Why aren't you going to the movies?
Cinema declared dead for the 5 millionth time in history
It’s come to my attention that a lot of you aren’t going to the movie theater anymore and I really do not understand.
I’ve encountered more than several people in the past year who have admitted they don’t go to the movies anymore. My sister-in-law said she hasn’t been in five years. FIVE YEARS. I nearly fell over. Sacrilegious! I suppose some people have church while me and Nicole Kidman have the cinema, a true house of hedonistic worship.
Since I was a kid I have loved going to the movies. I can’t think of a greater escape in this life than the silver screen. It’s the ultimate safe space, the communal house of feelings, the glowing seat in the darkness of life…
…the movie theater was the place to to become a human! To learn about emotion! To experience every big life moment! Or even A Bug’s Life moment! It starts with seeing Save the Last Dance with your dad when you’re 10, it leads to a boy named Robbie holding your hand during Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! and it basically just keeps going. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my first kiss at the movies, but I would have preferred that to what really happened (saving that depressing story for another day!), however I did see The Reader on Valentine’s Day with my first love and I think that explains a lot about me.
I would say all the good people in this world grow up at the movies. It’s a blanket statement but I’m standing by it. It’s not that I don’t like people who aren’t movie buffs, but so many references are lost in conversation it just becomes depressing for me. If you’re not laughing at my jokes, what’s the point? I’m reminded in this moment, of a day in my early 20s when 3 men texted me Meg Ryan references in a matter of hours and I was like “My work here is done!”
“Going to the movies” is obviously a pivotal phrase and phase for teenagers, but it didn’t stop there for me. The movie theater has been my home away from home ever since. It’s a marker of time when you look back and think “What was I doing when I was 23?” “Oh yes, I was seeing Nebraska at the TCL Chinese Theater, Tarantino was in front of me, wearing sweatpants, I’d recently gone on a bad date with a man who’s parents were in a cult, and I was thinking I’d like to become a famous documentary filmmaker.” I could do this math, I think, for every year of my life.
I go to the movies for all occasions. Happy? Go see a rom com. Sad? Go see a thriller. Bored? Go see a drama. Go see anything, really. It’s a beautiful ritual I have with myself. I get a popcorn and a Diet Coke, sneak in a box of Reese’s Pieces and I have the fucking time of my life, all by myself.
My first several years in New York I went to the movies alone all the time. It was the height of the MoviePass days and I was using them for all their worth (especially after I was in their one and only commercial?) going to a movie every other day and paying seemingly nothing for it. I never understood why people find going to the movies by themselves lonely. You’re in a theater with other people, it’s dark, it’s cozy. No one cares if you’re crying or if you’re laughing (actually false, my laughter is apparently offensively loud to some!). You’re experiencing a whole new wealth of feelings. It’s the opposite of loneliness to me.
When Covid hit the number one thing I missed (outside of safety and human connection) was going to the movies. I was so sick of watching stuff at home. The magic of it all was completely lost. I don’t care how big of a TV you have or how great your at home popcorn recipe is, it just isn’t the same. It’s monotonous, dull, and way too easy to check your phone. My boyfriend and I were back at the theater the MOMENT it was possible. The first thing we saw was A Quiet Place 2, it felt quite fitting, to be back in the theater, scared beyond my wits, stuffing my face, having a fucking blast. This is what the movies was all about.
Here’s a few cartoons from a series I used to do called “Deb & Debbie”:
Today, there’s a specific group of people out there who continue to be movie lovers but relinquish their worship to the home sphere. Now, if you have kids, I get it. I expect nothing of you. But if you don’t, I’m lost, and I’m blaming you for the loss of The Arclight in Los Angeles.
There’s so many great movie theaters to experience and I’m deeply afraid of losing them. Tarantino can only save so many! I will agree that in big cities like New York and Chicago, going to the movies is expensive. I was walking on cloud 9 this summer when I saw the price of a movie ticket in Sonoma. On Tuesdays, SIX DOLLARS!!!? A bag of chips costs $6 in Brooklyn! That being said, the expense of seeing a movie in theaters is one I know I’ll always be willing to pay for because it’s worth it. It’s worth getting your ass out of your home, putting on big girl clothes and putting down your phone for a whole two hours, all to experience something completely new. Whether it’s the dialogue in the movie or the characters around me, literally, in the theater, I always walk away with something.
As we approach Oscar season, I wonder, will the movie theater industry be on the upswing? Or is the general trend a downward spiral? My own bank account will be hurting, but I famously call the movies a write-off!
If you are one of those people who doesn’t go to the theater anymore, can you please tell me why? Are you watching movies at home? Or not at all? I want to hear from you! If you still go to the movies, I also want to hear from you! What are you seeing? And what’s your favorite theater? In New York for me, it's Nitehawk! And on my watch list are Barbarian, The Triangle of Sadness, and Amsterdam.
Thank you for reading! New posts every Friday!
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Arclight was so good. Sigh. I bought a Cinemark subscription just to make sure we go out regularly.
Guilty as can be... I don’t really go out to the movies very often. And I don’t mean 5 years of absence (I saw 3 movies in the theaters since June, not bad?). For me, i think I like the comfort of my home, being able to pause and go to the bathroom etc. The movie ticket price is also a big turn off. I also don’t watch very many movies (out or in) because they get me too emotional. It’s like I forget it’s a movie and I get too emotionally involved and affected. So in small doses for me. But I will say that my husband LOVES going to the movies. It’s his favorite thing ever. It’s what he missed the most during COVID. He also gets deeply saddened anytime a movie theater closes down. He was heartbroken for the ArcLight but we recently heard it actually might come back (someone may be saving it I think?).
This year I’ve tried to be very picky and intentional about the movies I do choose to watch in theaters and the past 3 I’ve seen have been amazing. Here they are:
“Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” (I was laughing embarrassingly loudly); “Marcel the Shell” and the newly restored classic “Red” (by Kieślowski). I came out of the theaters completely enchanted by all 3 Films. Well worth a theater visit!