Or so I’ve heard. And looking at the growing number of home theaters in the U.S., skyrocketing ticket prices, easy movie downloads and recent Pew Research numbers—showing that a hefty 75% of respondents would rather wait for the video than venture to the cinema—one might think it’s true.
But I don’t believe it for a second.
OK, sure, going to the movie house can include niggling little problems such as crying babies and the oblivious parents who bring them. Then there’s obnoxious teens, noisy cell phones and $40 buckets of popcorn. But the truth is, enjoying a movie on a huge screen with high-def wrap-around sound and a room full of equally rapt strangers can sometimes be worth the risk.
I remember watching an exciting actioner in a packed downtown L.A. theater some years ago. The exhilaration of the pic was so heightened by watching it with a crowd that there was a curious aftereffect at the movie’s end. We all flooded enthusiastically out the theater exit doors and found ourselves facing a roadway packed with rush-hour traffic. But, hey, we’d just finished battling fierce aliens and cheering the results. What were a few dozen measly cars compared to that? A communal switch flipped in this mob of movie fans and, without a second thought, we literally stopped traffic and walked defiantly across the street to our parked vehicles. It was an odd feeling.
I just finished reviewing a little horror pic called Paranormal Activity that re-sparked my wonder in the theater-going group dynamic. This low-budget spine-tingler has its own set of spirituality and language problems. But it also has a way of drawing viewers together in a shared experience. The little group of audience members in my Wednesday morning viewing were moved to start reacting out loud—almost warning each other to beware of what might soon happen—and it felt like a totally natural thing to have happen. It was strange. A little scary in itself. And totally involving.
Now I’m not advocating foul-mouthed horror movies or risking life and limb running into traffic. I’m just saying there’s something about a movie-going experience that can’t happen with your movie on your iPod.
Or maybe your iPod has one of those whiz-bang theater-full-of-viewers apps that mine doesn’t.
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