By: The Don
The COVID-19 or the coronavirus has affected a lot of us during this challenging time, especially businesses. Ever since Mid-March, businesses were forced to shut their doors to slow the spread of the virus. Unfortunately, the movie industry was one that took a large hit from this. From production halts to theaters furloughing workers to now pushing back upcoming new releases every day, the film industry is suffering one of the worst years since the Great Depression during the 1930s. So the question arises, is this the end of movie theaters? Are streaming services going to be the only way we watch films? Are thousands of workers going to be unemployed?
You had a long, tiring and stressful week at work and all you want to do is meet up with your friends to see that new movie that has been advertising on tv all week. You finally get there and you get your popcorn, your cold soda and of course your favorite candy bar. You sit in your favorite chair, recline your seat, feet up, and get lost in its world. The movie business is about everybody: the people working the concession stands, running the equipment, taking tickets, booking movies, selling advertising and cleaning bathrooms in local theaters. Regular people, many paid hourly wages rather than a salary, earn a living running the most affordable and democratic of our community gathering places.
Famous filmmakers such as Christopher Nolan have come out publicly in support of keeping our movie theaters open. He publicly stated, “Movie theaters are a vital part of American social life. They will need our help.” He is pleading with the world to help keep movie theaters open because not only it is an old tradition that gets us out of our homes, but it is also helping people keep careers and the economy flowing.
Will streaming services destroy the movie theater business? The answer is YES. Will it be soon? I hope not. With the stay at home in effect all over the world, streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Hulu and Netflix are making a killing and gaining new subscribers day by day this stay at home order is in effect. These are not cheap, but even with the movie industry in full swing, the streaming services were still flourishing and has no intention of slowing down. Do you have any? Of course, you do. And chances are, you have more than one. Numerous experts predict movie theaters will soon be of the past, and we will be streaming the newest films from the comforts of our own living rooms. Hopefully, we can defy their predictions and keep movie theaters open. I mean… what else will we do on our Friday nights?
There are many postives of going to the movie theaters. Movie theaters are one of our getaways from the stresses of the real world. It takes us away from our problems and to an imaginative place to spend time with family and friends. It is a stress reliever and uses our minds to figure out the plot or just get lost. Another is that it helps the economy booming and providing thousands of jobs to everyone.
With everything, there are cons to everything. Long lines (if you didn’t pre-purchase your tickets), high ticket prices, expensive snacks that people sneak in (admit it, we’ve all done it), dirty theaters, crowded with not sitting next to your friends to the nuances of moviegoers talking through the entire movie… ughhh.
We need to keep movie theaters open. They provide us a chance to not only leave our homes but for us to get lost in its fantastic and intriguing plots, loveable and hateable characters to its beautiful picture on a gigantic, projected screen with its thunderous surround sound. To end this entertainment talk, here is a piece from an interview with Nolan from the Hollywood Reporter, Nolan urged fans to remember why they go to the movies in the first place: “Maybe, like me, you thought you were going to the movies for surround sound, or Goobers, or soda and popcorn, or movie stars. But we weren’t. We were there for each other.”
