What Comes Next?

Can we predict how the digital revolution we're living through will change culture? And can the history of books offer solace to those worrying about the future of cinema?

I have a friend who loves cinema the way that I love literature. When he tells me about some crisis that cinema is going through, we often find an earlier analogue in the world of books. That’s why I see the relationship between literature and cinema as one of older and younger siblings. The written word is cinema’s big brother — actually, let’s say big sister, if only to avoid the obvious literary allusion. The younger sibling often has much to learn from the failures and successes of the older. For instance:

Worried about the decline of the cinema-going experience? Ask your local library how well they’re holding up, assuming it hasn’t already been closed thanks to the short-sightedness of city councils.

Concerned about the relative obscurity of avant-garde films compared to blockbuster movies? Tell it to every author published by an independent press whose book sits forever in the shadow of the Waterstones table piled high with celebrity memoirs and thrillers.

Sick of debates about wha…