This blog on Switched about adding scents to movies seems so futuristic it's almost camp.
I love movies and I love anything that enhances them. I'm that sucker who spends another $15 on the
When I was a kid, a theater near me offered a similar smell-o-vision experience. They piped in the smell of flowers for a rose garden scene and chocolate chip cookies for a scene in the kitchen. I left the theater feeling nauseous because the smells were so terribly artificial and overwhelming. It was a short-lived experiment and I think the theater actually got sued because someone had an allergic reaction. Based on that experience I have to agree with the author – I'm not sure I want a smell-enhanced movie, especially when I think of something like 'Labyrinth' – the Bog of Eternal Stench looked foul enough... I don't need to smell it too. What do you guys think? Should they scratch the idea or will the sniff experience enhance your viewing pleasure? Any particular examples where you'd want to see and smell or where you absolutely do not?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1. Didn't John Waters try some sort of Smell-O-Vision with one of his movies? I can't think of a single film that would actually be made better by incorporating actual smells.
I see potential for this in the home video market, though...add the smell of roasting marshmallows to those videos of roaring fireplaces that some people watch for relaxation. Or a fresh pine scent to nature videos. We could make a mint on it!! I'm off to patent that idea!! :)
Posted at 12:22PM on Sep 13th 2007 by T-Mo
2. One word -- ewww. Aside from it being artificial-smelling, I think it would be impossible to transition from one smell to another without the theater ending up smelling worse than walking into a Yankee Candle store.
Posted at 5:14PM on Sep 13th 2007 by KLo
3. I also wonder, were this to happen, how would they determine what scenes got added scents? Would the director have cues? Would the theater use whatever they had on hand at the times they think are appropriate? One the plus side, seeing a smell enhanced 'Mystery Men' (one of the characters had the extradinary power of passing almost lethal gas) might kill the desire for teenagers to see movies just to make out in the back row. I've really seen some things I shouldn't.
Posted at 9:35AM on Sep 18th 2007 by itshotsummer
4. Let's just stick with Imax for now and smell a vision for home use first?... If the ideal of experiencing true smells would capture our senses then why not just give selectively the ones the option of a mask that you could activate and this would only allow you to smell without effecting others near by.. sort of a filter mask ?
Posted at 10:20AM on Sep 21st 2007 by paul
5. That's a good suggestion, though I'm sure the movie giants would be more than happy to apply an additional fee to 'enhance your experience with scents' and charge for the masks, the way airlines charge for earphones.
Posted at 1:43PM on Sep 24th 2007 by itshotsummer