![]() While I don’t remember the exact context of the fight (I think it had something to do with their mother’s name), that physical sensation of watching and experiencing it has stayed with me for years. Ivividly remember the feeling of being hit in different areas of my back every time Superman and Batman would punch each other. Particularly, I remember the “back-kicker” during Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). While some may believe the supposed reality-altering power of 4D is a hoax and does not truly enhance the experience of film-watching, 4D theaters left me with physiological sensory memories that will forever remain. And once the movie begins, you sit on the edge of your seat the whole time as the chairs move, the seats vibrate, and water and scented fogs are sprayed at you. Then, you would put your popcorn and drinks in their designated space, so that you don’t spill them. Then, you have to climb up to your super high seat (the seats are higher than your typical seats because they have to move). When you enter the theater, you receive your 3D goggles from the attendants. After many trips to a 4DX movie, the routine is forever installed in your brain. Since its early introduction in Korea, I have watched most Hollywood blockbusters in a 4DX Theater. After experiencing Avatar in 4DX, Korean audiences could not get enough of this multi-sensory cinematic experience, and the novel technology has been more widely installed across Korea and in various countries including China, Mexico, and the United States. ![]() 4DX debuted in Seoul in 2009 alongside Avatar (2009), and it was a complete success, attracting 2.7 million 4DX moviegoers (CJ 4DPLEX). 4DX auditorium also includes “wind machines, strobe lights, snow simulation, smoke cents and a device inside the seats that thrusts into the shoulders of audience members” called ‘the back kicker’ (Murphy). Named 4DX, the system offers “three degrees of freedom…chairs move with the pitch (a forward-and-backward rolling motion), the yaw (a left-and-right turning motion) and the heave (an up-and-down elevating motion)” (Murphy). Unfortunately, the Sensorium really only played the role of an additional attraction at an amusement park, and the technology did not grow to be applied in an actual movie theater - at least in the United States.Ĭurrently, one of the most widely used forms of 4D theater is the system developed by the Korean company CJ, known primarily as the company behind the success of Parasite (2019). It featured “multiple track discrete sound system, bodysonic seats…and a series of smells released in sync with the film” (Maddox). ![]() The first 4D theater was the “Sensorium,” which debuted at Six Flags in Baltimore in 1984 with the film Scent of Mystery. 4D cinema is officially defined as “the combination of a 2D or a 3D film with physical effects that occur in-sync with the images on screen” (Layton). While you might be familiar with 3D cinema, 4D may be a relatively new concept for most American audiences. Why is this the case? And will 4D rise to the equal status in the land of Hollywood? ![]() Technically speaking, yes, there are a handful of 4D theaters here in the United States, but they are not nearly as common as they are in Seoul where most blockbuster films are watched in 4D. ![]() And, more importantly, they don’t have 4D theaters. For one thing, they don’t have different flavors of popcorn – in Korea, we can choose from sea salt, onion, cheese, caramel, kimchi…you name it. As an international student from Korea, there were two things that shocked me when I first visited an American theater. ![]()
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