![]() ![]() ![]() By the mid 70's, pinballs were common throughout the US. Several points were brought up that I did not know: Pinball Machines were considered gambling and were banned in all US states at one time! Only in the 50's did they start trickling into acceptance as "entertainment only" citing the flippers made it a "game of skill". This documentary illustrated their historic beginnings and the inner workings of their conception, design and marketing. As a big fan of pinball machines, I know a fair bit about them, witnessing their evolution the past 40 years. I stumbled across this documentary about pinball machines. So it still might not be a niche or cult that I'm a member of but I'm glad they're out there. And, most importantly, it's entertaining! Pinball, like many wonderful things, might not be as popular as it once was, but it's films like this that educate, inspire and ensure they live on in the hearts of others. Love or hate pinball, SWL certainly does its subject justice: it's respectful of its subjects, celebrating (and chuckling) at their quirks, passions and eccentricities. Just ask yourself why people still visit casinos instead of everyone throwing it all away online. It's largely unpredictable, being little more than controlled chaos (much like making a documentary). The game itself is something that can never truly be replicated in another form. It's not quite the same playing alone on your mobile phone. Arcades, although undeniably odd and misanthropic, were interesting social hubs, the machines being something that you, your friends and rivals could crowd around and enjoy together. It's a dominating piece of furniture it's big and brash, screaming out to you in blasts of colour, light and sound - pretty much everything American in a box. Afterall, the physicality of pinball is what it's all about. It's a gem of a film, well executed and beautifully illustrated, and I agree that it could have looked at the concept being enjoyed in other formats, such as digital versions of the game, but I think it would've probably been quite unnecessary. Apart from tugging on the obvious nostalgia heart-strings, the film places pinball as an icon - a monolithic machine for disseminating American pop culture to adolescent males all over the world - embracing the design, art and spectacle of the medium from head to toe. Like many other great documentaries, what SWL offers you is an insight into something that is present in your life, but never fully appreciated, in an entertaining and lightly informative manner. What has changed however, after watching Special When Lit, is the level of respect I have for the culture. For me, they were a passing amusement, archaic and somewhat ridiculous, impossible to play and far too eager to swallow what little money you had in your pocket. They're the grease-covered Adam's Family machine we hammered and screamed at in an all-night burger bar on the outskirts of our neighbourhood, back when my friends were just learning to drive. For me they're just the Jurassic Park machine in some grey shopping mall arcade that no one could be bothered to master. I've never been into pinball and I'm still not. ![]()
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