this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
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I think a lot of people kind of hate the theater because it's still being used in such a way that it's resting more on it's laurels, than on it's merits. "Be the first to see the movie, without a stupid cam rip from a southeast asian country with subtitles and a watermark", sort of thing. Part of the experience of a theater is that, when you go and watch the new pop cultural phenomena, everyone oohs and aahs. Part of the theater experience is that you can go an watch a horror movie and hear the people in the audience scream and cackle about how stupid the characters are. I think that's a good part of the theater experience, in combination with all the dumb HDR IMAX high dynamic range 3D live active rumbling seats and scented perfume garbage they have sometimes. I would say, in many ways, we've kinda been hamstrung by a pretense that every movie has to be like, a big A24 arthouse scorsese film that makes you deeply ponder the nature of being. That is not a movie best watched in theaters. Best movie watched in theaters is gonna be something like john wick 4, or meals on wheels, or maybe even clue, something like that.
Especially as cinema and the experience of theaters have evolved out of stage plays. The advantage of the medium of stage plays is that it's live, it can actively respond to the audience, play off of their reactions, and it can be different every time, with every troupe presenting a different interpretation of the source material. Cinemas, theaters, take that same format, and substitute the live performance for a pre-recorded tape. It's not impossible to strike at those same appeals, but it takes a lot of work on the filmmaker's part to really hit those same notes, and we're at the point where most filmmakers would rather not bother, and so audiences won't either.
Basically, I'm just saying that movies, in the cinema, need to be seen as a more casual experience, I think that would help with the experience.
Also the popcorn is a good appeal except like 90% of the time that sucks and is just a cheap vehicle for salt, to be paired with the drinks. Extortionist prices don't help either on that front, that shit needs to be gas station price at least, or else I'm gonna smuggle stuff in, and we all know the margins on popcorn and soda have to be insane anyways, so they should be able to charge like maybe five bucks for a medium soda and bag of popcorn.
Interestingly, I have the exact opposite opinion. Arthouse style movies are pretty much the only ones I will go see in theaters—if every frame is a masterpiece, it is enhanced by being in a big format, and the audience tends to be quiet.
I don’t go to the movies to hear other people, and I dislike when that happens. Alamo Drafthouse does a pretty good job keeping things quiet, and these days I pretty much refuse to go anywhere else. I don’t want to deal with other people’s noise taking me out of the zone you can get into with a really good movie.
I feel the same about plays too. Generally speaking, the best plays are when you can hear a pin drop during most of the scenes, with brief applause when appropriate.
If I wanted a bunch of audience input, I’d choose a show that was heavily geared towards that such as standup comedy or improv. Otherwise, it’s just a distraction from the artist I came to see.
I think most people would be of the opinion, or maybe I have just seen such an opinion more as a matter of a vocal minority or whatever, but I think most people would rather just watch those sorts of things from the comfort of their own home. Own TV, soundsystem, recliner, food, what have you. Ability to pause and go take a piss if you want, sort of thing. I mean, I don't think most people have a cinema setup that's going to really rival what a movie theater can put out, but I think the convenience and cost efficacy of it is really going to swing it towards home viewing for most. Even just being able to balance the audio how you want it to be balanced is kind of a big step up in a lot of ways.