Movies:

Today, I’ve decided to take a break from the rough-and-tumble world of domestic and international politics and write different kind of essay; on movies.

I still remember when going to the movies at a real movie theatre was a real American pasttime, either with family, friends, or even solo. Many more movie palaces existed, with single-screen theatres, that were very baroque-looking and elegant, both insid and out, and that had balconies, to boot. Going to such a palace of a movie theatre was part of the movie-going experience itself, in addition to seeing movies on a great big, wide screen, they way they’re really meant to be seen. There was a time, too, when many, if not most movies were based on books, had a real story and plot behind them, and had much style as well as substance. Granted, there were many crummy movies back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, too, but there were also many more that had plenty of the above-mentioned quallities to them. In the 1970’s and in the 1980’s, despite the fact that the movie industry and the quallity of films had begun their decline, there were plenty of good movies to be seen, and there were still plenty of repertory movie theatres to be had in our area. Often enough, back in the 1960's, when my sister and I were teenagers, particularly on a Friday or Saturday night, or on a weekend afternoon, there’d be a long line extending outside and winding around the block to get in to see a certain movie that everybody wanted to see that was “hot” at the tiime. Waiting in line to get into a movie could be unpredictable because one never knew whether or not they’d be able to get into that particular screening. Not being able to get into a particular showing because it was too crowded, which happened on occasion, could be rather frustrating and disappointing. Yet, there could also be something very exciting about waiting in line, too. When we were kids, we didn't mind it so much. Not too long ago, when “No Country for Old Men” opened at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, in Brookline, MA, however, old memories of this echoed back at me while I waited in line one moderately cool Saturday night to get into the theatre for a late showing of No Country For Old Men. The line wound all the way to the back of the building, and the theatre management had to order the many people who were lined up behind me to move out of the back parking lot and line up against the wall of the building..

Although I grew up in a small town without a movie theatre, there were other adjacent towns that did have movie theatres, or we’d go to Boston or Cambridge to see a movie, as a family. This was before either my sister or I were of driving age, and, often enough, particularly on a weekend evening or afternoon, we’d get dropped off by our parents to see a certain movie, sometimes accompanied by friends, other times not. Occasionally, for better or worse, we’d see other kids that we knew at that same showing. All during the 1950’s and 1960’s, and even into the 1970’s, moviegoing would be a family/friends outing, complete with popcorn, soda, etc. Although there were still some good movies and movie theatres to be had during the 1970’s, the quality of movies began its decline, and, although there were still a number of movie palaces, revival movie houses, etc., they, too had begun to close down, or to be bought out by larger movie-theatre chains. Moviegoing began to take a somewhat different twist too, as many colleges, universities, libraries, and even bars began to show movies in 16mm, which were also quite popular with students.

In the early 1980’s, during the Reagan years, the United States Supreme Court voted to allow the making of movies into videotapes to be played on VCR’s, which, in turn, led up to the making of more sharply focused DVD’s and the advent of DVD players. Giant-sized TV’s and elaborate home-theatre systems also became popular overtime, and the movie experience today has taken a different turn. Nowadays, with people working longer hours, and not wanting to deal with expensive admission and concession prices, extremely rude, annoying, or cell-phone using patrons, parking problems, not wanting to stand in line waiting a long time to get into a movie, and the poor qualitiy of many, if not most of today’s movies, which are often overly graphic, gory and violent, or with too much exploding on the screen. Many, if no most of today's movies are long on style (if one can call it that) and woefully short on substance, if one gets the drift. The gathering of family and/or friends in somebody’s house for a viewing of a certain movie on the big TV and/ or an elaborate home-theatre system has frequently taken the place of the outing to the movie theatre. In short, the home-entertainment business has all but killed the movie business. 16mm films, which were really boot-leg films, are no longer shown; even video, DVD, and the piracy of downloading of movies on computers and/or IPods have frequently taken the place of the movie experience in a real movie theatre. Often enough, movies become available in DVD as little as six months after being released in the movie theatres. Sadly enough, many, if not most of the movie theatres today seem to have become a vehicle for promoting movies on DVD.

How did all of this come to happen? All of the above, coupled with the election of corrupt politicians by the American electorate at large, indifferent or hostile town and/or city officials, who, along with the public at large, allowed overzealous developers to buy out the graceful, baroque-looking old movie palaces up, and convert them into condos, parking lots, arcades, or whatever they felt they could make a good profit with. Many of the old movie palaces were also allowed to slip into a state of disrepair, and therefore were no longer frequented by moviegoers. There was a time when almost every city/town and neighborhood had at least one, two, or more movie theatres. Now, most of the movie palaces throughout the country have long since disappeared into cinema heaven, only to be replaced by very antiseptic-looking multiplex cinemas that are located directly off of state or interstate highways, and contain at least 10-20 cinemas that’re essentially like gigantic TV sets. Often enough, experienced unionized professional movie projectionists have been replaced by young, inexperienced kids/adults who also work the concession stands and who don't realize that movie projection is an art and profession that involves more than simply inserting the films into the reels and letting them go until the end of the movie. They're often (though not always) poorly trained and poorly paid, and end up handling ultra-sophisticated movie projection equipment that's meant to be handled by professionals. The decline of unions, which began in the late 1960's, when President Nixon took power, has contributed a great deal to this situation.

I
Yet, one has to admit that there are advantages and disadvantages of both seeing movies at home and going to the movie theatres.

Going to the movie theatres:

Advantages:

A) Seeing a movie on a great big wide screen, in a real movie theatre with the lights down low makes the movie experience a special thing; it’s more expansive, and one can see all of the movie at its glory and splendor. This is especially true of great movies.

B) It provides an opportunity to get out of the house and to share the experience of seeing a film on a great big wide screen with lots of other people, whether we know them or not.

C) Going to a movie palace (what ones are left) in itself, is a wonderful experience, as many of them are quite elegant and baroque-looking inside, perfect places for showing great classics.

Disadvantages:

A) Unless one holds an annual membership to one of the movie palaces that’re still left here in the United States, moviegoing can be quite expensive, either with just general admission alone, or with the concessions, which are also expensive.

B) Unlike with the multiplex cinemas, which are often situated in malls and therefore have ample parking, parking in the general vicinity of a movie palace can be tough. If a city or town has public transportation that stops reasonably near a movie palace, one’s better off taking public transportation or walking (providing one lives close enough to the movie palace in question), unless one gets there by or before six in the evening, when meters come a dime a dozen and become “legal” during the evening, if one gets the drift.

C) Rude, annoying or cellphone using patrons, or noisy kids.

Yet, I’ve also come to believe that in going to a movie theatre, especially one of the great old movie palaces, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Home-theatre systems and/ or DVD’s:

Advantages:

A) One doesn’t have to worry about parking, or venturiing out in thie cold.

B) For famillies where one or both parents work long hours, it’s easier to just slip t he DVD movie into the DVD player and turn it on, while everybody gathers to watch.

C) One doesn’t have to pay expensive admission / concession prices, deal with annoying, obnoxious, and / or cellphone using patrons, and, in movies with no i ntermissions, the DVD watcher can create their own intermission by putting the DVD on “Paulse”, momentarily.

D)This other advantage, however, is for the movie studios: Many, if not all of the movie studios have found that more money can be made more quickly by making movies available in DVD for purchase or rental.

Disadvantages:

A) No matter how amazing and fantastic and how like a regular movie theatre many people claim that a home-theatre system with a giant-sized TV is, imho, there’s absolutely nothing that beats seeing films on a great big wide screen, in a real movie theatre with the lights down low. Movies, particularly great old classics, seem to take on a magical, almost 3-dimensioinal quality when seen on a huge movie theatre screen.

B) The home-entertainment business, as I mentioned before, has all but killed the movie business, because there’s no opportunity to get out of the house, and it has efffectively helped isolate people from each other.

C) The movie-going experience, imo, has been somewhat cheapened by the home-entertainment business, and has been rendered into something less than special by most moviegoers, who ofteh prefer to stay sequestered in their own settings.

D) The home entertainment business has also made it far tougher for theatres to obtain many of the great older classics that’re still popular among lots of people.

Afterthought:

Fortunately, despite the changes in the moviegoing experiences for many, if not most people, there are still a number of movie theatres and/or movie palaces open, some of which play older classics, independent, and foreign films for those who like them, and there’lll always be people (myself included), who still prefer going to the movie theatre and seeing films as they’re really meant to be viewed; on a great big, wide screen, in a real movie theatre or (preferablly) an urban movie palace with the lights down low.