As a student, I spend my whole life in front of screens. Now streaming services allow me to watch whatever I want, whenever I want, without ever leaving my couch. Yet, the more I stream, the more I feel like something is missing.
Movies are meant to be projected across massive screens, enjoyed by strangers, laughing, gasping and crying together. For a few hours, we are all fully present, fully human, sharing these emotions with people we’ve never met.
While in the movie theater, the outside world seems to disappear, along with the burdens of work, grades or anything else. At home, the urge to reach for that phone, to be pulled away from the story, is much greater. In the theater, there is no pause button, no scrolling, no distractions, just the story and the audience.
Supporting theaters also helps the movie industry as a whole. During the COVID-19 pandemic, theater revenues plummeted, with nearly all of movie revenue coming through streaming services. Many theaters struggled to stay afloat, and the shift to streaming is still a major problem for them. An August poll conducted by The Associated Press NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that 32% of U.S. adults watched a recently released movie on a streaming service, whereas only 16% went to a theater that often. Going to the movies supports everyone, from the production companies to the actors to the theater employees.
When we opt for comfort and convenience, we lose what makes movies so special. Most of them are made to be a spectacle, in IMAX with dimmed lights and loud audio effects. Streaming them on your laptop is like listening to a concert with earbuds. It conveys the story, but not in the way that the artist intended.
We come to this place for magic. To laugh, cry and forget just how hard the outside world is, even just for a little while. A place where our imaginations are boundless, to go somewhere we’ve never been before, together. In our increasingly digital world, which is often defined by isolation and distraction, movie theaters remind us of the power of experiencing something together, in real time and fully present.
