A rising recent trend of so-called “review videos,” which summarize entire movies in just a few minutes, are popping up by the dozen on Facebook in Vietnam and causing harm to the film industry, according to VN Express.
The videos contain massive spoilers, revealing important plot points and storylines. However, this is also its biggest appeal: people wish to save time and not have to go to the cinema for hours-long sittings.
“I can watch ten movies in an hour and discuss with my friends, this is good, given my busy life in the urban rat race,” said a white-collar worker in Hanoi.
Many Youtube channels are dedicated this new type of contents, such as “Review Phim Chat 97,” “Tho Review Phim,” “Quan Review Phim” and many more. They easily garner thousands, if not millions of views in a short time period.
Many have criticized this trend for its use of illegal pirated content that is essentially hurting an already-challenged film industry amidst a global pandemic.
Besides the negative economic impact, cinephiles simply consider the process as one that shamefully undermines cinematic art. “What is the fun if I already know its plot and characters?” asked a local movie buff.
The solutions will lie not only in stricter copyright law implementation, but also in audiences understanding that their contributions could have direct and dire consequences on the industry, the film said.
