BOOM! Pop Culture Chronicles
Look, I don’t expect things to stay the same. Change is inevitable, but there are some things I don’t want to let go. Seeing a movie in a theater is one of them and, sadly, those days may be coming to a close.
Time was, if you wanted to see a major film, you looked in a newspaper (remember them?) to see where it was playing and then went to see it at a theater downtown.
Eventually, the film wound up in the local, auditorium-sized movie house. Then suburban mall cineplexes started popping up with smaller cineplexes and it was too expensive to keep the large theaters open. That was a major reason Playhouse Square had a date with a wrecking ball until a group of visionaries stepped in to save it. Some neighborhood places converted to dollar theaters that packed folks in to see movies that ran their course elsewhere.
Strike Three: Technology
VCRs and video stores had a huge impact, and when DVDs and digital screens found their way into everyone’s homes, those big classic-but-outdated theaters became everything from churches to bookstores.
Twenty-screen complexes seemed to pop up everywhere. Instead of a much-awaited film being shown to a huge crowd, it ran on multiple screens in the same building.
Now, everyone has a big digital TV in their home with an equally impressive surround-sound audio system. Why go to a theater? Remember, it’s expensive to run a big complex.
Overpriced popcorn and candy aren’t generating much revenue. Some people try to sneak in to see more than one film on a ticket, and then COVID pays a visit. Theater owners prayed for a blockbuster film and Steven Spielberg stepped up to the plate with a remake of “West Side Story.” Critics raved; the audiences didn’t.
Then came “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” drawing Boomers’ kids and grandchildren back to theaters. Are there enough films with that kind of clout to save movie theaters? Is the younger generation going to keep the tradition alive? I think we’ll find that out soon enough.
One more thing about movies you watch at home: DVDs are being quickly phased out in favor of streaming. We’ll soon be able to call up just about any movie or TV show we care to watch, including first-run films. I forget the name of the comedian who first said this but it’s profound: “I’m not buying anything new until they stop inventing stuff.”
Boomer Trivia: Last issue, I asked you to name the actress who told NBC’s Al Roker she used to watch him swim laps when she worked at the Shaker Heights Municipal Pool. It was former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Molly Shannon, who dropped that on Al during a “Today” show appearance.
These winter days have me thinking about warmer temperatures. For next time, name the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame act that not only performed at a local amusement park but included it in a song.
