Dear movie theatre, please don’t die
10.12.2020
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
The movie theatre is becoming extinct. Maybe. We’ll only really know once the pandemic is over. Until then, here’s a commentary on our fascination with the big screen, overpriced popcorn and the dearly missed «we» feeling.
It's getting dark in the auditorium. Maybe once and for all. At least that’s how it feels this year, with movie theatres worldwide closing their doors due to pandemic-related precautionary measures. This forces film studios to postpone their movie releases indefinitely. There’s no point in releasing movies if hardly anyone can actually go watch them. But even where movie theatres remain open, there’s just dead air.
There’s no point in going to the movies if there's nothing new to watch, either.
Movie theatre owners fear for their survival. Bankruptcy is imminent. It’s imminent for film studios as well. Warner Bros., of all things, seems to be admitting defeat by bypassing movie theatres now. It’s a U-turn from last summer, when Warner Bros. still tried its hand at a cinema release of «Tenet». The studio now plans to release its 2021 movies on its own streaming service, HBO Max, simultaneously with the cinema release.
All this just 12 months after one of the most successful years of all time for the movies.
Is the movie theatre a dying construct? I sure hope not. Nothing can give me what the movies give me; not my couch, not any technological superiority in image and sound quality.
I love the movie theatre.
Why do we go to the movies?
What makes a movie theatre? The «movie theatre feeling». I read things like that all the time here. But precisely what this mythical «feeling» is, nobody seems to be able to explain. Maybe because it’s different for each person. And that’s totally fine. Reader NeXus-9, for example, writes the following in the comments section of my previous article on Warner Bros.:
«Nowadays, I really only go to the movies for the experience itself and to be able to watch movies as soon as possible. But the experience aspect of it kind of dwindles ever more in light of affordable modern-day technology.»
NeXus-9 – and other readers – expand on the technological aspect, claiming that, thanks to HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, picture and sound quality at home is significantly better than the beamer-projected image on the large screen.
He and the other readers aren’t wrong. Except in terms of sound, I’d argue. But the sound also depends on the specific auditorium. Anyways. That’s a different topic for a different day. And anyways, it’s not what’s responsible for the «movie theatre feeling» for me personally. For me, it’s the social aspect. No doubt. Think about it: how often have you gone to the movies only and exclusively because of the technology of a big screen?
And how often have you gone there to hang out with your friends? Or with your family? Or with a special date?
The social element
The movie theatre creates a sense of community. The movie theatre brings people together. The movie theatre unifies. At least during the two or three hours that people with different backgrounds, life histories and tastes decide to watch a movie – together.
For the duration of the movie, we’re a group.
Or maybe it’s also the anticipation. The feeling of excitement that unites all who enter the movie theatre, lavishly equipped with overpriced popcorn, ice cream and Coke. It’s contagious. Builds solidarity.
I’m talking about those really special moments. Like back when «Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones» was on, and a viewer dressed as Boba Fett casually entered the hall and joined a group of Jedi he didn't know. I was about fourteen at the time. The movie itself didn’t leave nearly as much of a mark on me as that moment.
That’s what community is all about.
Source: Christian Petersen / Getty Images
Movies also encourage conversation. During the break or after the credits, we chatter away about Christian Bale's performance in «Ford vs. Ferrari», or eagerly discuss the plot in «Tenet». Strangers add on to our discussion; I join in other people's conversations. And, in the process, I get to know people I would never have met otherwise.
There she is again: community.
The «community» in «movie»
The feeling of community lasts throughout the whole movie. I remember watching «Rogue One: A Star Wars Story» at the cinema like it was just yesterday. I see the scene in the dark corridor when Darth Vader ignites his blood-red lightsaber.
Then, an eerie moment of silence. Goosebumps. Then it’s time for the escape; pictures of the Tantive IV’s white halls flash through my mind. Leia appears. «Hope,» she says. Cut to credits. The whole audience bursts into applause. In that moment, nobody has the slightest idea just how controversial actress Carrie Fisher’s CGI face would become in forums and blogs.
Then there were the past two «Avengers» movies. I was lucky to experience both in an advanced showing. I still remember the atmosphere in the auditorium. The cheering, jeering, and, at the end, even crying. No Dolby Vision in the world can replace that. And that’s in spite of the fools who chew popcorn as if it were the entire theatre’s business, or whisper when they should really be quiet.
No matter now divided the world outside is, inside the movie theatre, we’re united. This human component is what’s missing at home. Have you ever watched a comedy alone? Boring, isn’t it? At least most of the time. Meanwhile, at the movies, even the cheesiest comedies are funny. All it takes is few laughing oddballs, and I find myself laughing alongside them. We laugh together.
We.
One of my most moving cinema moments was last summer, outside the realm of blockbuster movie theatres, watching «A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood». It’s a movie about Fred Rogers. He was one of the few people in the 1960s to talk about serious topics like racism, violence, death and divorce in his children’s programme. Feelings that are usually hushed up because they’re uncomfortable. Feelings many of us have not really learned how to deal with to this day.
Even as adults.
There was this feeling of love, affection and compassion for one another, though not spoken aloud. It defied all the cynicism that we adults sometimes build up as a protective wall. This seems especially relevant in times of pandemic and isolation, given the image the media has created of each person as a potential enemy carrying the virus.
That was no simple «movie theatre feeling». That was movie theatre magic.
What remains is the «we»
I’m not trying to speak for you. Or for anyone else. I’m only speaking for myself and the feeling a packed movie theatre gives me. A feeling that even the largest 8K OLED TV with surround sound can't give me: the «we» feeling.
Sure, I love my home. And my Ikea couch. I also love a good, cosy Netflix evening – my girlfriend in my arms, red wine, a freshly baked frozen pizza and awesome series to go with it. But the movie theatre... it's more to me than just the place that always smells of popcorn.
To me, the movie theatre is the magic of community.
Luca Fontana
Senior Editor
Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.chI'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»
