad will ever fully die out because unlike other times when this was tried, theater owners were forced to buy actual equipment. They will want return on that investment. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/35 "2011-12-27T21:40:20Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My gripe about 3D is that it is holding back development/refinement of smell-o-vision. What about Spy Kid 4D? > [@mkecane](#): > > I don’t think **Inception** was released in theaters in 3D, so the only movie I’ve seen that’s been released in 3D is **How to Train Your Dragon** , though I saw it in 2D. I saw How to Train Your Dragon in 3D and I’m pretty sure it was added in post. It wasn’t a very good 3D effect. Christmas Carol, on the other hand, was very well done. It was made in 3D and it really worked. I still wouldn’t pay more to see 3D, though. Even Avatar 2 is going to be 2D for me. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/36 "2011-12-27T21:40:54Z")
I dislike (not hate) 3D. It’s made moviegoing more expensive and I find it intrusive to the experience, for a whole load of reasons, including: The glasses are physically uncomfortable to wear The ‘poke in the eye’ things that the movie _has_ to include It’s not analogous to reality, in a way that’s hard to explain (but here goes). In the real world, focus and depth triangulation are linked - if my gaze shifts from a close to a distant object, my focus will adjust to fit. In a 3d movie, my eyes try to triangulate on something that is not within the depth of field in the movie - and the effect is quite sickening. This simply doesn’t happen in 2D movies, as the medium does not invite my eyes to try to triangulate differently on different parts of the image. I don’t see it as necessary or desirable. I realise people may have made similar arguments about the introduction of colour or sound in movies, but that makes no difference for me, as my objections are based on the discomfort I experience when trying to watch a 3D film. I’ve seen 4 films in 3D at the cinema, and that’s more than enough for me. I’ll not bother with them any more (to be honest, I’m getting disillusioned with the cinema anyway, for a whole list of other reasons) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/37 "2011-12-27T21:47:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > We saw _Hugo_ in 3D yesterday. Despite the love fest in another thread, I thought the film was meh, made worse by the 3D effect, which seemed to impose actors over a cartoonish background. The stereoscope analogy above is apt, and I’ll be glad when this fad is over. And I have a rich baritone. This was my experience also. I had such high hopes for this movie - this was the one (so everyone said) that had been carefully and lovingly crafted to make the most of what 3D can do in the cinema. Well, if that’s true, it only reinforces my opinion that 3D is pretty worthless. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/38 "2011-12-27T21:51:26Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The objection is not to the 3D, it is to the [Uncanny Valley](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley) of CGI animation. No, **Stan Shmenge** isn’t referring to objections over the uncanney valley effect in motion-capture movies (_Tin Tin, Polar Express_, et al). That is a different thing entirely and while _Tin Tin_ may indeed have that problem, that’s obviously not what the OP is about. Instead it’s the rather vocal disdain some people have for stereoscopic 3D movies in general, as evidenced in this thread. Personally, I enjoy 3D movies that tell good stories and use the 3D effect well. I have absolutely no trouble with resolving the 3D image, I get no headaches from it, and wearing the glasses doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I’m looking forward to seeing _Tin Tin_ and also \*Hugo \*in 3D in the next couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/39 "2011-12-27T22:44:09Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > BOOOOOO! > > Hugo is a fantastic movie. And an even better book. Haven’t read the book. I don’t want to derail the intent of the thread, but if this kid’s father was such a freaking genius, why couldn’t he manufacture a heart-shaped key? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506/40 "2011-12-27T23:00:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The objection is not to the 3D, it is to the [Uncanny Valley](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley) of CGI animation. More on that [here.](http://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2011/11/18) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-3d/607506.md?page=3)