"The Day the Movie Died..."

Why am I writing this? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for a week. It’s not like I didn’t want to, especially since I had lots to say, but something held me back. And, after days of wracking my brain, it finally got me to write this:

Let’s talk about how we’ve lost a whole movie year due to the pandemic. 

A while back, I wrote a piece discussing the ill-fated movie year of 2013. It feels like eons now, but 2013 really was a lacklustre year until September. There were a lot of options to choose from, but few were high-profile. And of them, most were bloated disappointments. It felt like the only chances at good movies in 2013 were indie films, and those were hard to scout out. I actually saved money by not going to the theatre too often, which sucked because I like seeing new releases.

2020 has had a similar-yet-different situation. Except that, while in 2013 I could see movies if I wanted to, the circumstances behind this drought are more drastic. I’m referring to the global pandemic making it unsafe to go to the movies, lest I get sick and possibly die. This pandemic has also caused many delays and shutdowns of projects that weren’t already being moved to VOD, making the theatre obsolete. The exceptions to the rule, like Tenet, have seen poor box-office numbers too. Who’d have thought?

While I don’t want to detract from the reality of over 1 million people dying, many of them preventable, at the same time it’s still sad. There’s something special about seeing movies in theatres. Sure, TVs have gotten to be so advanced that you can simulate the experience in your home, and TV movies/shows have, in many ways, rivalled the theatre experience recently. But it’s not the same. There’s something special about purchasing a ticket, buying overpriced concessions and cramming into an auditorium with dozens of people for 2 hours. There’s a certain energy there that you can’t really replicate. 

I miss that. I miss laughing, crying and clapping with all those people. I also miss going to the cineplex and marvelling at the new trailers. As tacky as it sounds, movie theatres are about more than watching movies. They’re an event, and they provide social opportunities I can’t get elsewhere.

It’s not like I haven’t been occupying my time. I’ve gotten into shows I never saw. I’ve gotten, somewhat, back into video games. I’ve even taken on projects that, up until March, I wouldn’t have had time for. I’ve done quite a bit to stay busy. The options haven’t exactly been sparse.

But, again, it’s not the same. I’ve enjoyed what I’ve been doing these past months, but it’s been hard not calling up my buddies and blocking off an afternoon/evening for the latest release. It’s a level of socialization that I’ve missed and craved. And I’ll crave it for as long as it’s not safe to venture to the movies.

It also sucks because film is an escape from the harsh realities of life. The real world is full of garbage and trauma that feels overbearing, and movies have provided necessary outlets to get away from it all. It’s a sacred form of self-care that’s needed after a day of stresses and agony. While video games and TV can fill that role to an extent, movies manage it in a quicker and less-addictive manner. They also aren’t as much of a time-commitment. 

I don’t want to make it seem like I feel bad for theatre chains. While I long to return to them, I think these chains exploit consumers with tickets that routinely don’t match the moviegoing experience. I also feel no guilt for Hollywood studios, many of which use exploitative practices. But I do feel bad for the grunt workers, as they have lives and are suffering because of this pandemic. Many have even gotten sick and/or fired, which saddens me. For that reason alone, I feel awful that I can’t return to the theatre.

Look, I’m not advocating risking getting sick. That’s a terrible idea, and one with real, long-term consequences. People are also dying in large numbers from social gatherings, so minimizing them when possible is good. That includes going to movie chains. 

That doesn’t mean I can’t be sad about what’s been lost from COVID, though. We can’t go to restaurants. We can’t go to bars. We can’t have big, indoor functions either! All of these are losses for social interaction, and I crave them. Not being able to go to the movie theatre’s the icing on the crap cake. And that one hurts the most.

Still, I have hope. I have hope that a vaccine will make this pandemic more manageable. I have hope that it’ll help to return balance. And I have hope that it’ll come soon. I have hope for all of this and more.

And when that vaccine comes, I’m sure I’ll celebrate by going to the movie theatres once again. But until that time, I guess I’ll have to be a little more patient.