One topic that has long been on my mind is that of the theatrical experience. Not merely SEEING a movie – but GOING to see it in an actual movie theater. While at first glance there may not seem to be much of a difference in these two things, there very much is – at least in my estimation. While it’s true that this will vary between individuals, I’m going to try and do my best to explain exactly what it is that makes the theatrical experience such a magical way of viewing a film and why it’s such an important part of the cinematic landscape.
Theatrical History
While I won’t get bogged down in the details, it’s worth spending at least a small amount of time exploring exactly how and why movie theaters got their start:
Initially, movies were nothing more than extremely short clips of daily life – people leaving factories, passengers at a train station, maybe the occasional dancing. While nothing amazing by today’s standards, these simple slices of life were a revelation for audiences at the time. Being able to see moving images up on the screen was an infinitely novel experience. While this process started with single-user nickelodeons, it eventually led to large, indoor viewing spaces much akin to traditional theatres. These theatres were dark and (eventually) accompanied by a band playing live music to match the images on the screen. Over the years, these snapshots of daily life evolved into narrative storytelling – starting simple (with most everything conveyed by movement and gesture) and continually gaining complexity with the addition of recorded sound (the birth of the “talkies,” a name which thankfully never caught on).
Another novel concept that became part of the theatrical experience was that of indoor air conditioning. For a long while, such a luxury was unheard of in all but the richest of homes and many people were glad to pay their entry merely to escape the sweltering summer heat. The fact that there was ALSO entertainment on-screen was – to some – merely a bonus.
Of course, it should come as no surprise that all of this advancement was built on the back of a far older and far more storied art form: live theatre. For much of human history (at least as much of it as contained art created for public consumption), individuals interested in experiencing the arts had to make a concerted effort to go to where the art was – be that live music, a physical painting or statue, or the performance of a play. There had to be a concerted choice made on the part of the viewer to take time out of their lives to experience the arts. To be fair, this wasn’t necessarily for any other reason than that of practicality. There was no internet, no photographs. The limits of the physical world, and of technology, created a system wherein nearly all art (besides those in private collections) was seen in public, with others, at a location outside the home. Art was communal.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that when film first began, it followed much the same trajectory. The equipment (and skill necessary to operate it) was far outside the realm of the average person. Mixed with the already longstanding tradition of art being something out in the world, and the viewing habits of consumers, it was only logical that movies be experienced much the same as plays – after all, both told narrative stories with human actors playing the part of the characters. One was just live and the other, recorded.
Movie Theaters Grow
As film grew as a medium, and as technology improved, theaters only continued to increase in popularity and scope – from drive-ins to IMAX, choices only continued to expand over the intervening decades. While there is a wonderful side-story on the dissolution of studios as the primary exhibitors of film in order to limit their power (not to mention the implications of how company-owned streaming platforms completely side-step that ruling), the important takeaway here is that as the public embraced movies as an intrinsic part of their daily lives. Unsurprisingly, theaters were always an important part of that process.
While it was true that TV allowed moving images and stories to be beamed directly into households, these programs were hardly on the same scale as film. They lacked its scope, its budget, its prestige, and (for a long while) its color. TV was something that could be enjoyed privately, on a smaller scale. Movies were still considered an event – something worth going out for.
One area in which these two mediums DID overlap was in that of limited availability. Just as TV shows were only available to watch as they were airing, movies could only be seen IN theaters for as long as their theatrical window lasted. Once a movie left theaters, barring some sort of future re-release reserved for only the most popular of films, that was it. It was gone, never to be seen again. This made films feel even more special – a singular event to be experienced and remembered. It wasn’t until the mid to late 80s, with the advent of home media, that this time-sensitive nature of motion pictures would disappear.
Home Media vs Theaters
Still, even with the ability to watch movies at home (first on Betamax and VHS and eventually DVD), there was always a large gulf between the two experiences. While cinema screens were huge and came with high-quality images and booming sound, TV sets were typically small, square, and very limited in their ability to produce anything but the most basic sound. Sure, the story could be followed and the film re-watched, but much of the grandeur and magic of the initial viewing was lost. (This is not a knock on home media, by the way. I love that individuals gained the ability to re-experience movies in the comfort of their own homes. It’s more a commentary on the limitations of the medium at the time.)
While much of this gap in quality was driven by technological constraints, it also played into the hands of theaters. Home media could never really be considered a true competitor as, aside from releasing years after a movie’s theatrical run, it also went against decades of public habit. People were just used to going out and sitting in a darkened room with their fellow man, sharing a communal experience.
Enter, Streaming
This trend – of the gulf between watching a movie at home vs going out the theater – continued until the late 2000s. It was in this era that a few things happened: HD TVs (along with powerful at-home sound systems) began to dominate the market, Blu-ray emerged as a full-HD format which could exceed even the image quality seen in theaters, and streaming services such as Netflix were just beginning to offer people the ability to watch movies and TV shows without ever having to leave their house to go to the video store. These changes and more led to a paradigm in which seeing films at home became a bit more of a lateral move. Sure, the newest releases could only be found at the theater, but if one was willing to wait there wasn’t (seemingly) a lot to be lost, quality-wise.
This line of thinking only continued to grow as streaming expanded in both breadth and scope. The quality and selection gradually increased and little by little people became less interested in going to the theater. After all, a single ticket for a film could run anywhere from $7-15, while the same money could pay for an entire MONTH of a streaming service (complete with a wide selection of movies). In fact, the primary saving grace of theaters was really just the exclusivity window they enjoyed – if you wanted to see a film as soon as possible, and be part of the cultural conversation, there was no other option.
2020
That is, until the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the contagious nature of the virus, theaters were completely shuttered. Almost all the films on docket for release that year were shelved and people were holed up in their homes, watching more streaming services than ever. In addition, some services, such as HBOMAX and Disney+, began to offer people the ability to watch (for free or with additional fees) brand-new movies in the comfort of their own homes. Films that either skipped theatrical release entirely or launched day-and-date with their theatrical counterparts. For the first time in nearly a century, consumers had the option of watching a brand new, full-budget, studio film in their living room on the same day it went to theaters.
Unsurprisingly, many people loved this option – hell, I did. With the relative lack of new content available over the previous year, the ability to safely and comfortably see a brand new movie from home was a welcome addition. Unfortunately for theaters, it was also the final nail in the coffin for many people’s desires to go OUT to see a film. Why leave the sanctity of your own house to mingle with the public to watch a movie when you could just as easily do so from home? There, you can pause for bathroom breaks, eat food and snacks that are already paid for, get image and sound quality that often matches or exceeds that seen in theaters, and never have to get off the couch.
So, that’s it, then. Theaters are an old and now-dead relic of the past, right?
The Magic of the Theatrical Experience
Wrong.
While it’s true that watching a movie at home comes with many advantages over seeing it in a theater, there are still yet more that can’t be replicated. There is a certain magic that comes from sitting in a darkened theater with a group of other people who are all there to see the same thing. You can feel the excitement. Share in the joy and thrill as you hear them react to the movie – the screams and laughs and gasps. In fact, anecdotally, I remember when I saw Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe in the theater. It was a truly wonderful experience as I heard the entire room full of people gasp at a scene midway through the film and cheer at one a short while later – a communal expression of enjoyment and collective emotion. THEIR reactions improved my own enjoyment of the film manyfold. I got to hear and feel how this piece of art was impacting them in real-time.
I had a similar experience when I went to a screening of JAWS one night. While I had seen the film countless times, I had never done so on the big screen. Not only was the film stunning to see so large and imposing (as it was originally meant to be), there were two teenage girls behind me that had never seen it before. Hearing their screams and reactions to this film I had seen since childhood gave me a new appreciation for it. The movie still worked on modern audiences. It still had the ability to capture the imaginations of generations born decades later. I can no longer watch that movie without hearing their screams in my head at those moments – without remembering the power that the film had in that moment to a pair of strangers. None of that would have been possible without the theater.
But moreover, there is something to be said for the importance of making a movie an EVENT. Of having to get into your car and drive to a specific location to see it. It adds an intentionality. An importance. A specialness. It shows a respect to the countless hours that went into its creation. It makes it feel distinct and unique. The very act of being OUT makes the movie feel grander. And that’s beside the thrill of seeing it projected 50 feet high. Of feeling the rumble in your seat. These are things that even the best home setups can rarely – if ever – match.
Conclusion
Art is something unique to the human race. It is an expression of the internal and personal to the public. It is meant to be enjoyable and thought-provoking. It inspires discussion and inspiration and imagination. It allows us to be scared and thrilled and overjoyed. To appreciate the beauty – and horror – of the world. Of life.
Interacting with our fellow man is just as much a part of that experience as the conversation we have with the art itself. Reading blog posts and watching videos can be wonderful additions to that process, but there is a certain special something to experiencing art not alone, or with only family and friends, but with the public. Having a collection of people from all walks of life joined together, however briefly, because they all want to be whisked away. Because they all want to share that moment together. To inform and enhance it with each other. Humans are social creatures and art is a lightning rod – a communal gathering space to absorb and discuss ideas. To have a shared experience both mentally and physically.
I can’t tell you how many fond memories I have of exiting the theater, listening in on all the various conversations going on around me from the other patrons, and then having my own with whoever I was with. Being in the midst of that spark of discussion… being a PART of it… truly is something special. Something that can’t be replicated by online reviews. Those are memories that wouldn’t have been possible without the theater – memories I’m glad I have. The type of memories that I would hate to see disappear from the public consciousness. From the medium of film.
And this isn’t a diatribe on the evils of seeing a film (for the first time or ten thousandth time) at home. If that’s how and where you choose to see it, that’s perfectly fine. I do it myself. But I think it would be a massive oversight to just assume that because that’s the easiest way to see a film, it needs to be the only way. For all its faults, I like going to the theater to see a movie. Looking up at the massive screen, surrounded by other people, and getting lost in a story together. Because as much as art connects us to the artist, it also connects us to the world around us – to the people around us.
And THAT’S the real magic of the theatrical experience.
Chris
Great delivery. Sound arguments. Keep up the amazing spirit.