3-D technology is great, but 'damn these glasses son'

Whenever I read something about the upcoming onslaught of 3-D entertainment, a scene from the movie “The Jerk,” a 1979 comedy starring Steve Martin, keeps coming to mind:

(Stan Fox’s eyeglasses keep slipping off his nose)
Stan Fox: Damn these glasses son.
Navin R. Johnson: Yes, sir (then he turns to the glasses). I damn thee.

That loosely sets the stage for the arc of the life of Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin), who fixes the glasses with a simple invention, gets rich, then loses it all in the end because the glasses make their wearers cross-eyed (and if I spoiled the movie for you, well, you've had 31 years to watch it).

But every time I read a story about 3-D TVs and 3-D technology and 3-D movies and 3-D channels as the savior of the TV and movie industry, I can’t help but think of that movie, and what happened to all the people who wore those glasses.

Having to wear 3-D glasses already stands as one impediment to the growth of the 3-D industry. And the side effects of wearing them may stand as another.