Blog 7: Diffusion of Innovations | Motion Pictures

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    In the late 19th century at the time when motion pictures first appeared, nobody imagined that motion pictures would become a mass entertainment media worth of billions of dollars. Nobody anticipated the power of motion pictures to reflect not only our culture, but also the capability to influence our society and transform it. Nobody foresaw how this innovation would develop as an instrument of artistic expression for cinematography, acting, screenwriting, directing, design, and music, and then as a new form of art that would trigger people's emotions, and would take people through imaginary journeys across the world and time, and fictitious spaces. In fact, the potential of motion pictures as the industry it is today developed and evolved with the talent of people and incorporating new technologies to achieve a final product with new or improved features and superior quality, new ways to create effects and show feature films capable of attracting larger and diverse audiences.


    Everett Rogers, an American communication theorist and sociologist, developed the diffusion of innovation theory in 1962 that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rare new ideas, a product, service, or a technology spread among the participants in a social system. Everett Rogers considered four elements as influencing the diffusion of new ideas through cultures: innovations, communication channels, time, and social system. Rogers also identified five categories of adopters: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. How does this theory connect to motion pictures?

    The coronavirus pandemic caused movie theaters to close since mid-March altering the 2020 summer movie season, and if the virus significantly reduces the number of moviegoers or definitely keep most of them away from movie theaters, it is for sure the implementation of major changes in the way we watch new movies like reviving drive-in cinema. Anyway, let us view motion pictures through the lens of the diffusion theory. The theatrical release of Wonder Woman 1984 is scheduled for August 14. According to Everett Rogers' theory, the innovators are those individuals who are the first to adopt an idea, service, or product, and in this case, the innovators would be those who want to be the first to watch that movie, attending very first shows at midnight on the day of the release. They are risk-takers, young, probably with more economic resources, sociable, and in close contact with other innovators.

    The early adopters are not as daring as innovators when it comes to risk-taking, but they have the genuine desire to welcome change and incorporate that change into their lives. So, early adopters, instead of going to watch the new movie on the very day of its theatrical release, they would let pass a day or two before venturing to the movies. Early adopters are influencers or leaders of opinions, usually young and more educated and with economic power. Their role model position is key to persuade a massive number of people to try something new, in this case to watch a movie.

    The early majority represents a large segment of the market that represents the average members of society, and this group needs evidence of the innovation's effectiveness as they will not try anything new until somebody that inspires them trust has tried it first. The early majority would take the guidance from the film review and would let pass several weeks before going to a movie theater. The late majority is a large conservative group who adopts an innovation after most average members of society have done it and accepted the idea, and even though the late majority approaches an innovation with distrust. Probably, some in the late majority would skip going to the movies and better wait for Wonder Woman 1984 to be available through streaming services.

    Laggards represent a very conservative group that resist to change and are usually older people. Laggards will try an innovation only if the circumstances push them to do so, as when a product or service is no longer available. For laggards, it would take months or even years to watch a blockbuster released from today, and laggards probably would watch a blockbuster only if they come across with the film on a regular TV channel. In the end, being part of the innovators and early adapters means being distinctive, being a main part of a select group that drives towards success a new product, new technology, a new service that leads to a change in our society.


Images:
  • http://media.gettyimages.com/videos/cinema-film-reel-video-id103386922?s=640x640
  • https://bryanmathers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/diffusion-of-innovation-2.png
  • https://russellawheeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/innovation_sign_bulb.png
Sources:
  • https://www.britannica.com/art/motion-picture
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations
  • https://www.aci.health.nsw.gov.au/_data/assets/pdf_file/0010/298756/Change_Management_Theories_and_Models_Everett_Rogers.pdf
  • https://phys.org/news/2020-05-movie-theaters-survive-covid-.html

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